Scout Attacks! week 9: The One Where It Got Its Name

X-Men First Class #8: I recently mentioned that Marvel editorial still had not done anything recently to win back any points with me. Obviously, I erred in that statement, because I forgot about the fact that they decided to make this comic and ongoing series. Thanks, Joe Quesada. I'd say I owe you one, but I bought Civil War and Civil War: Frontline, so I still think you're in the whole there, but maybe a little less than before. Anyway, this is the final issue of the mini series and it may be the best of them. For starters, it has a talking Gorilla. (Note too self: get Agents of Atlas trade.) I love how Parker has captured all of their personalities so well in this series. Scott, though rigid, is not a dick and does have a sense of humor (and no Joss Whedon, he is not Mal). Jean does indeed have a personality. Bobby is funny and sweet (and a complete scene stealer in this series). Warren is completely content with who he is and does not angst about it. Hank is a complete nerd. These are things that so many writers have completely forgotten over the years. Well, nobody has forgotten that Hank is a nerd. He just looks like a freaking cat now. (I will never stop hating that.) Another thing I have really loved about this series is the yearbook pages at the front of each issue with notes on all the characters from the perspective of one of the other characters. They are so insightful, this month's especially because it is from Professor Xavier's perspective, and there is a bonus one at the end from Ken Hale, the aforementioned talking gorilla, who has an outsider's take on the young team. Anyway, this issue is a fun jungle adventure. It gets bonus points for having a hippo attack and hinting at Jean's developing psychic abilities.

52 Week 51: This penultimate issue starts out with our space travelers arriving home. First is animal man, who, as it turns out, really had nothing to worry about as far as his wife hooking up with some other guy. He does however, have to worry about more of Lady Styxx's bounty hunters, who arrive at his front door right in the middle of his welcome home party. Fortunately, a very fatigued Kory, who is returning his jacket to his wife because she thinks he's dead, falls on them. Adam Strange gets new eyes, which is nice for him, but I thought it was pretty cool that he could do all that stuff, like fix his ship and pilot, blind. Lobo is obviously off the pacifist kick now too. We also find out why Skeets went all evil, and it is really unattractive looking. This series has pretty much just petered out. It's a shame, because it has been really strong at points. A really amazing final issue could save it, but since we all know about the return of the Multiverse, it's unlikely that will happen.

Action Comics #848: I really like this issue in concept. I think having Superman deal with a metahuman that is using his powers to enforce a specific set of beliefs, and being forced to confront his own beliefs, could be very powerful. I loved when Lois asked Clark "Whose truth? Whose justice? And what the heck does "the American way" mean exactly?" because if Superman is going to fight for those things, he should understand them. The story just seems to completely lose its way, and its ambiguity, when it becomes clear, through heavily shadowing his face and an overall ominous tone, that the minister is going to be the big bad guy of the piece. There's also the art, which I kind of hate. It is so very stiff and lifeless. And Clark is a little too muscle bound for my tastes. Either that, or he needs to buy sweaters that fit.

Justice Society of America #5: I have never read this comic before, but it is amazing how different in tone this series has to Justice League of America. For one thing, stuff actually happens. It's also all moody and atmospheric, while JLA is very bright. It's almost hard to believe this is a continuation of the same story. Still, there are fun and interesting character interactions and some cool action. I loved when they were fighting all those Batmen. Was it just me, or was one of them fat? Everything in the Fortress of Solitude was great too, though I could not believe it took them so long to realize that there was an extra Legionnaire in that display though. I noticed right a way. He was the only guy without a name underneath him.

Wonder Woman #8/Amazons Attack #1: This all just felt very rushed to me. The Amazons are awfully quick to buy into everything that Circe is feeding them, which seems odd to me because I thought she was their enemy as well as Wonder Woman's. I'm not too sure I liked Diana and Nemesis' interaction in this issue either. It's kind of up and down, which is a shame, because despite some of my gripes, I do like Tom as a character. The inconsistencies in how Diana is being written continue in this issue, as she understands a reference Tom makes to the Washington Capitals. So that's a "yes" on the NHL, but a "no" on pumping gas? Right. I completely buy that. Still, I remain ever hopeful, because there is interesting stuff going on. It's just not being executed all that well. I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires between Diana and her mother. Also, as much as I think it is dumb to change artists mid-story, it is good to have the Dodsons back, if only because Nemesis no longer has a soul patch. Meanwhile, in Amazons Attack, the Amazons attack. It's kind of cool. Men and boys get slaughtered. Good times. I enjoy Pete Woods' art. The jury's still out on Will Pfeifer's story though. I'm mostly interested in seeing what the effect of all this will have on Wonder Woman's standing in society when it is all over. The way I see it, it can go one of two ways. Either public opinion of Wonder Woman will drop even further and her status as enemy of the state will be reaffirmed, or she will be redeemed in the eyes of the government and the public when they see her go up against her own people in order to stop the war. While I could see them going the first route as a way to reaffirm her decision to take on a secret identity, I would prefer option number two. I think it would be a lot more interesting to see Diana carry on as Diana Prince because she wants to instead of because she thinks she needs to.

I haven't really checked out any comic book news in the past few days, so I don't really have and happy news this week, but Spider-Man 3 comes out on Friday. I am so excited. I am going to see it on Saturday, which is also Free Comic Book Day. Could things get any better than that? Actually, yes they could. It's Spider-Man Week in NYC and on Wednesday night I am going to see the Spider-Man comic collection that's on display at the New York Public Library. And here on These Things Matter, I've decided that May is Spidey Month. I've got a few Spidey related posts planned for throughout the month, including a review of the movie, a commemoration of Peter and MJ's 20th wedding anniversary, and a look at my favorite issue of JMS's run on Amazing Spider-Man (hint: it relates to the Spider-marriage, guest stars a recently deceased hero, and features DOOM!). Let's just hope I don't get too lazy to dig out the back issues I need.

You Got Your Watchmen In My Heroes

I realize that the new episode of Heroes was on Monday, so this is kind of late, but I figure that it's still relevant since the next episode hasn't aired yet (unlike that post I was going to do about last week's Supernatural). Anyway, this past Monday was the first new episode of Heroes after far too long a break. Fortunately, it did not disappoint. I have to say though that I've been hearing people talk about the story resembling Watchmen for a long while now, but I didn't really get it until last night.

I try to remain in as much of a cone of silence as possible when it comes to this show, because I love it and I don't want to ruin anything for myself. Last night though, I was all, "Oh, that's what everyone has been talking about." The similarities between Linderman and Ozymandias are pretty blatant, and considering how many of the writers on this show are bona fide comic book geeks, no one can claim that they didn't realize the similarities. I have to assume that it is not going to go down the same though, since next week's episode seems to be all about how bad everything is going to be if Linderman's plan goes through.

As for the episode itself, I loved it. I thought Isaac's death was a bit anti-climactic, but the implications of it are pretty interesting. Sylar doing the painting the future thing at the end was just creepy. Either Sylar didn't get any of Isaac's artistic talent, or the future has changed and, instead of Nathan Petrelli, Frankenstein is going to become president. I would be totally cool with that.

I guess that if someone had to die, I'm OK with it being Isaac. I honestly like all the characters now that Simone is dead. I know a lot of people don't like Mohinder, but I think he's pretty invaluable to the story. They need at least one person without super powers. Also, Sendhil Ramamurthy may not be the best actor, but he's awfully pretty to look at. Honestly, I was really afraid that Peter might get killed. I know there are all these visions of stuff that he's supposed to do in the future, and he certainly seems integral to the plot, but he's also unbelievably powerful. Not only does he gain the powers of anyone he is around, he is able to retain them. Pretty soon he will be able to do anything and they won't need any of the other characters. Presumably, the writers are aware of this potential dilemma and will do something about it. Anyway, the whole time he was dead but not really dead, I kept yelling at the television to take the big piece of glass out of his head. Thankfully Claire listened to me. Poor Claire though. It must suck to find out your big hero/crush is your uncle.

I'm actually pretty surprised that Nathan is going to go along with Linderman's plan, since I really thought his love for Peter would trump his desire for power. I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out. Also, what power do you think Mama Petrelli has? Considering Peter's powers, one would think they would have been exposed by now. Then there's Matt, Ted Sprague, and my favorite, Mr. Bennett and their big prison break. Things are going to be tough for them. Eric Roberts is just plain creepy. He's not even acting. It's an inherent trait.

YAY! Heroes is back! I cannot wait until next week.

But He's Bill Pardy! You Can't Cancel Him!

Apparently Drive has been canceled, which is kind of a bummer. I was enjoying it. The thing I don't get though is why Nathan Fillion and Tim Minear can't catch a break. This is at least the fourth show that Minear has executive produced to get the axe by FOX, and the second for Fillion. By all rights, both of them should still be hard at work on Firefly's fifth season, but barring that, they just deserve better. I especially don't get the lack of success for Nathan Fillion. I would have thought that, despite the relative box office disappointment of Serenity, he would have at least gotten noticed by studio executives and gotten some decent sized roles in some mainstream movies. Honestly, I expected to see him pop up in a romantic comedy or two, or maybe in some small but stand out roles in some big budget action movies, inevitably becoming the next generation's answer to Harrison Ford. Instead, it seems like he's becoming the next generation's answer to Bruce Campbell, which is fine. You know I love Bruce Campbell. I love him way more than I love Harrison Ford. I just thought that Nathan Fillion had a lot more mainstream appeal than that.

Is the problem that Nathan Fillion has actually worked on quality projects, because I am seeing that pattern? I was pretty shocked by the lack of success for Slither as well, which I considered to be one of the best horror movies that I have seen in a long time, in light of how well horror movies have been doing in the past several years. I enjoy movies like Hostel and its like well enough, but I would much rather sit through movies like Slither, Grindhouse, and even, to a lesser extent, Snakes on a Plane, all of which were disappointments at the box office, and all of which were a hell of a lot more fun to watch than the horror movies that make huge amounts of money. At least the Dawn of the Dead remake, which had an over all grimness but still with a sense of whimsy, did well.

