Luke Cage As Thor

God bless the superhero action figure customizing community.
He even has a peg on his belt to hang his hammer from.

Fangirl Fridays: The Underoos Edition

Welcome once again to "Fangirl Fridays," that fine magical place.

Ou Est Mas Evil?

Cyborg Superman

















or

Ragnarok?




















Cyborg Superman has the seniority, but Ragnarok has the cooler name.


Knight Rider Rides Again, This Time With Transformers

NBC is bringing back "Knight Rider" -- this time with evil transforming cars!

But the burning question is, who will play Michael Knight?

Who?












Who?










Who?











Who?












McDuffie on Diversity in Comics

From an excellent interview he's done with the BitTorrent blog:

BT: It seems that in an industry that’s based on pop culture, that things like race and sex would take a backseat…

DM: Well think about it, half the population is female, and how many female writers are there?

BT: Right exactly what I mean. It seems like that wouldn’t be an issue in this time. It’s 2007 how can that be going on?

Key Words Are Key

















Do you have any idea how many hits these two gave me over the last week?



Blasts From The Past: "Groundbreaking New Gay Superheroes"

CNN: December 9, 2002
"Marvel Comics plans to break new ground in the comic book industry by introducing the first openly gay title character in a comic book.

The character will appear in a revival of the 1950s title, "The Rawhide Kid." Marvel expects a February debut.

The new series pairs the original artist, John Severin, now 86, with Ron Zimmerman, a writer for the "Howard Stern Show."

The Rawhide Kid has been a Marvel character since the 1950s both as a main and a secondary character. However, it was not until Zimmerman approached Marvel with his idea of a homosexual Rawhide Kid that sexuality was mentioned in the discussion of the character.

and

CNN: June 2, 2006
"Kathy Kane's return as a socialite-turned-caped-crusader might not draw much attention outside the comic book world, but Batwoman's other secret is causing quite a fuss.

DC Comics says the character, who was brought in originally in 1956 as Batman's love interest, will be reintroduced as a lesbian as part of an effort to diversify its superhero roster. Kane is open about her sexuality with her friends, but has not come out to her family, executive director Don Didio said.

A quick Google search for "lesbian Batwoman" drew more than half a million hits with some blog posts calling it a sign of "the steady decline of our society," and others questioning whether a 5-foot-10-inch redhead in big boots and a skin-tight suit was a role model or a straight teenagers' fantasy."

"Aquaman," RIP

Well, the latest "Aquaman" series seems to be kind of cancelled. Mixed feelings, I helped edit the series way back for the first batch of issues. Our biggest problem with Aquaman was "reimagining" him -- trying to reposition him for today's readers. There was a really brief moment when we even toyed with the idea of making him subtextually bisexual. In the end, we settled for the water hand.

But in case DC is looking for ideas on how to reboot the character, may I suggest:

Flesh-colored Speedos and two-headed humanoid sea-horses. Gotta love 'em.

Lastly,

Teh Awesomeness:


Teh Not-So-Awsomeness:



No:




Bye, folks!

Occasional Reviews: Thor, Working-Class God

Thor #1-3: "Working Class God"

With Straczynski's "Thor" we might have our first Red State major superhero. But he is of the post-Katrina Red State -- disaffected, dejected, and mistrustful of Authority (i.e. G.W. & Tony Stark).

But first let's discuss the proper way to read the new "Thor" -- in chunks.

The first time I read issue #1, I pretty much wrote off the series as vacuous, self-indulgent pap.

It took Chris from Wild Pig Comics in New Jersey to convince me to give the title another chance -- and throwing in a free issue as part of the bargain.

So I waited to collect #1-3 and read it as a section of a graphic novel, rather than judge each issue separately. The effect was stunning.


Call me a "Marvel Zombie" or fangirl all you want -- call me naive.

But I really thought this book was a masterpiece.

Of course, part of the impressiveness is Olivier Coipel's art.

Holy God, this guy is talented.

Coipel's Thor is at once massive and possessing a delicacy of soul. And when his thunder god grips Iron Man by the neck, he captures the sheer terror of Tony Stark like no other artist has done in the several versions of the post-Civil War "Confrontation Scene."

Thor's sense of betrayal by Tony Stark and the U.S. government is key to understanding this new series; it is a sense of betrayal that echoes hauntingly through the rest of the book -- in flood-ravaged New Orleans, in the sleepy God-fearing town in Oklahoma that Donald Blake decides to settle in.


Thor is the living embodiment of the frustrated Mid-Westerner, the disenfranchised Southerner -- he appeals so much to fans exactly because Straczynski has remade the character as the champion of the working-class hero.

He is an Aryan god who has built his fortress in the middle of the Bible Belt, a fortress under scrutiny and possible danger by the government and populated by down-on-their luck lower-middle-class Red Staters, Red Staters who have woken up from the dream/nightmare of the last seven years to ask:

"...where were the heroes?"


As if by fate, my boyfriend changes the channel and I'm faced with G.W. & another presidential address.

"...tonight our moral & strategic imperatives won."

"...our strategy is working."

"...we kept the pressure on the terrorists."

He's bringing some of the troops home.

G.W. looks tired. Tony Stark is humiliated and forced to limp home with his offline armor.

And somewhere in Oklahoma is the New Kingdom...

"Asgard..."

The Case For "Thor"

I realize that many readers are finding the writing a little on the "meh" side, but --

I think a case can be made for picking up the new Thor based on Olivier Coipel's art.

Quite frankly, this is the best art of his career -- real bravura stuff -- and a powerful, majestic portrayal of the hero.

It is, as they say, a "future classic" -- so I may group this in the Alex Ross "Justice" category & pick it up for Olivier alone.

I may.

Thor Cast In New Avengers MovieNo, actually it's a dude at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade
I have other shots here

Covers That Don't SuckJSA #8: Non-anorexic body-type believably supports upper region. Says: "I'm a fierce, powerful female." Also says: "STOP LOOKING AT MY BREASTS!"

Outsiders: Five of a Kind Grace/Wonder Woman:
Two strong women doing superheroey things.
Wondy's crotch is totally exposed, but in a non-alluring manner.
Okay, the torso is a little masculine. Okay, Grace looks a little masculine.
But it's totally not sexually exploitative.

Thor #1. Pointed out to me by the omniscient Sammy. Mike Turner can still draw, the JLA boob thing was just a nightmare, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. Makes you wonder if the later JLA covers look a little rushed because he was going to knock this one out of the park <---only speculation, I'm sure totally not true.

Of course, bad covers make for better posts.
But it's not like I'm wishing for them or anything.