Graphically Novel

2010-03-12T21:21:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates! I just moved to Korea to teach English. I hope to get back on the blogging horse soon!

Thanks for your patience, true believers!

Superman Vs. Batman

2010-02-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

Who would win in a fight: Superman or Batman—perhaps the cliché argument between comic nerds, the question has been around for ages and still inspires heated debate between casual and hardcore comic fans.

So, for the enrichment of my readers, I thought I would go ahead and start to compose a list of of some of the Superman and Batman brawls in recent memory.

--The Dark Knight Returns--

Scenario – Batman has a plan. This is never a good sign for Superman. It is hard to discuss this without the spoilers, but Batman’s giant pulsing brain once again lets things play out exactly as he intends. One thing is sure: this legendary comic is an excellent illustration of the balance of power between these foils: Superman always wins the battle. But Batman always wins the war.

Fair fight? – Not exactly. Batman is old as sin…

Awesomeness – totally awesome.

VICTOR:

--The Dark Knight Strikes Again--

Scenario – Batman, given ample planning time, is always going to come out on top. Some of the meta-arcs in recent memory have played around with the idea that Batman is TOO calculating, perhaps to a fault (I am thinking of the OMAC saga, specifically) but that premise doesn't really ring true. Batman is Batman because he can handle thing when the shit hits the fan. Always. Anyway, for you Batman fans, here is a lovely scene of the big fellah humiliating his Kryptonian buddy. My Batman-camp friends would not hesitate to frame this image and put it on their wall. It is probably one of the most graphic scenes of violence towards Big Blue in comic history. After having Green Arrow hit him with Kryptonite Napalm, the Flash light him up with landmines, Batman steps in to take the glory with a few well placed punches: in Superman’s words, Batman 'takes him apart like a high school science project.'

Fair Fight? – No. Batman has THREE other superheroes on his side.

Awesomeness – Extreme

VICTOR:

--Batman 612--

Scenario – Superman, under the control of Poison Ivy, comes after Ol’ Bats. Improvising with his surroundings, Batman blocks Superman at every turn. Turns out that Superman was fighting Poison Ivy’s control throughout the fight, holding back as best he could, so Batman’s victory is a little more hallow, though Bats reveals that he never comes to Metropolis without being prepared for a brawl with Superman in the form of his trusty Kryptonite ring. While there isn't as much action as one might like, there is no denying that Jim Lee is essentially THE comic book artist of this generation--the artwork is just amazing.

Fair Fight? – Nope, it is stated explicitly that Superman is holding back.

Awesomeness – pretty awesome.

VICTOR:

--Adventures of Superman 642--

Scenario – Under the control of Maxwell Lord, Superman believes he is brawling with the biggest baddies in his rogues gallery, but is in fact brutally beating Batman within an inch of his life. This is one of the instances were Superman gets a drop on old Batman which results in the latter in intensive care with Superman’s fingerprints imbedded in his skin. Superman, when not holding back, proves to be an overwhelming force but, frankly, with all those powers we shouldn’t be surprised. The real shame here is that all we get to see of the fight are those tiny faded holograms. I would have loved to see a full page spread of bat-brutalization, if only to balance out the graphic beatings that Batman has handed out in some of the previous examples.

Fair Fight? – I’m going to say no. While Superman was acting under his own volition (though he thought it was a different opponent) he did get the drop on Batman. While I’d normally just say that this is the element of surprise and quite fair, Batman’s ‘super power’ is his ability to plan and adapt. Superman essentially sucker punches him, so I’m not going to give him full credit

Awesomeness – not very awesome

VICTOR:

--Superman Batman 33--

Scenario – I swear, if there is one good reason to keep reading Superman Batman, it is that those two seem to fight each other just as often as they fight the badguys. Well, in this one, Batman is possessed by the alien force known as Blackrock. While he does look pretty badass, this issue just goes to show that traditionally, the more power Batman has the less likely he is to win.

Fair Fight? – Almost! Superman is fully powered and in his right mind. Batman has superpowers to match Superman's, but his intellect has been poisoned.

Awesomeness – Pretty awesome.

VICTOR:

--Superman Batman 56--

Scenario – Batman has stolen Superman’s powers and superman comes to try and reclaim them.

Fair Fight? – Well, the tables have turned. Batman, a little drunk with power, is for once the one to run in guns blazing. The parallels to Dark Knight Returns are a little too on the nose here—they even have a street lamp in the backdrop to drive the point home. I can’t give Superman full points here either, as he pulls a ringer in the end to save his ass.

