Though I typically skew toward hyperbole when I discuss anything, I will do my best to avoid such in this review so let’s get this out of the way right now: is Justice League the best comic book ever written? No. Is it horrible? Not at all. When it is read within the right context, it is a great book and absolutely worthy of kicking off the new DC Universe.
But remember that context is absolutely everything. Continue reading
After Ultimates 2, Millar stepped away from the Ultimate universe for a couple of years. During his absence, Jeph Loeb took over for Ultimates 3 and while it was a more traditional super-hero story, it still had some elements of super-hero mistakes coming back to bite the team.
During Ultimate Power, the Supreme Power universe crossed over into the Ultimate Universe. Nick Fury had been partially responsible for unleashing a powerful alien organism that nearly wiped out their planet and he was sentenced to prison in that universe. It seems a little ridiculous that this mini-series about alternate dimensions exists given the gritty and real nature of the original series of The Ultimates was during Millar’s tenure. Continue reading
I’m terribly excited for tomorrow that I can almost hardly wait. The last Flashpoint issue and the first Justice League have me chomping at the bit. I seriously cannot wait!
Then, Geoff Johns has to go and write this on DC’s Source Blog:
“While I was checking in for my flight yesterday from Los Angeles to New York I thought to myself, “Don’t check your bag.” I mean, it was pretty light and who checks their bag for a three-day trip? But I decided to anyway, almost embarrassed to tell the clerk who gave me a look as if to say, “You’re checking this?” I fumbled together a few words, thanking her and headed to the gate.
When the flight arrived at New York I was greeted by an airline worker who informed me my bag had been lost. But I didn’t panic (thankfully my notebooks and laptop full of the next several scripts of JUSTICE LEAGUE, GREEN LANTERN and AQUAMAN were in my backpack which was with me – the latest work being an outline on the second year of Justice League). My bag wasn’t that important. Being in New York was.
I’m in Manhattan to join everyone else tonight at midnight to celebrate the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 at Midtown Comics. A very different JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 than I would’ve ever imagined writing.
I’m known for stories that build off the rich continuity that DC has. So when the idea of an entire line-wide relaunch was discussed, I knew it would stir controversy, which I’ve never been a big fan of. I knew it would change characters I was already comfortable with. And I knew I would have to completely re-think how I was going to approach everything I was writing. But I also knew it was a chance for every writer and artist to turn their focus on the one other thing that makes DC great: its characters.
This is new. And new is scary. For all of us. We’re entering into uncharted waters.
But we have Aquaman to brave those waters.
And Batman. And Superman. And Frankenstein, Justice League Dark, Grifter, Swamp Thing, Batgirl, the Flash, Suicide Squad, Action Comics, Batman & Robin and many, many more.
It’s a challenge and a thrill to work on a relaunch for JUSTICE LEAGUE that explores these characters in a different way, spin GREEN LANTERN into a new direction starring its greatest villain Sinestro as the ring bearer and finally tackling AQUAMAN to answer that question no one knew needed answering: Who Sank Atlantis?
My bag showed up at 4 a.m. this morning. I think it’s because I believe in a better tomorrow.
I learned that from Superman.”
Great. Now I really can’t wait. :/
My big sister and me.
Springfield doesn’t get many real comic book conventions. Sure, we get the occasional trade show and that’s fine, but in terms of authentic comic book shows with guests, it just never happens.
And so, when I saw Rublecon on Facebook, I was a little skeptical. The only comic book shows I have been to in Springfield were at the Lamplighter Inn and they were sparsely attended with hardly any vendors worth spending money with. It wasn’t until I saw that my friend Jai Nitz was going to be there that I realized that it might be something more.
The moment that really got me, however, was when I came home Friday to find that my book Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide had finally shipped to me. It was at that moment that I knew that not only would I be attending Rublecon, but I would also have to have a table there. Knowing that I couldn’t support a table myself , I asked the incomparable Ross Payton to share a table with me.
Considering this was the first year for Rublecon, it was really well attended and I had a lot of fun hanging out with Ross, Jai, B. Clay Moore, and all of my friends who came to visit. I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by my booth to talk for a few minutes and I’d further like to thank everyone who bought the book. I really hope you enjoy it.
Greg Rucka has said something so concisely that I am jealous. Here it is and enjoy. Continue reading
After numerous issues of in-fighting and build up, all of the pieces are in place for Millar’s endgame and he takes the series to its only logical conclusion – America’s arms race backfires. It’s the culmination of his entire run as it shows that America’s worst enemy is itself. Maybe it’s a bit presumptuous by showing America as being attacked only after it had built up its super-hero fighting force suggesting that our enemies only hate us because we are war-mongering and have brought it upon ourselves, but it succeeds in giving the Ultimates some villains to hit. Continue reading
Of the three Punisher films that have been made, most would probably put this film as the best and while it is certainly . . . what’s the word for it . . . the most “movie-esque,” Tom Jane’s The Punisher is my least favorite of the three.
Yeah, I like Punisher: Warzone better, but we’ll talk about that movie next week. Continue reading
Volume 2 of the Ultimates (sometimes referred to as Season 2) is not only vastly superior to the first, but I would argue that it is the best work of Millar’s career. It’s a fascinating meditation on the two most powerful themes in the first volume – military industrialization and the self-perpetuating super-hero. The theme of celebrity is still present in this volume, but it is far more foreboding and focused on the consequences of fame rather than the relatively simplistic theme of fame being a corrupting force.
Volume 2 begins with Captain America invading Iraq. He saves American tourists who were held captive. Symbolically, this connects to the first issue of the first season. In that issue, Captain America battled Nazis and it was clear which side was good and which was evil. Millar begins season 2 in a manner that is both patriotic and critical of the situation. Cap is shown as being heroic, but he is illegally in Iraq. Nick Fury openly admits that The Ultimates were designed to protect America, and further admits that he lied. With their resources being used in a foreign country, Cap isn’t a hero, but an invading force. Continue reading
Miles Prower is a world-class gentleman, philosopher, movie reviewer, and former manager of the Pottery Barn. He has resided in Springfield his entire life and he thinks his movie tastes are better than yours, and he’s always right.
Today’s Greatest Movie in the World: The Punisher (1989)
Movie audiences today take superhero films for granted. This year alone saw the release of five superhero films, but in 1989, they were far more rare. Yet, here is the little film that could. Continue reading
The last issue promised a battle between Thor and the combined might of the Hulk and the Thing and despite the lackluster run so far, this issue actually delivers in places. The fight choreography in between these three is really good in places and has managed to keep my interest.
Last issue, Tony Stark got drunk so that he could talk to Odin. My issues with Tony’s insistence on disbelieving of Odin’s existence still pervade this issue. Fraction is trying to go for the age old conflict between science and faith, but it just doesn’t work here for a couple of reasons:
1) Stark hangs out with Thor all the time. If they are gods, then surely he understands their power and capabilities by now. I mean, he did clone Thor in Civil War.
2) As I stated last month, the Asgardians are not gods at all, but aliens who have posed like gods. Sure, Fraction is trying for the metaphor, but it just doesn’t quite gel given all that we know about them. Continue reading