Don't even get me started on what passes for science fiction these days. There is little substance to any of it. Some people like to applaud geek subculture moving into the mainstream, but with few exceptions, the stuff that has any mainstream success lacks the originality and intelligence that we geeks have been enjoying for years. I think the fact that X-Men 3 was lauded by critics as a comic book movie that's actually about something for touching on, however ineptly, various social issues, says it all. X-Men comic books have been dealing with social issues since Stan Lee first came up with the idea of mutants. All X-Men 3 did was make weak analogies that ultimately never went anywhere.

The geek subculture hasn't been legitimized. It's been homogenized.

Wow! I have no idea how this turned into a rant. I started out this post simply wanting to say that I was going to miss seeing Nathan Fillion, an actor I can't get enough of, on my television every week. I suppose it's the Firefly/Serenity connection. Anytime I start thinking about Nathan Fillion, it naturally leads in that direction, and then it turns into a rant. Oh well. At least we have Heroes now. At least that show respects its roots and hasn't tried glam up for the masses. It is a show about a bunch of superheroes who do not wear costumes though, which I do think is a concession to mainstream audiences, but that's of far less concern than the fact that there's real substance there. Compare that to Smallville, which simultaneously capitalizes on it's comic book roots and is completely embarrassed by them at the same time, ultimately creating something with no more substance than your sub par teen drama with a bunch of names that will keep fanboys happy.

Anyway, here's hoping that Nathan Fillion catches on soon, so that, while I may not get the quality science fiction, horror and superhero genre adaptations that I hope for, I'll at least a funny, charismatic, talented and really attractive actor to watch in all the crappy movies and television shows I end up watching because no one cares enough to watch anything better.

Scout Attacks! week 8: Unterrifying Batman Is Weird

This week, it's straight to the reviews...

52 Week 50: First of all, let me engage in a bit of self-congratulation. I managed to have enough willpower to not buy the World War III tie-ins. Go me! Even after reading some positive reviews for those tie-ins, I'm not sorry. This issue was pretty self-explanatory, and it dealt with what happened to Black Adam, which is all I really cared about. I'm sure the tie-ins explained a whole lot of stuff about the DCU One Year Later, but I don't read any of that stuff. There's some great art in this issue. The splash page where everyone is charging at Adam and he's just standing there, waiting for them, defiant, is awesome. I still feel really sorry for Adam, despite everything he's done. When he's wandering the streets of what I assume is Khandaq, powerless, muttering magic words hoping to stumble across the right one, finally reaching "Osiris. Isis. Batson. Eternity." it seems so tragic. Captain Marvel swears he will never think of the new magic word. I'm sure he will eventually, but I am really curious as to what it is. There's only two issues left. It was really nice of the characters to just wait their turn to do anything so that everyone could have a week to themselves to resolve their plots. Animal Man was so desperate to get home, but he's kindly stood aside so that Renee Montoya and Black Adam could do their thing first. He's a class act.

All Star Superman #7: Another comic that I forgot to buy the week it came out. Thankfully my comic shop didn't sell out. It occurs to me that this comic book could not have a more inappropriate acronym. I really don't like Quitely's art, but Morrison writes Silver Age crack so well, that it's easy enough to over look. And Lois didn't look disturbingly similar to Kristin Kreuk in this issue, so bonus points for that. This issue focuses on Bizarro World, and features all that crazy stuff one would expect. I don't really know what to say excpet that it's a really good, fun story and I can't wait to see what happens next. The Zibarro reveal at the end was awesome. Also, I had pretty much forgotten the plot point set up way back in issue #1 that Superman is dying. I think it's a nice touch to see him preparing for this by doing things like writing the formula for Bizarro repelant in Lois' Christmas card. I wonder if he included helpful little notes like that for everyone.

Birds of Prey #105: This issue starts off with a little lesson in Russian history, which I totally dug. That's probably just me though, because i don't know how many comic book readers are Russian history buffs, specifically into that whole period right before the Revolution. Surely I'm not the only one though. Anyway, everything seems to get out of control this issue, and it's fun to see all the reveals and reversals. Gail Simone does a great job of building up the tension and there's a pretty cool fight between Hawkgirl and Scandal. Also, Harley Quinn makes an appearance as the newest member of the Secret Six, and you know how I love her (though I am not sure this doesn't undermine her recent, and superior, appearance in Detective Comics a bit). Anyway, all this is just set up for the big Birds of Prey versus Secret Six showdown in the next issue. I predict that it will be crazy good.

The Brave and the Bold #3: This issue is about Batman and Blue Beetle. I absolutely loved their interaction. I could stand to read a whole series where Blue Beetle just goes fanboy on different superheroes, but something tells me that it could never be as amusing as the following exchange:

Batman: For future reference, if you know the answers, it's not really detective work.
Blue Beetle: I didn't mean to take the fun out of it. Sir.

Still, Jaimie is adorable and I am seriously thinking of picking up the Blue Beetle series. I am loving the storytelling device of getting in the head of one of the characters to get a look at his reactions to the other character, the added bonus of which is that it comes with thought bubbles, continuing their triumphant comeback tour. It's good to know I'm not the only one who's a little freaked out by Batman acting so nice. Also, I have to thank Mark Waid for the usage of the Lord of Time. His sense of theatricality lead to him feeling the need to give big introductions to each member of the Fatal Five, whom I would have not known otherwise. You have gotta respect a pompous and overly dramatic villain. This issue also sets up the next team up of Supergirl and Lobo, which I expect to be hilarious and provide a lot of inappropriate humor. Still, I don't know which I am looking forward to more, that or the following issue, which will undoubtedly deal with the last page's reveal. That was just badass.

Justice League #8: I'm sure a lot of people are going to complain about this issue. Their going to complain that nothing happens. They're going to complain that the fight between Batman and Karate Kid (not being familiar with the Legion of Superheroes, I know that name will be making me giggle throughout this storyline) happened almost entirely off panel. And I am sure that people will complain that the chit chatting between the heroes on the final splash page completely throws off any sense of urgency that the problem they are facing is supposed to have. I've decided just to ignore all that. It's clear to me that Melter's run isn't going to be about stuff happening. It's about superheroes being chummy and having a good time and throwing out a lot of references to Justice League of America history. I think I'm OK with that. It's kind of fun. I don't know who most of these characters are anyway, so nothing they say or do can really bother me one way or the other. I'm just annoyed that I am going to have to be buying issues of JSA too.

Finally, I have happy news. Behold the wonder of Phil Jimenez's Spider-Man. Marvel at seeing Peter Parker drawn on model. No photo-referencing here kids. I can't be the only one who finds looking at those pages refreshing. It's not that Garney isn't good (and yes, I know he doesn't use photo-referencing), it's just that this looks more like Peter Parker to me. I'm pretty sure it's the hair. Peter's just got to have those two curls in the front. Also, I think that's the most attractive Betty Brant I have ever seen. There's also this, but I don't know if it's happy or just disturbing. Frankly, I think I'm a little bit scared.

All the World Is Waiting for Her

So for all the problems the Wonder Woman title - Heinberg and his many delays, the fill-in story for issue #5, the dubious talents of Jodi Picoult - all is not lost. There is good news too. Wonder Woman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told came out today, finally righting that long injustice, and it's been confirmed that Gail Simone is going to be taking over the title with issue #13. Apparently, the fans have spoken and DC has finally listened. It's almost enough to make me stop bitching about how much editors suck, at least at DC. (Marvel editors haven't done anything to redeem themselves yet.)

Newsarama posted this interview with Simone on Friday, and she just put things in perspective. This, particularly, gets me excited about the character:

The book is about the best goddamned warrior planet Earth has ever known, and she happens to carry a mystical arsenal around just for the hell of it.

If a writer can’t make that interesting and fun, they really shouldn’t be writing superheroes.

There are layers upon layers of the character, and we’ll get to them all. But let’s just make it very clear that Diana is the premiere asskicker in the DCU, period. Batman and Superman have other things that make them special. Diana is the one who occasionally carries an axe if someone gives her lip.

This is actually in my first issue, but the quote is, “When a giant robot attacks Metropolis, send Superman. An alien attack? Get Green Lantern. When a car is hijacked by an escaped loony, turn on the bat signal, by all means. But if an ARMY shows up on your doorstep, that’s when you call in Wonder Woman.

Simple.

This part isn't bad either:

This is a great question. First, I hate the supposed ‘dichotomy,’ that she preaches peace while fighting. This is not contradictory at all. It’s not ‘a’ or ‘b,’ it’s ‘a’ AND ‘b.’ It’s like saying a cop is a hypocrite when they say they want to keep the peace, just because they might have to wrestle a perp to the ground on occasion. Diana’s both. She loves the light, but she’s right at home in the dark, too. She can do dark.

Actually, I have to say that this was the thing about Wonder Woman that got me a while back, the fact that, as Simone says, "She loves the light, but she's right at home in the dark, too." I think it's that ability to be both that sets her apart from Batman and Superman as more than just the girl. When I realized that, and I can't even say how and why I realized it (but I'm sure it was probably while I was watching the Justice League cartoon, since the work of Bruce Timm is pretty much the source of all my DCU love), it's when I started to really get the character, and love her. Sure, I still think it makes absolutely no sense that an Amazon is a great symbol of peace, since the Amazons raped, plundered and pillaged with the best of them (which is why they were cool), or that the Greek gods would care about sending an ambassador of peace to humanity, since they were all about messing with and screwing over the humans, but once you let go of all that, there isn't any reason why a person can't preach peace and be a warrior. It's not like she's out there committing random acts of violence.