Awesomeness - minimal. Honestly, this issue didn't really ring true. As I said, the premise of Batman going 'mad with power' never really sticks. It is pretty much the opposite of what we've come to expect of the character. As one of the few fully human characters fighting the good fight, he is especially appealing specifically because he is self-sacrificing and noble. While some comics successfully paint him, rather, as a mentally damaged psychopath out for revenge against the criminal world, it is pretty clear that that portrayal is a departure from what we expect. In a mainline title, it just seems stilted.

VICTOR:

--World’s Finest 294--

Scenario: I just… I can’t even look at this without laughing.

Losers: all of us.

Top Five Comic Book Costume Changes of the Decade

2010-01-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

One of the most identifiable characteristics of the genera has got to be the costumes. Outside of the circus, or perhaps Milan fashion week, you'd be hard pressed to find more ostentatious getups than in the pages of your favorite comic book. While these outfits tend to be iconic, that doesn't mean they are immune to change. It is not at all uncommon for superheroes to get little fashion updates, replacing the anachronistic with the chic, the ho-hum with the au courant. In the spirit of the new year, I thought I would put together a list of my top five favorite costume changes from the past decade. Read on, true believer, and feel free to let me know what you think in the comment section.

#5 Ultimate Nick-Fury

Nick Fury has never really been a comic book front-man—he functions far better as a man behind the scenes, the guy who's always holding more cards than you think. His aesthetic is something like Wolverine’s (though in a less entertaining way): a man out-of-time, more reminiscent of the kind of guy my father would have idealized in his youth. In the mainline Marvel titles, they’ve played this up, making him something like a Clint Eastwood character—a rough and tough sheriff, tough as nails albeit a bit old fashion. It probably says a great deal that, when casting for a live-action miniseries in the 90’s, they decided that the great David Hasselhoff would be the best representation.

Ultimate Nick Fury, on the other hand, is a modern rewrite. While they kept the iconic eye-patch, they’ve abandoned the weird 90’s obsession with inexplicable shocks of white hair. Rather than looking like a grizzled World War II vet, he looks like a grizzled, disillusioned Vietnam vet. Oh yeah, and he’s black now.

#4 Kitty-cat Beast

Okay, so, Beast used to look like a blue monkey. Due to a ‘secondary mutation’ he now looks like a blue kitty. At first glance it seems a bit arbitrary. Even in the comics it was hand-waved away: ‘Beast, you look like a kitten now.’ ‘Oh, it was a secondary mutation.’ ‘Oh, alright.’

Perhaps the writers simply realized that cats are better symbols of a feral, wild nature than apes, which fits in well with Beast’s ongoing inner struggle. While some part of me still misses the old Fox Kids cartoon look with its big swoops of Wolverine hair, a bigger part of me likes the idea of dressing my cats up in glasses and lab coats and pretending they are people.

#3 Victor Mancha - Victorious

I am not sure how many people actually read Runaways (and I wouldn’t recommend starting now: though it was an amazing comic, it seems its best days are behind it). If you were a fan in its heyday, though, you were treated to one of the most amusing Marvel comics in publication and the source of the canonical assertion that Captain America has bad breath.

Victor Mancha makes for an interesting member of the Runaways team, playing up many of the classic tropes: son of a villain, but a basically good kid, struggles against a dark destiny *coughcoughstarwars*. In the True Believers arc, we got a glimpse of his potential future as a villain--a villain with a cool costume and an even cooler name: Victorious (come on, that is clever). While this may not quite count as an alternate costume, it earns its place on the list for incorporating classical elements (domino mask), stylishness (black never goes out), and providing great art for what could have otherwise been a throw-away design.

#2 Iron Spidey

Iron Spidey was a simple formula: mix two parts Spider-man with one part Iron Man, stir until consistent, bake. Okay, so, the costume design left something to be desired: I’d thought we left shiny metallic heroes by the wayside in the 90’s but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. The suit came with all kinds of new bells and whistles, and like a Beowulfian heroic epic, there was an intense focus on the weaponry and the aggrandizement thereof. As is normal with with these kinds of things, the fan response was mixed but overall it wasn’t unwelcome—and like many costume changes it was never conceived of as permanent.