Anyway, all that character stuff is great, but this is what really made me think Gail Simone was writing specifically for me: "Of course, since she’s punching a monkey off a waterfall on page three, maybe that’s not the best example." Let's just take a closer look at those words: "punching a monkey off a waterfall." MONKEY!

So, in honor of that bit of awesomeness, and, of course, in honor of Gail, I give you:

And if that fills you with joy, like it does for me, you are going to want to watch Smallville this Thursday (4/19). I know that watching that show isn't normally conducive to the bringing of joy, but this week it has Lynda Carter! For her, I would watch even if I wasn't a complete masochist who watches the show every week even without something as awesome as Wonder Woman herself to look forward to. She's still gorgeous too. It looks like it might be a halfway decent episode too.

Supernatural is going to be new as well, so that you definitely don't want to miss.

Who's Gonna Drive You Home Toniiiight?

Who's gonna pick you up when you faaalll?

Ah, the Cars. Weren't they a great band? Now there's the New Cars. It's not the same.

This post isn't about them though.

It's about the new Fox series Drive, whose premiere completely blindsided me on Sunday night because I had no idea it was going to be on. Thankfully, I turned on Fox to watch The Simpsons at 8 o'clock or I would have completely missed it. Then there was another episode on Monday night, which is when I was expecting to watch the premiere. I don't know it it was lack of promotion or just me. I record almost everything on DVR now specifically so that I can fast forward through commercials, so I won't complain about Fox's lack of promotion, since I have no evidence to support it. I will say that I didn't see any ads for it on the internet, which seems odd considering one of the show's stars has an immense internet following. It didn't do too well in the ratings on Sunday night though. I have no idea about what Monday's numbers were.

I liked the show. It didn't wow me like the premiere of Prison Break did last year, but then, I quickly lost interest in that show, whereas by the end of the third hour on Monday night, my interest in Drive was still steadily building. I think that it has the potential to have the same problem that Prison Break has though, in that it's a very high concept that can't possibly be sustained for too long. However, it seems far more plausible to me that the creators of this show will be able to find reasons to keep the characters on the road for multiple seasons than it does for the creators of Prison Break to be able to keep up the jail break theme without it making the characters seem like they are in a Wile E. Coyote like cycle. Also, Drive has car chases, ad can have them all the time. That's cool and exciting. There's also a lot more opportunity for product placement, which I am certain makes the network very happy. (That might even be something that could keep this show on the air if ratings don't improve. Profitable shows always last longer than successful shows.)

I was primarily interested in this show because it stars Nathan Fillion, aka Captain Malcolm Reynolds, and executive producer Tim Minear, who previously worked on shows I loved, like Angel, Firefly, and Wonderfalls. And if you watched and loved any of those shows, there's a lot of reason to tune in to Drive. In addition to Fillion and Minear, a few other actors from those shows pop up, including Amy Acker, previously of Angel and most recently Alias, where she played a complete badass. There's also the serialized nature of it and the fact that mst of the characters are more than they seem. Those are things that have proven pretty popular on television of late, and Minear has proven himself to be incredibly adept at those types of stories.

Nathan Fillion is still my primary point of interest for the show, though, and it struck me at first that his character is a lot like Mal, but after getting a bit of background revelation on Alex Tully, I know think he's Mal in reverse. Mal was a good guy who became a bad guy and is always fighting his heroic nature. Tully is a bad guy who became a good guy and is strggling to maintain is heroism. It's too bad he's saddled with the show's blandest actress as his partner. As for the other characters, oddly enough, I think the father daugter team might be my favorite. There's a lot of pathos to be wrug from that situation and there's a lot of warmth and humor in their scenes. The soldier and his wife have the potential to get really annoying very soon, and the long lost brothers team is interesting, but hasn't really caught me on an emotional level. I think that the character that intrigues me most is the moter who is trying to protect her baby. She's a little bit crazy, but she's sweet, and I think there's huge potential for that character. It will be interesting to see what this race drives her to do (no pun intended) and what lines she will cross. Plus, I think Melanie Lynskey is fantastic.

Anyway, I think this show has a lot of potential, and I hope that Fox doesn't pull a Fox and prematurely cancel it. It's deffinitely worth a shot, and if you, like me, missed all the advertising because you hate commercials, but unlike me didn't have the happy accident of fiding it when you were looking for The Simpsons, the episodes are on MySpace. At the very least, watch it for Nathan Fillion, who is awesome and deserves to be a huge star (though it would have been better if he was a huge star because of Firefly, Serenity and Slither, but it has been log established that people do't have nearly as good taste as the should - more on that later.)

Scout Attacks! week 7: Still No Title and It's Too Late to Come Up with Anything (except there's a title now)

OK, really late this week. I blame the weather. Monsoons just make me depressed and lazy. Fortunately, this week's comics didn't.

52 Week 49: The JSA have come to Mad Scientist Island to rescue Black Adam. Will Magnus has recreated the Metal Men and I don't think that all the king's horses and all the king's men could put Egg Fu back together again. Also, Atom Smasher really didn't want to believe that Black Adam killed an entire nation's population. Too bad it's true. I'm still on Black Adam's side though, even now that World War III is going to start because of him. What do I care about the people of Bialya. It's fictional, and I know zilch about it. On the other hand, the image of poor Osiris getting eaten is still burnt into my memory. Perhaps Black Adam should just show Atom Smasher that issue. This was a pretty exciting issue. I don't think I'm going to pick up the World War III miniseries (I'll judge whether it's worth the expense on the reviews), but I am interested to see how it ends up. This issue also brings up something that I've never seen dealt with before (though it might be old to people who know the DCU better than I), and I think it's interesting. If your super team has America in it's name, you really should expect that other countries are going to think you are in some way representative of America.

Wonder Woman #7: Well, I thought this was better. The opening fight with Circe was decent, and it was cool to see Diana get pissed off. Some of the humor this time around was actually funny. I liked when she dropped Nemesis on his ass after his "desert toppings" comment, and for some reason, Nemesis' willingness to eat dog biscuits makes me like him more. Best of all, Diana's inner monologue is no longer annoyingly repetitive. It still has a lot of problems. The pacing is off, and I really think Picoult is out of her depth in the medium. I think there's a lot of really interesting stuff going on that's not being served as well as it should be. Still, we've now got the reason why the Amazons are going to be attacking in the near future, which is something I'm looking forward to, and the reasons why Wonder Woman is wanted for questioning, even after being cleared in the World Court, is becoming clear. I do, however, wonder if Diana will be spending the next four issues being held captive by a Nick Fury wannabe and a bunch of Shield rejects.

Fables #60: This is more like it. You can just tell that some huge things are coming up. My heart breaks for Flycatcher, and I thought Ride was way too harsh on him, but I guess that was what he needed. It looks like a lot of interesting secrets are about to come out as well. I love the way Willingham turned around what was an amusing little subplot about Bufkin so that it ultimately is going to have a much bigger impact. That's the sort of thing that is what really makes this such a wonderful series. There's so much going on, and the characters are so rich that you never really know what seemingly minor thing could turn out to be something majorly important. Actually, the fact that we are now getting an entire arc about Flycatcher probably exemplifies that better than anything. Also, Beauty is a lousy interrogator, and I feel stupid because I never even thought of the fact that Frau Totenkinder is still killing kids in some way or another. She makes an interesting references to all her investments being legal though. I wonder what that's all about. I can tell already that this arc is going to be awesome.

The Loners #1: I picked this one up for a few reasons, the first being that I really enjoyed the appearance of Excelsior (now just a nameless support group for former teenage superheroes due to the fact that Stan Lee has a copyright on "Excelsior") in the first volume of Runaways. I thought it was a really great idea, and really did want to read more with those characters. Also, I have liked Moline's art since his work on Whedon's Fray, and Penance from Generation X is supposed to show up at some point. (That's the real Penance, not the former Speedball Penance, who has that crappy, emo, self-cutter costume with the no eye holes. Dumb.) Anyway, this is a really promising start. Moline's art is great, and I love the Breakfast Club inspired cover. The support group set up is a clever conceit to the fact that readers are going to need an re-introduction to a lot of these characters, and Cebulski is pretty adept at giving them little moments that help give a feel for their personalities. There's nothing earth shattering here, but it's entertaining, and despite the fact that it's about characters facing their demons and their pasts, has a nice, light tone. I do have some questions about the group's standing in light of the post-Civil War MU, and what happened to them since their Runaways appearance, since things seem markedly different than they were left off. It's only the first issue though, and there's time for all that, and ultimately, if the story's good, I don't know if I will care if those questions are answered or not. No Penance in this one though. (Why the hell hasn't Generation X been collected in trades yet?)

The New Avengers #29: You know who owns this issue? A friggin' lawyer, that's who owns this issue (and if you knew me, you would know how hard it is for me to say anything nice about a lawyer). Danny Rand's lawyer completely shuts down the Mighty Avengers in this issue. (Too bad the whole exchange just got me wondering why none of the superheroes who have outed secret identities but oppose registration haven't fought the law in the courts. Honestly, if they are going to expect me to view the current Marvel Universe as more like the real world, then I'm going to do just that. As far as most Marvel books go, I have no more suspension of disbelief.) Dr. Strange was fairly awesome too, just not as awesome as when he's being written by Brian K. Vaughn. Still, making all Mighty Avengers confront their worst fears is a nifty trick. I can't help but think that the fact that Iron Man's worst fear is a zombie Captain America is significant, and possibly foreshadowing something to come. There have been an awful lot of zombies at Marvel lately, and he is a futurist. Anyway, the Mighty Avengers eventually track the New Avengers down to Dr. Strange's place and that's when they decided to beat a hasty retreat to Japan and rescue the former Ronin. I assume that Jessica, the baby and Wong are back on the plane, because they couldn't have just left them in New York, though it's possible that one of them is the new Ronin. Am I the only one who thinks it would be cool if Wong were Ronin? Probably. There's also ninja stuff and Elektra's crotch. It's an OK issue. I'm still pissed about the whole Spider-Man thing I talked about last week, so that didn't really help my enjoyment. (ETA: Maybe Ronin is Zombie Cap. It could totally happen.)

Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #1: I really liked this. Much like Parker's X-Men First Class series, it's just fun. Not surprisingly, it's either out of continuity, or set at some point in the past, because it is impossible to right a fun, exciting story with these characters actually acting like superheroes for a change in current continuity. The Spidey angst isn't of the extra strength variety. Mr. Fantastic isn't going on about the joys of McCarthyism. It's nice. Also, there are aliens, and Mr. Impossible, and a story that looks like its going to be pretty cool.

Hmmm...happy news? I think I'm going to hold on to that for now, since it's late and I want to go to bed, but look how pretty. (Well, modern Peter isn't pretty. He looks like he has a soul patch, and modern Mary Jane is pretty, but looks a little to much like Liv Tyler for my liking. Everything else is really pretty though.) I don't normally read Sensational Spider-Man, but I am excited to pick up this annual. I'm such a sucker for flashback stories.

I Wouldn't Count On That, Robert Downey, Jr.

I found this Robert Downey, Jr. quote talking about Iron Man from The Telegraph via CBR:

"He's a superhero who is just a man," says Downey. "Not that I wouldn't play a guy who got bit by a spider or who has some freaky connection with bats, but I think this is a little more accessible. I guess that when Stan Lee created the character back in the mid-1960s -- to see if he could base a superhero on a hard-partying, womanizing billionaire who manufactures weapons, and still make him likable enough to sell comic books -- he clearly won his bet. Tony Stark is someone who has the ability to be right at the forefront of science and we are finding out more and more nowadays that science and mythology are becoming somewhat interchangeable. Some of the things that seemed really far-fetched aren't any more." [emphasis added]

This just strikes me as funny, because those are Iron Man's likable traits. I bet Iron Man was a lot more fun when he was on the sauce. In theory, I always liked Tony Stark because of his potential to be a cool, Howard Hughes, minus the obsessive compulsive keeping his urine in a jar crazy, style superhero. There's fun to be had there. I just never found the execution all that interesting. I was (note the past tense) kind of looking forward to the movie because I thought we'd get to see some of that. So I guess Downey's right. Stan Lee did succeed. Then Mark Millar and Joe Quesada stepped in, but then, those guys clearly think any character assassination is a good idea.

(Seriously. Click on the link and read all about it. Then consider yourself lucky that you weren't subjected to the scan I saw last night, which constituted the first time I was learning about this comic. Remember the rumors from a while back that said Marvel was going to do a story revealing that Uncle Ben molested Peter? This isn't that bad. I think it's got "Sins Past" beat though. The sad thing is, a romance comic with the Dodsons on art is a good idea. The ick factor is just way too high here.)

The CBR link also includes the news on the latest superhero casting news. Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. I'm a little bit shocked by that, knowing how picky he is about his roles, but I can't say it isn't perfect casting. I'm one of the original film's few defenders, and I was disappointed that not only was this movie going to be another Marvel licensed project scripted by Zak Penn, who sucks, but also that Eric Bana wouldn't be returning. I think they may have actually traded up here though. This movie suddenly got promising.

Sadly, this bit of positive comic book movie news comes after the news that David Goyer plans on making a Green Arrow movie without Green Arrow. Not only does this sound like it could be a Steven Segal movie from the 90s with any old hero filling in for Green Arrow, but it's not going to have favorite thing about the character. No, not the bow and arrow, or the frequent need to call people fascists and fat cats. I'm talking about the goatee. It is mighty. Does Green Arrow even have any big villains that belong to him to even make this project interesting? The only plus side I can see to this is that, being set in a prison, the homoeroticism will be rampant. That's always amusing. But wouldn't a Green Lantern/Green Arrow Hard Travellin' Heroes type movie be just as effective in that regard?

I had previously heard that Warner Brothers was going to make a Green Arrow movie based on "Long Bow Hunters," which was going to have a more gritty, indie movie feel. The only thing I know about "Long Bow Hunters" is that Mike Grell Women in Refrigerator-ed Black Canary, which I'm not so keen on, but I thought more low budget take on the superhero genre would be really interesting. I was a little bit excited about that movie.

Scout Attacks! week 6: From Junkie to JLA Member

Ack! This week's reviews are really late. Sorry. They were done in pieces and then I just completely forgot to post them. Also, this week's post is really long because I have a lot of commentary at the end. And I still don't have a regular title for my weekly comic reviews, which really bugs me, but I am sure means nothing to you.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #2: Yay! Giles is back! And Willow! I think that was Andrew in there too, but the likeness wasn't good at all. It was only his geek-speak that gave him away. It's pretty clear that the season long arc is going to be the whole thing with the military and the "frown turned upside down and turned upside down again," as Xander called it in the last issue. Whedon totally got me with Buffy's dream sequence. I was all "Wait! What?! With Xander?!" Then Xander's head fell off and Buffy got attacked by a stone dragon and I was like, "Oh, OK." Still, I have to wonder if that all is going to end up meaning something eventually. Looks like Xander's got another girl interested in him though, which I called in the last issue. I just hope Anya doesn't get completely forgotten. I don't know how I feel about the whole "kiss of true love" thing, but I cannot wait for the showdown between Willow and Amy and the obvious cameos by Angel and Spike. (Will they fight over Buffy once again, or will the finally admit their feelings for eachother?) I'm also looking forward to seeing what Amy's boyfriend looks like. Oh, and zombies. Did I mention there are zombies now? Yeah, Buffy rocks!

52 Week 48: I miss Vic Sage. Renee Montoya is a cool character, but he was cooler. I honestly think they could have spun a mini series at least out of The Question and Renee Montoya teaming up in this series. They were really entertaining. Since The Question's death, Renee's become a lot less entertaining, and I have a feeling that people are just going to resent her. Anyway, she officially becomes The Question in this issue, as she finally gets the faceless mask thing going on. Nightwing fights a tentacle monster. It's a good issue, but everything that happens is a foregone conclusion. Also, Black Adam is still being tortured and now they're auctioning him off. the Birds of Prey origin was really good.

Detective Comics #831: I love Harley Quinn. I should just get that out of the way from the start. I especially love Dini writing Harley Quinn. She's his baby and he takes good care of her. She is awesome in this issue. I love that it showed off her zaniness, but also her intelligence. She's tough too, and despite all the bad things she has done, she's also inherently very sweet at heart. I also love how empowered and independent she's become. It's wonderful to see that despite being reformed and having a better grip on her sanity, Harley is still so joyful and childlike. Her big flip (and I mean the literal kind) when she gets released from Arkham is priceless. This issue also shows off one of the interesting things about Batman. For all his darkness and cynicism, he has a genuine belief in reform, or at least a genuine desire to believe in reform.

Justice League of America #7: So the League is finally formed and they have a Hall and a Satellite. I do hope that in a later issue we get a bit of narration that reads "Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice." Also, there's an odd Danger Room reference. (DC allows that sort of thing?) Actually, all the pop culture references are a bit weird, but overall, I really liked this issue. It had a lot of nice character stuff. And I learned that I really like Roy. I like him a lot. His joy at getting invited to be part of the team was infectious, and it was sweet to see how proud Dinah, Ollie and Hal were of him, especially after the whole "My ward is a junkie!" thing. (I just really like that cover. Comedy gold.) However, Red Arrow is the dorkiest name ever. Why on earth would anyone give up a genuinely cool name like Arsenal in favor or Red Arrow? I'm also not a fan of how Meltzer is developing the relationship between Roy and Hawkgirl. It's so heavy handed, and has been since Roy first saw her and said "Pretty bird." (Even I, with my limited DC knowledge said to myself upon reading that, "So I guess they're going to hook up and be the new Green Arrow and Black Canary. Boring.") I also loved how Black Lightning kept asking if Bruce designed everything and kept getting told "no," because Batman shouldn't do everything. However, he should have given them the penny. Finally, I love Dinah being the new chair person, and the resons given for why she'd be perfect for it. I guess DC really meant it when they said that Black Canary was ready to be more high profile. At least their putting their money where their mouth is with one of their female characters.

Superman #661: This was a fun little stand alone, but certainly not anything crucial. I didn't necessarily feel like I wasted my money, but I wouldn't have felt like I missed out on anything had I not bought it. It was pure Silver Age, from the art to the dialogue, to the word balloons on the cover, so it was kind of interesting to see that they aren't just bringing Silver Age elements back to the DCU, but they're willing to tell Silver Age stories as well. That's cool, but it could easily be taken too far. I thought Khyrana was a villain with potential (and it looks like we might be seeing her again) and I liked the interaction between all the characters.

Superman Confidential #4: I'm getting to this a week late, but it's still worth mentioning. I originally picked up this series purely for Tim Sale's art, which is absolutely gorgeous, but I am loving the story too. Darwyn Cooke writes these characters so well, and the concept continues to intrigue me. Most of the action in this issue centers around Superman getting his ass kicked, but it's all good because it's his first exposure to Kryptonite, even though no one knows that he's being exposed to Kryptonite yet. There's a lot of intrigue with Lex as well, which is cool. I can't wait to find out what the deal is with this sentient Kryptonite is. As for the last page, my money is on robot.