The best thing about Iron Spider was that the change was more than just aesthetic—it was symbolic. In Civil War (one of the best arcs in the past ten years) it made a very clear statement about just whose side Spider-man was on. As we’ve seen before with black-suit Spider-man or Scarlet Spider, it was an outward manifestation of the Character’s inner struggle. As a side note, Spider-man’s closet must be getting pretty damn full these days.

#1 The Flash from Dark Knight Strikes Again

One of the great things about comic books is that it allows the writers to be downright playful when they feel like it. While Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Strikes Again may not be the work of art that Dark Knight Returns was, you can tell that old Frank decided to cut loose and enjoy himself a bit more. The new costume for The Flash is wonderfully playful. From the over sized running shoes to the spandex Olympic-cut track suit, he just looks fast. Now that we have one Flash too many in the mainline DC titles, I for one wouldn’t mind one bit if one if, say, Wally West picked up this costume. Heck, I wouldn’t even miss referring to him as The Scarlet Speedster.

Stay tuned for the five worst costume changes!

-Reckless Enthusiasm

The Batman is dead! Long live The Batman!

2009-12-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

A pseudo-review for Battle for the Cowl and Batman and Robin thus far.

We get the allusion, now can we please have another 'iconic pose'?

If you’re only a casual reader, you might have missed this: Batman died. It isn’t much surprise that it hasn’t generated the kind of buzz and excitement that Superman’s death in 1992 did—superhero deaths (and resurrections) have become more common place than starlets ‘accidentally’ flashing their tender bits stepping out of limousines. But while the subject matter is old hat, it is proving to be a welcome treat amidst the reshuffled, refocused, and generally lost state of current DCU.

Of course, the loss of Bruce Wayne is not permanent. The ongoing popularity of the Batman films alone is enough to ensure an eventual ‘Lazarus moment’. Even within the comics themselves, the authors have feigned no weak suspense about whether or not Bruce Wayne will one day return to reclaim the cape. In fact, part of the pleasure of the series is the dramatic irony. In the wake of Final Crisis, some characters are stepping up while others are falling apart—the knowledge that they will sooner or later be forced to answer for their actions only makes the adventure sweeter.

I knew we were in for quite a show when the whole shebang kicked off in Battle for the Cowl. While much of the thematic ground has been covered before, they did it concisely and with style. We got to see a few different versions of Batman, and DC showed a keen awareness of what mistakes they intend to avoid: Jason quite obviously representing the failed Azrael/early 90's batman and Tim looking something like the friendly Animated Series Batman.

Tim Drake (the third Robin) and Jason Todd (the second Robin) as Batman

Dick Grayson (the first Robin) and Damien as Batman and Robin

After flying through Battle For the Cowl at a three-issue break-neck pace, we've gotten to the real meat. Batman and Robin, a new title, has kicked off wonderfully. The tension is high and Gotham city feels new and threatening. Dick is unsure and tortured enough to make an interesting lead and Morrison's writing, thus far, has made each issue a treat. Here is a brief list of my favorite bits thus far:

Levity and gravity in equal measure – With a flying Batmobile and even more circus-themed psychopath villains (hey, the formula worked before), the kitschiness would probably be over the top if it wasn’t so well balanced by witty dialog and a sharp plot. With Jason and Scarlet (the latter being the real star) acting as the perfect foils, Batman and Robin has started off with a bang.

Robin is an asshole – Damien, Batman’s illegitimate son, is really one of the best parts of the new series. A ten year-old cocky punk and a well trained assassin, Damien shows up on the scene looking for approval from a father who promptly dies. With Grayson taking him under his wing as robin pretty much just to keep an eye on him, their differences of opinion and general candor makes him a great source of dialog. He also functions as a constant reminder that Dick is not the man Bruce was.

Dick doesn’t want to be Batman – Essentially forced into the position, Dick has big shoes to fill. The artists have consciously drawn him smaller and leaner than the original Batman, the implications of which are plain. Always written as the best at combat and the poorest detective, Dick took the cowl simply to keep Gotham in one piece: he’s there to hold back the storm, and can't hope for much better.

Tim is falling apart – Hit by a one-two punch of his father and then Bruce’s deaths, Tim is the only one who refuses to believe Bruce is gone for good. We know Bruce will be back but within the context of the story, Tim is in a pretty tragic state of denial, and it’s driving him to dark places in his new Red Robin comic. As I said, the dramatic irony is sweet.