Runaways #25: It's obvious that, as great as Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan are, the change over from Vaughn and Alphona is going to be hard to adjust to. Everything is just slightly off. the characters' voices aren't exactly the same. This has to be what it was like to read the first Gerry Conway issue of Amazing Spider-Man after 100+ issues of Stan Lee, only maybe moreso, because as brilliant as Stan Lee was, Vaughn wrote his characters with a lot more consistency than Lee ever did. (It was easier for Vaughn, since he wrote a lot fewer issues and a lot fewer characters in general.) This is still a very good read though, and I am very excited for the next issue. There's some interesting conflict between the Runaways; Xavin continues to work his/her way into my heart; and Molly and Chase continue to be the best ever. However, since I work in lower Manhattan, I was completely distracted by the building they were breaking into and the surrounding area. I'm not entirely certain that the building they are standing on, when they are looking across at the building they are going to break into, is finished being built. Oh well, that's my nitpicky little complaint. Overall, despite some minor problems, I think this arc is going to rock, and I am excited to see how much trouble the Runaways get themselves into.

That's all for the reviews, now for a little rant. Here's a little something from Newsarama's latest New Joe Fridays:

Q: Mundungus 03-30-2007 01:34 AM

If Wilson Fisk is currently permanently expelled from U.S. soil according to the recent Daredevil arc, how is he operating as the Kingpin in the recent Runaways preview? I'll assume Runaways now takes place post-Civil War, so I'm a little befuddled by this. Especially if the Hood is soon to be taking a rise to power. Did someone not give Whedon the memo?

JQ: Joss definitely got the memo, Mundungus...and read it. Runaways is post-Civil War and in continuity. We talked it all over with Brubaker (who is a gentleman, a scholar and Kristin Bell’s #1 fantasy) and he was cool with it.

Here's how it works: just because you quit something doesn't mean that you're easily extricated from it. He's in NY wrapping up some loose ends that he had to deal with. It's only temporary. You'll see a reference to current DaredevilL continuity in Runaways #26. The Runaways have been on the run during the whole "Fisk in prison" stuff and contacted him through channels set up when their parents were in charge of the LA criminal underground. A lot of this will become clearer as the story goes on, true believer.

Fair enough. There's no point in complaining until after seeing whether it's adequately explained, although I can't help but think that this is where those editor's notes that used to be so prominent in comic books would come in handy. I've seen a few lately, like in a recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man, but I don't think it would kill them to put in a few more here and there as long as they don't go crazy and try and explain away everything in those little boxes. But like I said, fair enough. However, this is completely unacceptable:

Q: Spidey616 04-01-2007 12:34 AM

Hey Joe. As much as I love Brian Michael Bendis' take on the Avengers, especially with the first issues of this team division, I just have to say one criticism for New Avengers #28. With Spidey going "Back in Black" to reflect his new dark mindset, this character development seemed inconsistent with how Bendis portrayed Spider-Man, cracking jokes and being as loveable as he ever was. Juxtaposed with ASM #539, Spidey's breaking arms and bodies and not caring whether or not he kills someone. So what I'm trying to ask is if we'll be seeing more consistency with the character, and is this just the tip of the iceberg of Spidey's darker image?

JQ: Okay, to the source one more time!

Brian Bendis: JMS and I have always written different takes on the character. JMS has been putting him through the emotional wringer ever since I was able to get him on the Avengers. In JMS' stories there hasn't been as many opportunities for Spidey to be trash-talking fun loving web-head, those stories demand a more serious focus.

But in Avengers, being the perpetual loner finally on a team, with the group dynamic the way it is, there is more room for Spidey to be that Spidey. I know some think I think I'm writing Ultimate Spider-Man in the Avengers, but I'm just writing Spidey as the neurotic, trash talking, genuinely, funny, hopeful, web-head he is.

Once again I have to ask myself what the hell the editors at Marvel do that this sort of character inconsistency is considered OK. During previous Spider-Man storylines, like "The Other," I appreciated Bendis' take on the character in New Avengers precisely because it allowed for the character's humor to shine through and was a bit of a respite from the gloom and doom of Spidey's main title. However, it was obvious during those other story arcs that whatever was happening in New Avengers was not happening concurrently with the events of the various Spider-Man titles. Here, it is obvious that the issues Spidey is facing in his regular titles are very much still a reality for him in New Avengers. Simply put, if he is wearing his black costume because of what happened to Aunt May, and he is wearing the black costume in New Avengers, then Aunt May must still be in a coma and Spider-Man should absolutely not be behaving in the manner that Bendis is depicting him. Hell, I would argue he shouldn't even be wasting his time with the Avengers. If Marvel insists on producing such interconnected stories and having the same characters appear in every title, then there needs to be consistency between how the characters are depicted in the various titles, regardless of the writer of any given title's personal take on the character. If there isn't, than anything that happens to the character is largely meaningless since it won't be reflected across the board, thereby rendering the interconnectedness of the titles pointless. Now I have to seriously consider dropping New Avengers, despite the fact that, aside from the Spidey depiction, I am enjoying it quite a bit and it's the only place to get Luke Cage.

In a final bit of...well, it's not really ranting here, but whatever...the award for complete non-answer goes to JMS, for this:

Q: freedom fry 03-30-2007 09:47 PM

I have a question about Amazing Spider-Man #539. The issue states that Peter gave up the black costume because it represented a dark time in his life. And he didn't like the message it sent. Reading Amazing Spider-Man #300, I understood Peter to give up the black suit because Mary Jane was hurt by Venom and she was scared to see Peter in the same suit. Will this be addressed in coming issues of Amazing?

JQ: Let’s go to the source!

J. Michael Straczynski: Precisely, which is why I'm being careful in the writing to make sure she either never sees the black suit, or sees it only rarely. It's meant to intimidate others, not her, so he's being discreet about it. If that whole period didn't represent a dark time in Spidey's life, I can't imagine what would.

That's great, JMS! I appreciate that you're writing Peter as taking his wife's feelings into consideration. I really do, and I certainly hope that this means that you won't be using the black costume as a petty excuse to break Peter and MJ up (I can accept a break up if it's based on legitimate reasons, and that just wouldn't be, and frankly, at this point, you're going to have a pretty damn hard time coming up with one), but that doesn't have anything to do with the question asked. In Amazing Spider-Man #300, one reason is given for Peter giving up the black costume. In Amazing Spider-Man #539, a different reason is given. So what gives? I seriously have no idea why they bother with these sorts of questions if they aren't actually going to answer them. At least say, "I was trying to make the whole return of the black costume more plausible and less movie tie-in gimmicky. Changing some stuff was the best I could do. Sorry to those of you who didn't like it." That's an answer I could respect.

OK, finally we hit the good news portion of my weekly comic reviews post, though this one deffinitely falls more into good news/bad news. Aanyway, it was announced in the most recent DC Nation column that Sean McKeever will be taking over for Gail Simone on Birds of Prey. Now, that's potentially some very bad news, because Gail Simone is doing wonderful things on that title. However, it's good news for two reasons. The first is that, like Simone herself, I am optimistic that McKeever will be a good fit for the title because he can write women well. The second reason is that this news, along with Simone's comments that she was leaving BoP to work on her dream project, adds further credence to the rumors that she will be the new writer on Wonder Woman after Picoult, which is awesome because Wondy needs her. It is a shame that comics first all female writer/artist creative team is being broken up so soon though.

Happy Easter!

And in honor of the holiday...

Scout Attacks! week 5: Take That, Joe Quesada!

This is yet another week without that guy. You know which one, that guy I don't want to name, because then it wouldn't be a week without him. As a matter of fact, I didn't buy a single Marvel comic this week (hence this week's title). Unfortunately, I completely forgot to buy Superman Confidential. I inadvertently deprived myself of Tim Sale art. What was I thinking?

52 Week 47: Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake and Diana not yet Prince all find themselves in Nanda Parbat this week. Apparently Bruce got his demons cut out of him and it didn't work out too well...or something. I'm not sure I really get it. Then there's a lot of stuff with Manheim trying to kill Batwoman again. I am so not interested in that. I don't think Batwoman has a personality beyond lip stick lesbian. And Nightwing's crush, or whatever, on her is just silly. It's just like, "Oooo...red head in a Bat costume. Me like." At the end of the issue, Wonder Woman learns that making mistakes is normal and human and that it has given her wisdom. On the last page, Bruce Wayne smiles. It's weird and I don't like it. The smiling, that is. The issue itself is OK, but not anything really special.

Action Comics #847: This is a fill in issue, but it's a pretty darn good one. It's a nice little story that illustrates just how heroic Superman actually is. Dwayne McDuffie does a great job of bringing emotion and meaning to what is essentially a meaningless little one-off story. The art helped a lot. Renato Guedes does some really beautiful things in this issue. The star drive on Superman's spaceship is gorgeous, and I absolutely love the way he draws Superman. I was going to comment on the colorist too, which I never do, but then I notice that that was Guedes too. Basically, if all this issue was was really pretty, I think it would have been worth picking up. I always welcome the pretty pictures. There's a decent story here too though, and McDuffie writes these characters really well.

Batman #664: This issue picks up right after Batman defeated all those ninja man bats and all that stuff with his son. It would have been a lot better if I remembered that stuff. There's a whole lot of stuff with murdered prostitutes and possible police corruption involved in that. Plus there's a really huge dressed up like Batman who beats the crap the real Batman and a lot of call backs to the cop from Morrison and Kubert's first issue who shot the Joker in the head while dressed as Batman. It's all kind of crazy, and no necessarily in the good, ninja man bat sort of way. It's interesting though and I'm looking forward to seeing where all this goes. There's some fun stuff too. I enjoyed Bruce Wayne's entire date with Jezebel, especially when he threw his ski pole at the paparazzi helicopter. The whole dead parents exchange at dinner was pretty random though, and Bruce saying "I got over it" may be the most unintentionally funny line of the week. Sure you did, Bruce. Equally random was Batman talking to the hookers when he was back in Gotham, but random in a good way. Apparently, he knows them all by name, and I would like to point out that that technically wasn't a "no" he gave the one who offered him a freebie, so much as a "not now."

The Brave and the Bold #1 and 2: I always want to call this title The Bold and the Beautiful. Anyway, I didn't buy this title at first, but I finally gave in to peer pressure and all the positive buzz. I'm glad I did. It's just good, old fashioned superheroing, and a lot of fun. That's something we haven't been getting too much of recently, and I'm always happy to see it. Some of the stuff in issue #2 between Green Lantern and Supergirl was a bit icky, but at least Kara came off less slutty and more like a normal teenager who has an inappropriate crush on an older guy. We've all been there. And points to the amazing George Perez for being able to make Kara look more adorable than slutty, despite the fact that she's still wearing that awful costume. I also like how the one team up flows into the next. I can't wait to see Batman and Blue Beetle. I don't know anything about Blue Beetle, but from the little bit we got of them together in #2, it looks like it should be interesting. I assume that in the next issue, we will also see who is going to be teaming up with Supergirl in issue #4. Someone's going to have to come and help her out, after all. I'm also really intrigued with this book that they're after. It seems like it might have something to do with the Crime Bible from 52. Good stuff.

Fables #59: Honestly, this issue just kind of bored me. I didn't really care about any of these questions, and as far as vignettes go, the little character stories featured at the end of the issues during the arc before the one with Bigby, Snow and the cubs (sorry I can't remember the name, and I'm too lazy to look it up) were much better. I would have preferred to see an entire issue of stories like that. I think the next arc is going to be about Fly Catcher. I'm looking forward to that.

Wonder Woman #6: Uhg. I grow more and more convinced that the editors at DC and Marvel do absolutely nothing. Over at Marvel, we have all the inconsistencies at the end of "Civil War," in addition the total inaccuracies over in Amazing Spider-Man (Aunt May's maiden name being Fitzgerald (poor Ben Reilly is totally forgotten by them, isn't he?) and Peter giving up the black costume because "it sent the wrong message" instead of because his wife begged him to), and here we get a Diana that bares absolutely no resemblance to the one we saw during Heinberg's run. Is this because Picoult is a best selling novelist and they don't want to criticize her work? I can't help but think it's just going to backfire horribly.

Anyway, I'm a fan of the return of Diana Prince. All that goddess stuff is what has always kept me away from Wonder Woman, but instead of focusing on the actual issues of identity, and the challenges of creating a persona separate from Wonder Woman while remaining true to herself, Picoult chose to focus on lame fish out of water gags that weren't funny and managed to make Diana look like an idiot. She even inadvertently managed to make Batman look stupid here, since in issue #2 we learned that he set up Diana's new identity and got her the job at Metahuman Affairs, yet here we learn that she has a blank resume and no credit cards. How do you set up a new identity without providing a background and credit history? Batman would think of those things. Hell, Diana would think of those things. The crying was really bad too. Would Batman or Superman cry because people don't like them or they're having a bad day? Well, Superman might (I've seen that guy cry because Batman wouldn't talk to him), but Batman wouldn't and neither should Wonder Woman. She's a freakin' Amazon. Let's have a little stoicism. Also, writers of all mediums need to stop using the Starbucks has weird names for its drink sizes joke. If you go into a Starbucks and order a small coffee, they will give you the equivalent of a small coffee and inform you that it's called a tall Americano. It's that easy.

Also, what is up with Nemesis? He's acting really whiny, not to mention like a total Wonder Woman fanboy. All the "you suck, I wish I could hang out with Wonder Woman" crap is just annoying. He reminds me of bad Lois Lane characterizations, or Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman television series, which is probably the point. It was fun there though, because at least there we got a sort of tongue in cheek acknowledgment that he was an idiot. Possibly the most annoying thing about this issue was Diana's repetitive inner monologue though. Does Picoult think comic book readers are idiots? Considering she has said in numerous interviews that her son is an avid comic book reader, and that she went to college with Jim Lee and is friends with him, one would think she would know better. Then again, I don't know her son, and Jim Lee is under the delusion that Frank Miller's writing is still good, so maybe she doesn't have any reason to know better. There were some OK moments, but they're not even worth a mention. I'll keep reading though, at least for now.

In addition to being another week without that guy, this is also another week where I have no happy comic book news to wrap things up with. What's up with that? However, we can all be happy about the fact that this Wednesday we are getting not one, but two Joss Whedon scripted comic books. It is going to be LEGENDARY!

On a final note, I'm trying to come up with a title for my weekly comic book reviews that I can use every week, instead of just giving it a random title, though I will still probably give it a subtitle of some sort related specifically to that week's comics. I want it to be something cool and fun though. Any suggestions?

Can We Please Rethink All These Remakes?

According to this Dark Horizons article (which I found via Kryptonsite), there is a new, and rather horrifying, addition to the ever growing ranks of 80s films. Apparently the youth of the 21st Century simply could not survive without a version of Teen Wolf to call their very own.

That's right. They're remaking Teen Wolf.

I'm not even that pissed about this. I just don't get it, and I don't get it on a lot of levels. As much as I loved the movie as a child - a love supported entirely by the universal appeal Michael J. Fox had to all little girls and the typical lack of taste associated with my age at the time and the decade - it's not a very good movie. It's actually a pretty bad movie. It's certainly a bad werewolf movie. He doesn't even kill anyone.

Now, I have long said that the best remakes are the ones that take movies with good ideas and bad executions, and do them better. The 2001 version of Ocean's 11 is a prime example of a great remake. The original film, could have been good, but aside from having the coolest cast ever (I'm talking the entire Rat Pack and then some), it has nothing much to offer. I don't even think I've ever been able to sit through the whole thing. The remake, on the other hand, has an equally high profile, if far less cool, cast, plus a fun and exciting script and a director at the top of his form. (I always find it ironic that the 2001 Ocean's 11 is what I always use as an example of a remake that should be made, while Ocean's 12 is always one of my examples of sequels that should never have been made.) Well, I would agree that Teen Wolf had a poor execution, but I'm not even sure it was a good idea. Even if it was a good idea, it's certainly not an original idea.

In case you don't remember, I'll give you a rundown of what Teen Wolf was about:

• Awkward and unpopular teen develops an ability that suddenly makes him popular
• Teen lets sudden popularity go to his head
• Teen becomes a total jerk and neglects his true friends for his current gang of hanger ons
• Teen learns valuable lessen, fights bully, reconnects with dorky unpopular friends and ditches his hot and popular girlfriend for the the cute and loyal best friend who has always had a crush on him.

I saw the 2000s' version of this movie. It's called Sky High, and it's actually really good. You should rent it. Not being a teenager anymore, I don't watch as many teen movies as I used to, but I'm willing to bet Sky High is the only movie from this generation with that exact same plot either. So why exactly do we need a remake of Teen Wolf? What exactly could be the appeal of such a movie in light of the fact that there are so many others like it?

Oh right, the Teen Wolf remake is going to be about a girl. That makes all the difference. I hope it stars Amanda Bynes, because I just don't think anyone else could pull of such a unique role. Except for maybe Hilary Duff, or Ashlee Simpson. It's deffinitely time for her to make her big screen debut. She might have trouble grasping the concept of ADR though, since it's pretty much the opposite of lipsynching.

It just seems to me that if they really wanted to do yet another variation on this theme, they could have done it without remaking yet another mediocre 80s film. Is everyone in Hollywood so creatively bankrupt that they couldn't come up with a different ability for this girl to develop? Couldn't she become psychic or turn into a gazelle or anything other than becoming a werewolf (or a witch, because that's been done too). I have to admit though, considering how much hair removal is associated with a girl's coming of age, the idea of a teenage girl that becomes popular because of some rather extreme hair growth amuses me to no end. Time to throw out those pink razors, girls.

On a sidenote, poor Tom Welling. Is he doomed to a film career that consists entirely of crappy remakes? That's too bad. Surely anyone who can manage to make Smallville's version of Clark Kent even remotely likeable (and Tom Welling's really had his work cut out for him the past couple of weeks) deserves better than this? He's not even the star of this one. Oh God, and I certainly hope they aren't going to try and pass him off as a teen. The nineteen or twenty he's supposed to be on Smallville is ridiculous enough. Seeing him in a high school would be enough to produce giggle fits.

Edited to add that it appears that the Tom Welling connection is just one of those vicious internet rumors. I'm relieved.

The Name's Plissken!

So, it's announced a while ago that a remake of Escape from New York is going to be made with 300's Gerard Butler as Snake Pliskin. Well, now I've found this Q&A with Kurt Russell on EW.com. Basically, Kurt's not happy about it, which I would normally dismiss as an overly developed sense of entitlement, and that's exactly what a lot of his comments are. After all, everyone's movies are getting remade. Why should his roles be sacred? And is he actually getting pissy over the fact that The Thing is being remade? The version of The Thing he was in was a remake. So yeah, get over yourself Kurt Russell. But also, you're absolutely right Kurt Russell.

That doesn't make much sense. Does it? Let me explain.

I don't really think that actors have much of a right to complain about their movies being remade. I certainly don't think that a guy who stared in the remake of The Poseiden Adventure has a right to complain about it. I think it sucks that so many remakes are being made, but if Hollywood will let Gus Van Sant do a crappy remake of Psycho, then I hardly think the works of John Carpenter should be off limits. However, certain roles simply cannot be recreated. Do you really think that any other actor could fill the shoes of Harrison Ford as Han Solo or Indiana Jones? And I know I would have absolutely no interest in the Evil Dead remake if we had not already been assured that there will be no character named Ash. Now, Kurt Russell is no Bruce Campbell, but he's absolutely right in that he is Snake Plisken. I love Gerard Butler - he's sexy and cool and talented and totally reminds me of Sean Connery - but, as hot as he might look in an eye patch, I am not going to see that movie. I'll wait until someone casts him in a remake of Outland or Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

Although, if the movie turns out to be really awesome, like the Dawn of the Dead remake that I refused to see and then saw and it was awesome, I will completely reverse my opinion on this.