Fresh Villains (and a refocus on old ones) – In only half a year, we’ve seen three brilliant new villains: a retooled Red Hood, Professor Pyg, and The Flamingo. While Jason flipped pretty promptly from a real threat to just-kind-of-an-ass, it works. All in all, if they can keep up this pace, I’ve found my new favorite DC comic.

So far I really have nothing but praise for the new direction for Batman. If this is how it’s going to be, well… maybe old Bruce deserves to rest for a while.

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Merry Christmas, Comic Fans

2009-12-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Lois Lane Just Keeps Getting Hotter

2009-12-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

Have you ever asked yourself why, when Superman could no doubt have his pick of all of the ladies in the DC Universe, he choose to end up with Lois Lane? I mean, sure, she has a nice career going, a feisty attitude, but let's be honest: at first glance, she is not the strongest contender--

Yeah, I'd polish her tiara. I'd polish it hard.

Well, I've drafted a theory that I'd like to present here. There is one reason and one reason alone why Superman should be happy to wait a thousand years for Lois--to meet the standards of quality research and scientific rigor that I've set out to abide by, I will explain using this graph:

Exhibit A: Lois Lane in Superman #1 (volume 1, 1939)

Hotness factor: 3 out of 10

As you can see, apart from a receding hairline and a mild hunch-back, Lois Lane started off looking, well, alright I guess. I mean, she probably wouldn't frighten children on the street, but I would bet that the most powerful man on the planet could do better. But, of course he is Superman, so he may be aware of Lois' upward trajectory. One thing is sure though: it takes her a while to get there.

Exhibit B: Lois Lane in Superman # 250 (volume 1, 1972)

Hotness Factor: 4 out of 10

Okay, after about 32 years Lois has begun to look a little more like a human female. She has a tight little waist going on, which curves out into a booty that Sir Mixalot would approve of (it's wider than her shoulders!). While she still seems fond of that butch haircut, she's laid off the Pomade (and replaced it, in this case, with the favored headware of the Canadian Military Police).

Exhibit C: Lois Lane in Superman # 423 (End of volume 1, 1987)

Hotness Factor: 5 out of 10

Another fifteen years ticks by and as we can see in the legendary Alan Moore comic (I'd mistakenly said it was a Frank Miller comic, previously. Thanks for the correction Geoffrey!) "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow," Lois is cleaning up alright. Those lips look pretty sex, but the snaggle teeth she has sheathed in them, and the general impression of a massive under-bite, keep her from being the prime rib at the meat market. As one of my close friends so elegantly phrased it, "I'd hit it, but I wouldn't tell anybody."

Exhibit D: Lois Lane in Superman # 150 (volume 2, 1999)

Hotness Factor: 6 out of 10

This is about the decade when Super-champ finally decided to get hitched. The suddenly brunette Lois is starting to look decent enough, though she has taken on a pretty distinctively soccer-mom look. I think big blue realized that if he waited any longer, she would be out of his league. Please note that, not only is she getting hotter, but her actual character design is changing. Ever see Superman suddenly change hair color? Didn't think so.

Exhibit E: Lois Lane in Superman 219 (volume 2, 2005)

Hotness Factor: 9 out of 10

Lois' ascent on the "Hot or Not" scale, as indicated by my very science-y graph, accelerates as time goes on. Only six years post-soccer-mom, it is hard to believe this broad would choose a career in journalism when Victoria's Secret would readily give her a job. This is what the world's greatest hero should come home to. Regular readers will probably notice that DC comics is more frequently depicting her at home in her underpants. Way to play to the crowd, DC.

Exhibit F: Lois Lane in Superman # 222 (volume 2, 2006)

Hotness Factor: 10/10

Lois now looks about twenty years old, has the body of a sorority girl, and has mysteriously become Asian. She does, however, have those 1970's hips back--and wears them well. I can't even wrap my mind around what this broad is going to look like in twenty more years. As you can see, it has been a bit of a bumpy ride, but Superman is as wise as he is patient. After seventy years of dogging the same chick, he at long last has someone presentable to bring home to Ma and Pa. All that is left is to reap the benefits of his plan:

Enjoy your hottie, Superman. God knows you've earned her.

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Comic of the Month: Titans

2009-12-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

It is a special treat for comic fans to see older characters develop and take on a prominence that could not have been anticipated at their inception. This is always the hope (so rarely realized) when creating a new character or book—that it will hook the reader in the way that older established heroes have.

The Titans, a younger and less glamorous version of the the Justice League, is a comic which holds a special place in my heart for this reason. Through clever writing and careful, protracted development, the characters in Titans are almost like a private pleasure—as lesser known figures, or at least characters who don’t often get spotlight treatment, I enjoy a knowledge and connection with them that lesser-read comic fans, or even casual Superhero fans, do not enjoy.

This must be what it feels like to be one of “the old comic fans,” intimately acquainted with stories and character developments that newer fans are oblivious to. While I generally do not approve to the industry’s habit of making their stories inaccessible to newcomers, Titans avoids most of the pitfalls that go hand in hand with this practice. A new reader might not know the demon Trigon and his long history of tormenting the team members in their younger years, but there is still something there for them.

One of my main complaints is that the Big Events keep messing with the roster and robbing the book of its own private development. While I may be pleased to see Dick Grayson take up the mantle of Batman, I was deeply disappointed to see that this necessitated removing him from the team. Raven, too, seems to have dropped off the roster and moved back to the pages of Teen Titans (which would be forgivable if that title still held the kind of charm that it did only a couple years ago.)

DC has a terrible habit of giving new titles excellent openings and then dropping the best elements, writers and artists before it can really take hold. Let’s look at the amazing art that the comic opened with, and compare it to the current style:

It is my sincere wish to see The Titans take on the kind of prominence that the Justice League has. There is room for more than one Super Group, says I. It is no coincidence that many of Marvel’s big titles are team books (Fantastic Four, X-men, Avengers). In a way, this is my Comic of the Month for what it could be, what it has shown the potential to be, rather than what it is…

Things We're Tired of Seeing in Comics

2009-11-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Reading comics today, one can still see their humble pulp origins peering out from between the halftone dots. Comics have a history, a proud history, of exploiting every cliché in the book, inventing some, and in rare cases, inverting them to our pleasant surprise. To some degree, you could say that cliché is the medium in which traditional comics work. Just as when you go to the movies or crack open a novel, one expects a certain kind of experience from illustrated fiction.

Listen: it’s okay to try and deliver this experience but, by God, it’s okay to deliver more than this experience.

Even great stories are filled with tropes and idioms, and there's a reason for that: they work. Sometimes. When they fail or fall flat, they do so catastrophically—we’ve all seen a movie where we’ve been able to call the twists, predict the turns, guess the plot within the first twenty minutes. Comic books can be even more subject to these failings, the resolutions often predictable with prophetic accuracy.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t a place for tried-and-true formulas or appeals to nostalgia, but the great writers use these elements as the spice rather than as the substance. We're past the point where a comic can get by on action alone. It is time to man up, and embrace characterization. Comics are and always have been about escapism: we want to buy into the world, we want to feel sympathy, we want to get caught up with the excitement. One of the worst things that can happen is give the reader cause to say “Oh, this again.”

So here is a list of plots I recommend putting an embargo on for a couple years...

Type: "Oh, this again..."

Heroes going evil.

One of the stand-by tropes, you can count on any and all heroes to go evil (often possessed by some powerful, dark force) every few years or so. This is different than ethically ambiguous characters making poor choices or struggling with what ends justify what means. We are talking about out-and-out flip-flop to evil, circumventing the need for characterization all together.

See the Dark Phoenix saga, the Parallax arc, the Villain Eclipso.

Heroes disagree, decide violence and infighting is the answer.

often attributable to a misunderstanding, or a villain's psychology 101-level manipulations. As though our heroes don’t have a big enough rogues’ galleries as is, the writers decide that, periodically, their heroes need to be involved in high-school like in-fighting. When heroes have bold and explicit ideological differences it’s nice to see some friction; however, most current heroes are too developed for that. Trying to implant this by rewriting their relationships in one issue, or even one arc? We’re not going to buy it.

Hero refuses to cross "that line"

...so someone less idealistic does it - and everything turns out fine. Maybe the writer was trying to show how absolutely moral a character is, but when you go ahead and show that the solution WAS violence, the star comes off as a little naive. Let's have a little more subtle grasp of morality, shall we?

Plots steeped in ancient, boring continuity.

Yes, seeing our characters work through issues and plots that have long since been carefully constructed, cunningly positioned, and artfully explored is wonderful. What is not, however, is seeing narratives composed of the exhumed and rotting remains of passé plots (Final Crisis comes to mind). I am willing to forgive this if it is an interesting attempt at explaining or repairing ridiculous, vestigial elements that still hinder the development of a character or strain credulity. The introduction of Parallax in the Green Lantern titles is a good example of doing this well (for the most part): an entertaining explanation as to why the most powerful weapon in the universe won’t work on yellow has been in order for quite some time now.