So, what characters do you think couldn't possibly be recreated by different actors?

Scout Attacks! week 4: Hells Bells

This week's comic book post is 100% free of that guy who you know I don't like but whose name I won't mention because then this post wouldn't be 100% free of him.

52 Week 46: Mad scientists are fun, and whoever came up with the excellent idea of putting them all on an island should be given a raise or something. I have to assume that the writers are going somewhere with Veronica at this point, since Black Adam completely over looked her and she just wandered off. Considering the population of the island, the DCU could probably use a cool, femal mad scientist. It was also pretty sweet the way Morrow spent the whole issue bidding on-line and then took out Black Adam by himself, with a remote control. I feel bad for Black Adam though. I'm still rooting for him to kill 'em all. Also, Lex obviously just established reasonable doubt right before his arrest, which I think explains how he was found not guilty at the beginning of the "Up, Up and Away" Superman arc.

Birds of Prey #104: This was seriously fun. I think I'm going to have to get the Villains United and Secret Six trades. I'm really loving Barda too. The Huntress and Catman interaction was great too. I'm looking forward to more of that. When the first issue in an arc includes licking and meatball throwing, you just know things are going to be wild. The last page was apparently pretty major, but since I am new to the DCU, I have no clue about any of that. Someone's not dead any more, which is nice for her fans, and bad for people who hate it when comics bring people back to life. I just like good stories and characters. I wish I knew who the guy on the motorcycle was too. As much as I love this title, somethimes I get confused because I don't know the characters, but things tend to clear up pretty quickly, so I'm not bothered by it.

Detective Comics #830: I had completely forgotten that this was going to be the continuation of the story in #829 and not a Dini story. That probably says something right there. It was entertaining enough, but I would really like it if writers, and not just comic book writers but all writers, would just stop wrapping up their lame politically topical stories with trite lessons on how we should all just get along. Anyway, Batman saves the day, the Mad Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight falls to his death and cliched lessons that were taught better by Sesame Street ensue. Cool cover though. Next issue, we get Dini back, and he's bringing Harley Quinn with him. I knew he wouldn't have been able to do the entire run without her.

X-Men First Class #7: Man I love this book. Even this issue, which was probably my least favorite of them all, just put a huge smile on my face. I think this may have been the first issue that directly references events from the early comics, which is cool. Another nice touch was how every time anyone mentioned The Brotherhood of Mutants, Bobby would interject "Evil" at just the right point. As for the plot, it centers around Angel and Scarlet Witch and their ill fated romance, or rather ill conceived, since they are very obviously wrong for eachother. Anyone could tell you that a rich boy, like Warren, and an orphaned gypsy with a domineering brother, like Wanda, just aren't going to work out long term. Their both really pretty though, so their pairing makes perfect sense in that teenage sort of way. It's cute, but of course Pietro does not approve and a certain amount of chaos ensues and a playground gets destroyed. It's all OK in the end though, because Bobby saves the day by with snow and ice slides for everyone to play with. More comics should end like that.

Amazing Spider-Man #539: This is the book I've been waiting a long time for, as there's been so much hype for the return of the black costume being more than just a gimmick even though he's been wearing the black costume in all his other titles and nothing has changed in how Spider-Man is being written. Let me just say from the start that it is just a gimmick, and there are a few key points that make that so completely clear. There's just no way I can buy Peter simply hiding his black costume at the top of a building, and even if I could, I certainly cannot buy it being held there by his webbing for so long. That stuff only lasts for a couple of hours before it dissolves. Did Peter make special long-lasting web fluid just to stick the costume up there? It's just too huge a contrivance. As contrivances go though, it's pretty damn effective. I may not be able to buy the set up that allowed for Peter to put the black costume back on, but I certainly believe the motivation for it. That's the important thing though, and it's what is going to make this storyline work. Reading this issue, I was reminded of why I do really like Straczynski writing Spider-Man. While some of his stories have been downright terrible, and many are just forgettable, he just really gets this character. I think the only time I had a huge problem with his characterization was during the whole debate over whether to unmask or not, and that was mostly just because Gwen Stacy did not come up once. This is much more of the Peter I was expecting to see after Aunt May got shot. (Now we just have to get all the other writers to stop writing him as if nothing has happened.) I think Garney's art was especially good in this issue too. I love the cover, and I'm not even really a big fan of the black costume. (I'm a traditionalist.) The one thing I don't get is how they could name this whole event after an AC/DC song. Is that really a good way to get taken seriously? I wouldn't think so, but I figured I'd give it a try too.

That's all for this week. I don't have any happy news to finish up with this week, but I bought Justice League Unlimited season 2 and Batman Beyond season 3 on DVD today and finally got to see 300 today, so I'm pretty happy.

Scout Attacks! week 3: Iron Isn't Just His Suit, It's His Cross

Please tell me I don't have to explain that title. Sorry the reviews are late this time around, but I was doing other stuff. Also, I had to write them over the course of two nights.

Superman #660: I could have done without this issue. It was entertaining enough, but I certainly wouldn't have missed it if I had...uh...missed it. I didn't really like the art either. Also, the page where the Prankster dumped the money all over the city with his picture on it reminded me of the 1989 Batman movie. "I want my face on the $1 bill."

New Avengers #28: Luke Cage is awesome. Jessica Jones is even awesomer (it's totally a word). Even Wolverine knows this to be true. Speaking of whom, why is he even there? He's a mutant. This whole Registration Act thing doesn't apply to him. Dr. Strange is OK, but not nearly as awesome as he is in Brian K. Vaughn's Dr. Strange: the Oath. Spider-Woman is, sadly, kind of dumb in this issue, but I guess I can't blame her for wanting to believe her best friend. The pro-Regs pull the most despicable stunt to capture the New Avengers in this issue. Really. Explain to me how they are not evil. Also, the whole flashback to explain how they got out of America is still leaving a lot of questions unanswered. How did the New Avengers end up hanging out at Dr. Strange's house? How and why did Jessica Jones and the baby get back from Canada? Can someone explain to me, a person who is completely unfamiliar with Iron Fist, if this guy has a distinct personality? He traditionally hangs with Luke Cage, right? That means he has to be cool, but I'm not getting any sense of who he is here. Another problem is that despite the fact that black isn't just supposed to be Spider-Man's costume, it's his mood, he's being written exactly the same. I feel like he should be more angry. I don't mind the humor, because he's Spidey and he's going to mask the pain with humor. It's what he does, but I feel like that sense of anger should be coming across too. Also, where's MJ? I suppose she might be sitting at Aunt May's bedside (it would certainly be nice if someone were), but she's just as likely to get arrested as Peter is, if only as a way to get to Peter. I still think it would have been way better if, instead of this whole Aunt May getting shot thing, they did a story where Peter sent Aunt May and MJ to Canada to hang out with Jessica and the baby. I would have totally bought that Civil War tie-in mini series. It would have been like the Odd Couple, except with hot chicks instead of Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, a stern but loving Aunt character, and a baby. Hell, they should pitch that to NBC for a fall 2007 sit-com. My last little gripe is that, while I really like Leinil Yu's art, all his women look exactly the same. It doesn't help that three of them even have the same hair color. I think that an artists ability to draw distinctive looking women should be taken into account when choosing one for a team book, but then I guess Marvel would have to find new artists for both their Avengers titles.

52 Week 45: How pimpin' is that cover? JG Jones rocks! Is it just me, or does Bruno Manheim look like Josef Stalin? I should have scanned a picture and included it here, but I'm far too lazy. Just trust me. He looks like Josef Stalin. That just makes me think of the Josef Stalin from "The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account. "THUMBS UP FOR EVIL!" I hope at the end of 52, Manheim runs off with Tuun-La. This hasn't really been a review of the comic, has it? Oh well. I still say "Kill 'em all, Black Adam!"

Fables #28: I think this may have been one of my least favorite issues of Fables ever, not that that really means much, since I still really enjoyed it. It's just a bit underwhelming after that last, absolutely stellar, story arc. Also, sometimes I just feel like Bigby suffers a bit too much from Wolverine Syndrome. He's getting to be too cool. Too unbeatable. I think it's time for him to get his ass kicked, just so the readers don't get too secure in his supremacy at everything. I also think it's time for Snow to do something other than worry about Bigby and/or her cubs. (What? That's what they are.)

Wonder Woman #5: While I'm still pissed about how all the delays have screwed this book over, and that we're not getting the final part of the Heinberg/Dodson story, I'm really glad DCU manned up and gave us something here. I enjoyed the story quite a bit too. I know they're a comic book cliche, but I always enjoy stories about how a superhero can make a difference not just through their actions, but also through the example they set for others. If we are supposed to believe these characters are inspirational figures, then every once in a while that idea needs to be reaffirmed by actually showing them inspiring others. I loved seeing how Diana empowered those women. I'm a bit confused by the ending, since this was supposed to be a one-shot fill in story, but I like the moral complexity of the stories they are telling in this series. And we still got a Dodson cover, despite the fact that they didn't do the interior art. It's gorgeous.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #1: I'm going to try and post something a bit more in depth about this, so for now I will just leave it with my one word review: AWESOME!

Did you expect it to be anything else?

Civil War: The Confession: And now we return to the continuing adventures of Iron Fascist... I know I said I didn't want to ever buy another comic with him in it again, but I saw the preview pages for this and I wanted to see Captain America bitch him out. It made me very happy. Cap's characterization here was a bit too Ultimized, but I don't mind. Iron Fascist was being a total asshole. I do have to admit though, that when Bendis writes Tony Stark, I like him a lot more than in any of the other characterizations I have read during this whole thing. He's still the bad guy, but he's a sympathetic bad guy, like the way some authors write Magneto. He's wrong, but I get why he's doing it, and I can sympathize with what he must be feeling about this whole thing. (It's a good thing I read this before New Avengers though, because what him and the rest of the pro-Regs did in that issue really killed my sympathy.) Still, I'm sure the fact that Tony didn't take a drink through this whole thing would have been cold comfort to Cap, y'know, if Tony had mentioned it to Cap when he was alive. Something that did bother me was Iron Fascist's reiteration of Joe Quesada's standard party line that he knew he'd be the bad guy because everyone roots for the underdog. That's not why I think he's the bad guy. It's the Machiavellian tactics that make him the bad guy. Last I checked, heroes don't normally believe that the ends justify the means, and Tony admitting that it wasn't worth it now is completely meaningless unless he does something to make it right.