Type: Sloppy Writing

As with cooking, the ingredients aren't the only thing that make a dish: presentation counts. The way a story is told can be just as important as the substance. Given the protracted and cyclical nature of comic plots, we are bound to see some of the same errors again and again. So, cliche aside, here are a couple common blunders in presentation.

Authors apologetically (or fearfully) clicking an “undo” button

Sometimes authors take bold steps, experiment, have a little fun. The All-Star series are excellent examples of what can happen if you just throw continuity out the window. Sadly, authors of main-line titles feel seem bound at the hip to the status quo. Occasionally we see authors try something new, do a little mythology building, but all too frequently, this is redacted before it can establish itself firmly as part of the greater myth. Sadly, this fear of change all too often results in sloppy reboots or stilted resolutions. Take, for example, Superman’s second Fortress of Solitude (modeled after his Secret Fortress from Superman #17) which lasted for a little over a year and made only a handful of appearances before it was destroyed and replaced by the more traditional Arctic fortress. The quickly revoked appearance of Spider-man's night vision, regenerative abilities, and admittedly strange arm-stingers also comes to mind. My complaint isn't that authors make poor choices (this time), but that the are so scared of changing that status quo that they feel these reboots and nullifications are necessary.

Dialog like this:

Yes, Lana. Yes, she did.

This is a visual medium--you can say a lot without a single line of dialog. So when one uses a great deal of dialog that has no function other than to make the reader cringe, well...

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Get to Know Batman: The Five Graphic Novels to Start With

2009-11-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

So You Want to be a Comic Fan – Batman Edition. Interested in getting in to comics, or can’t decide how to best introduce them to friends and family? Read on for how to become (or make) a Batman fan.

Click here for “Get to Know Superman: Five Graphic Novels”

This Batman thing is a smash hit. It’s packaged right. With multi-million dollar box office successes, Batman has the kind of exposure and popularity that few other comic characters have ever achieved.

While it is the writers who make the character great, part of their success is that they are stepping into one of the most versatile characters on the market. Everyone has a rough idea of who The Batman is, but what is truly surprising is how many modes, genera, and personas a talented writer can use to portray him: detective story, action story, sci-fi, romance, tortured soul, self-sacrificing guardian, downright mad-man, the possibilities are numerous. No matter what it is you like about fiction, there is a good chance that there is a Batman story for you.

Being one of, if not the prime commodity that DC has in their portfolio, the character has produced a number of truly great books by notable writers like Frank Miller and Alan Moore. This makes it hard for me to pick just five, but I believe the following books make for an ideal introduction to the character.

The list:

1. Batman: The Long Halloween
The Long Halloween is a classic detective story, and has the added bonus of getting to see Batman early in his career, before many of the hard-to-swallow villains are introduced. While the art may not be as captivating as Hush, it is stylistically fitting and has a punchy noir grittiness. In The Long Halloween, Batman plays the character he was conceived as: a solo crime fighter, cleaning up the dirty streets.

2. Batman: Hush (volume 1 and 2)
Hush stands out as one of my hands-down favorite comics. It really has it all: the whole rogues’ gallery, an edge-of-your-seat plot, great writing, and art by one of the best in the business: Jim Lee. Even the silliest of villains come off as intimidating or entertaining. Like For Tomorrow in my Superman introduction, a little bit of background into Batman history would be beneficial, but is not strictly necessary. Hush is a detective story through and through.

3. Batman: The Killing Joke
To switch back to another gritty, less colorful portrayal of Batman, The Killing Joke is one of those classics that are always included on lists like these, but for good reason. Written by Alan Moore who is well known for both his prominence in the comic genera and for his excellent handling of the character, The Killing Joke is the darkest Batman story on this list. It also features his most well know nemesis, The Joker, as the large-scale threat he deserves to be.

4. All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (volume 1)
All-star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is a non-canon series that gives Frank Miller the freedom to paint Batman in a different light: as an out and out sociopath. While I normally like to include completed graphic novels, I will make an exception for this, the first volume of a still-ongoing series. Robin is normally dangerous territory for writers simply because it is hard to buy into the idea of the Caped Crusader deciding it would be a good idea to bring a minor out on the town to be shot at, but Frank Miller does a great job of making Batman seem just crazy enough to do so.