OK, as I do every week, I'd like to end on a positive note. X-Men First Class is going monthly in June! Believe it or not, this mini series has been my favorite X-book for the last few months. It's fun and refreshing, and it shows how wonderful those original characters were before crappy storylines ruined them. Jeff Parker won my heart when I read this article, where he said, "And frankly I want to show that Scott Summers is not a dick." (I know he's not a dick, Jeff, mostly because I pretend the Morrison run never happened. I'm pretty good at it too, until I see that Beast looks like a cat. Stupid Morrison!) Best of all, it has Marvel Girl! I miss Jean so much.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm not Irish, and I'm not even particularly fond of St. Patrick's Day, but I simply cannot let the day pass without watching The Quiet Man. Every time I watch it, I long to visit the Emerald Isle. It's one of my favorite films of all time, and in my opinion, it's probably the best performance that John Wayne ever gave. There's so much subtlety to it, and Shawn Thornton so completely different from any other character he ever played. It's also one of John Ford's finest films, which is saying a lot, since he has to be one of the greatest directors of all time. Maureen O'Hara is wonderful too - beautiful and strong. I think I like the supporting characters the best though. Whether they be yelling like Protestants or giving Shawn a branch to beat his wife with, they're all so funny and interesting, they make me wish I lived in Inishfree. Most importantly though, it features the best fight scene in film history:

Scout Attacks! week 2: Just Because I Haven't Read It, Doesn't Mean I Don't Have an Opinion On It

It's that time of the week again, comic book reviews from my pull list. YAY! You're excited right? And after that, I've got some assorted other comments. It was a light week. So, let's get to it. I'll start with the big one...

Captain America #25: OK, so I didn't actually read this one. My comic book shop was sold out by the time I got there. I tried to avoid spoilers until I was able to get my hands on a copy, but that proved impossible. This is why I hate when comic book stuff gets mainstream media attention. All those people who give me weird looks on the train for reading comics start thinking that something is going to be worth money and they buy up my damn comic books and plaster the events all over CNN.com. Look people, he's coming back. Still, I'm going to go on record as saying it sucks. I know what you're going for Marvel. Death of liberty, blah, blah, blah. I know I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. This is not why I read superhero comics!

Mighty Avengers #1: I didn't read this one either. I was going back and forth on buying it. I really wanted to see the return of thought bubbles. Honestly. That was why I wanted to read it. I think thought bubbles are cool. If I ever write a comic book, it's going to have thought bubbles. Finally, after deciding that I was in fact going to buy it, after reading several good reviews, I was about to pick it off the rack and then I saw Iron Man. I don't think I will ever be able to read a comic with that guy in it again.

Justice League of America #6: Wow! It's hard to believe it's been six issues already. Let me rephrase that. It's hard to believe that so little actually happened in this whole six issue story line. What were there? Three issues of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman sitting around a table gossiping about the other superheroes? It's not so much that I didn't enjoy it the storyline. I did. I just think it could have been told in three issues. As it is, for everything that happened, everything's back at zero, so the whole thing seemed kind of pointless anyway. I really felt sorry for Red Tornado though, so he at least has earned my good will for a while. I'm still not sold on the other characters, especially Vixen. She lost me in the first when she walked into a trap because The Question sent her a note and she though he wanted a date. That was just dumb. Since then she has mostly just confused me. I did appreciate that there was less of the characters calling eachother by their first names in this issue, but I think that was more for lack of characters actually addressing eachother. I wish Meltzer would cut back on the narration also. I hope he doesn't do that in his Buffy Season 8 storyline. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm fairly neutral on this book. I'll keep reading in the hopes for more cool Black Canary stuff.

Detective Comics #829: How come the fill in writer gets to break the stand alone story rule? Or did I miss something and did Dini finish his run? Anyway, this wasn't that great. I can't help but feel that stories like this are a bit misguided. It was OK though. The pacing was good and the tension pretty high. It was nice to know the context for Simone Bianchi's cover. Liquid explosives. Right. I never would have guessed that. It looks kind of...pornographic. Eh, that's pretty much the most interesting thing about this issue.

52 week 44: Page two and there's the half eaten corpse of the cripple kid. Nice. Then there's some really cool action. Well, first Sobek turns out to be one of those villains who won't shut up. Fortunately, Black Adam kills him. (were we supposed to feel bad for him when we saw the pain induced fear? Sense his humanity and therefore the wrongness of Black Adam killing him? Didn't work.) Then there's some really cool action. Black Adam takes out the Four Horsemen of Apokalips, but not before Isis gets taken out by Pestilence. I knew that was going to happen eventually, but I'm still disappointed. I really liked Isis. Anyway, before she dies, Isis reverses her anti-killing stance and tells Black Adam to avenge her and Osiris. Personally, I'm not one of those people who think that superheroes should be allowed to kill people, but when the bad guys are forming a crime based religion and are capable of starving out an entire country, then they go and kill Black Adam's newfound family, it's rather hard to argue against it. I'm totally on Black Adam's side in the upcoming World War III thing. I probably won't read it, but I'm still pulling for him. Kill 'em all, I say. Also, Rene Montoya gets handed The question mantle, but that's a foregone conclusion and not very interesting. Another amazing cover by JG Jones too. That's always worth pointing out.

I found this, which expresses something that I felt pretty strongly about from Civil War #7. I would just add that, coming after Tony Stark telling Maria Hill to get him coffee, I didn't take kindly to him calling (I can never remember this character's name) the mother of the kid who died at Stanford "sweetheart." It's jarring too, since it does seem so blatantly out of character for Tony. That doesn't make me hate him or this story, or Mark Millar's writing, any less though. I know I'm in the minority here, but I think Maria Hill is a great character. I don't like the things she does, or how she acts, but I think it was really interesting that she was a woman doing a man's job. She was acting the way she had too, and she didn't get any respect for it. The institutionalized sexism that she was up against was obvious, and I was disappointed that she willingly gave up her position in New Avengers #25. Now I think maybe it was Bendis' way of letting the character he created go out with some dignity. Too bad Millar took it away with one stupid line.

Newsarama has a report up on two panels from WonderCon: "Girls Kick Ass!" and "Gender and Genre." There was some pretty interesting stuff said, and I think Phil Jimenex especially made some interesting points. It makes me a bit upset that I have never read any of his stuff, especially on wonder Woman. That's what trades are for though, right?

Also from Newsarama, according to their report on the WonderCon '07: DCU: Great Expectations Panel, it looks like I am going to have to start reading Green Arrow soon, since Black Canary and Green Arrow are going to get engaged. I read somewhere else that the title of the book was going to change to Green Arrow and Black Canary, or something like that. I'm glad. Marvel should have done that for Storm when she married Black Panther. (Storm is the better known character, after all.) I just hope Judd Winick writes her well. He was at the "Girls Kick Ass!" panel, so I guess he at least cares about writing female characters well. Gail Simone mentioned in a recent interview that they asked her to co-write the series. That would have been awesome, but she didn't think she could do that and continue to write Birds of Prey. Obviously, someone needs to clone Gail Simone, or get some more women writing comic books. I'd be happy with either.

Also mentioned at that panel is Frank Miller's Holy Terror, Batman. They're actually letting him do his Batman vs. Osama Bin Laden story? Is Dan DiDio on crack? That was possibly the worst idea I had ever heard. (Well, it was the worst idea I had ever heard until Spider-Man: Reign #3 and Spidey's deadly sperm. Now the two ideas are duking it out for which is more offensive. Misogyny versus the degradation of the efforts of the men and women in America's armed forces. Who will win? It's tough to say, since Andrew Kaare threw the obvious image referencing of 9/11, but knowing Miller's penchant for making all women whores, it could go either way.) I'd like to think that comic book fans are better than that, and that they will avoid this like the plague. Then I remember that people are buying Spider-Man: Reign, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, Civil War, and any number of insulting books. I can't begin to tell you how ashamed I am of my hobby lately.

Wizard has a story about Buffy Season 8, where they talk to the writers of the first three arcs (Whedon, Brian K. Vaughn and Jeph Loeb) where Jeph Loeb shares this bit of information: "There were times I enjoyed 'Angel' more than I enjoyed 'Buffy.' That may just be a male thing; sometimes Joss’ feminist manifesto would get to me, whereas 'Angel' was just a big rollicking detective show with great characters." And this is why I can't get any really great female characters in comic books, people. I think that what Whedon did with his representation of women was great, and a real step in the right direction, but I would hardly call it a "feminist manifesto." I'd be disappointed, but then I remember that he spent years writing Lana Lang on Smallville.

Finally, since I always like to end on a happy note. I am really excited about the upcoming Superman: Doomsday and New Frontier animated direct to DVD movies. (I'm tired of finding the appropriate links, so you'll have to do that yourself.) Bruce Timm's involved, so I really don't think I'm going to be disappointed about them either. It is going to be a bit weird to hear new voices out of all the characters, though. I'll especially miss Kevin Conroy as Batman and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor, but I do find the voice casting that has been announced already very interesting. With Adam Baldwin as Superman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor and David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan, it's clear that Timm's love of the Whedonverse carries on. Now if we could just get Bruce Timm and Joss Whedon to work on a project together, it would be the best thing ever.