Note: Popularized the phrase "I'm the goddamn Batman."

5. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
By now you’re probably noticing the Frank Miller prominence on this list. The Dark Knight Returns is an else world’s comic that takes place in the future where Bruce Wayne has retired the cape and cowl. More lighthearted than Kingdom Come, it is still a landmark in illustrated fiction—easily one of my all-time favorites. While the art may be a bit dated by today's standards, I promise you'll forgive by the time you finish the first chapter. Keep in mind that, if you decide to go on and read the sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, it would behoove you to be more than a little familiar with the broader DCU.

Note: Another comic where you get to see Batman beat the hell out of Superman. Always a fan favorite.

Intentionally left off the list:

Batman: Year One – While I would like to include an origin story, chances are slim that anyone has escaped watching Batman Begins, which borrows heavily from this comic. Best not to have readers sit through a panel-for-shot duplicate of many scenes.

Batman: Dark Victory – Another great story in the spirit of Long Halloween, it just got edged out by other books. This should be your #6 read.

Batman: Arkham Asylum – While it is good, I honestly think the book is a little overrated. It certainly doesn’t make for a good introduction, anyway.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment!

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Japanese X-Men Intros

2009-11-18T17:34:00.000-08:00

Brace yourself for a little nostalgia! I found these gems on Youtube and thought I would share them.

You all remember the original X-Men Saturday morning cartoon into:

American Intro:

What you might not have seen are the versions produced for Japanese audiences. They have a lot of character and plot references that the original cartoon never touched on. Sadly, the show aired in Japan was otherwise the same.

Japanese Intro #1:

Japanese Intro #2:

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Get to Know Superman: The Five Graphic Novels to Start With

2009-11-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

So You Want to Be a Comic Fan - Superman Edition. Interested in comics or can’t decide how to best introduce them to friends and family? Here is a reading list to help you start becoming (or making) a Superman fan.

Click here for "Get to Know Batman: Five Graphic Novels"

Getting into comic books can be an intimidating task. While Superman is one of the most recognizable pop-culture icons around, I would bet that the majority of people who know him could not name more than two or three of his villains, or know that pink kryptonite turns Superman gay. Let’s be honest: with a backlog of approximately three thousand comics, numerous mini-series, one-shots, newspaper strips, movies, and more than a few TV shows, it can be tricky for a newcomer to know where to start. I’ve selected five graphic novels which I believe make an ideal introduction to the character.

The idea is not to get you up-to-date on the latest happenings in the DCU (which would be a far more substantial investment of time), but to give you a feel for the character and his appeal--to be newcomer friendly. I’ve selected the books based on quality, readability, modern appeal, and tried to steer clear of stories steeped in ancient continuity.

Without further ado, the list:

1. Superman: Birthright
One of the most recognizable, identifiable elements of Superman is his origin story. Let’s be honest, Superman #53 (volume 1, 1948) is more than a little dated by today’s standards. Birthright is a modern retelling of the Superman origin and it depicts him as a character rather than as a symbol—something desperately needed in his stories. Birthright is a great place to start.

2. All-Star Superman (volumes 1 and 2)
While not canon, All Star Superman takes all the silliest Golden Age stuff and wraps it up in a neat, tongue-in-cheek package that is astonishingly appealing and clever: well worth the read. It also briefly introduces a number of classic elements that will aid recognition in future reading (for example, the Superman Robots, the Phantom Zone, and the Fortress of Solitude).

3. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel
Sometimes the villain really upstages the hero. A lot of people find Superman unappealing, dopey, and a bit bland. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, told from the perspective of Superman’s arch nemesis, is a nice way to get a reader thinking about the heavier issues the character addresses. It also does a good job of lending Big Blue a more intimidating, badass persona. This is the book I recommend to die-hard Batman fans that claim Superman is boring or passé by comparison.

4. Superman: For Tomorrow (volumes 1 and 2)
As this book benefits from some knowledge of Superman history, I struggled with whether or not it should be included on this list. Ultimately decided it was worth the mention. While having watched Superman II would be sufficient preparation for the plot, it should still be accessible for the complete newbie. Soupey might seem a bit ‘dark and brooding’ than he should and the symbolism is admittedly a bit clumsy, the art and characterization should be more than enough to win over some fans.

5. Kingdom Come
While not strictly a Superman comic, he does feature as the prime mover of the book. A well written and surprisingly literary story, Kingdom Come is enjoyable by comic fans and literature fiends alike. As one of the greatest “must read” comics of all time, you can’t go wrong starting here. While even fans of the genera might have trouble identifying all of the esoteric elements, characters, and plot points pulled from decades of comic history, ignorance of these things in no way degrades the experience.

Intentionally left off the list:

The Death of Superman, A World Without Superman, The Return of Superman -- While these may be landmark comics and their impact on the comic world undeniable, I decided they are best left for later reading, after enough interest is generated for the reader to plow through the dated illustration, and the occasional boring scene.

Superman for all Seasons -- Though it is a great book that really deserves to be on the list, I thought one origin story was enough. Birthright does the job with a little more suspense and better illustration, though perhaps lacking the same kind of emotional impact.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think. Feel free to comment!

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Heroes That Kill Part I: Green Lantern

2009-11-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

Blackest Night, the current talk-about-town of the DCU, is proving to be an entertaining and well handled arc. After the sloppy and sentimental Final Crisis, it is great to see DC taking their time to put out a more focused, entertaining story. While I am a bit ambivalent about some aspects of the plot, it has produced one notable change for which I am grateful—Green Lanterns are now authorized to use lethal force.

For so long, especially in the DCU, comics have made a habit of vilifying the act of killing. DC tend to be about more definite lines and definitions: they have bright, primary colors on their heroes, and an absence of moral gray-zone: there is always a way out of the kinds of kill-or-be-killed situations that a police officer could face on a daily basis. The good-guys wear white hats, the baddies where black ones.
Perhaps for this reason, Wonder Woman’s execution of Maxwell Lord, which was played up as a definitive event but ended up falling a bit flat, lacked the impact that I think the writers intended. It seemed out of character. When heroes like these enforce their own private moral code (no matter how sound we think the moral code may be), it stinks a bit too much of fascism for me to be comfortable with. But DC is growing more versatile. The Green Lantern Corps are a prime example, representing a different kind of heroism: one intentionally shaped to resemble that of public servants. The writers have more leeway to explore the implications and substance of their commitment. While morally ambiguous heroism tends to be more Marvel's territory, I am excited to see DC take a minor gamble with the GL titles, which has the potential for major payoff.

There is an interesting line to be danced here; most of the heroes of the DCU are freelance do-gooders, not licensed or moderated by any governing body outside of like-minded individuals. Characters like Superman, Batman, (and I would say Wonder Woman) by nature of their characters and the dilemmas they are designed to address, are not the right avenues to explore this valid moral and literary question. I feel like the Green Lantern books could be. It might just be my intense desire to see the comic handled like an intergalactic, rough-and-tough cop show, but this is a welcome change which has the potential to add depth, welcome grittiness, and allow for some really interesting character development. And importantly, it is framed in such a way to do so.

DC seems to be treading lightly thus far with the characters addressing the issue with hesitance and reasonable concern. Here's hoping that they follow through with a more open-minded philosophical analysis, and start to take advantage of some of the depth that Marvel has been plumbing for a while now.

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Comic of the Month: Punisher Max

2009-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

The Punisher MAX

The Marvel MAX series is defined by its willingness to depict adult themes and give them their full due. Blood, gore, sex, and violence: I can think of no title more deserving of these elements than The Punisher. I respect Marvel’s decision to publish such an edgy comic. Though, while occasionally unsettling and quite graphic, the violence and sex is rarely gratuitous insofar as it is thematically relevant. For the most part, the writers seem to recognize and respect this fact and use it for good storytelling, rather than as an indulgence to our basic nature.

Why it’s so great:

Due to the nature of the book, villains (and plot points) never wear out their welcome. Story arcs are handled really well, chaining the narrative along in an elegant, relevant way. The villains almost become the main characters, each arc exploring their motives and personalities more, perhaps, than the titular character himself. Read the arcs involving Barracuda to see what I mean.

You are being shown a story, not told a story. As I mentioned, the writing is poignant, and appropriate. The Punisher, being a character defined by what he does, is a man of few words. Instead of trying to play on a reader’s sympathy, which would be a mistake, the story is presented in a bare-bones way, with minimal narration and commentary.

The art. Like most titles, the quality varies a lot from artist to artists, but luckily the visual elements are pretty consistently captivating. Like Frank Miller stories, gritty art suits the book. The cover art is pretty consistently amazing, as well.

The rare moments where the reader tries to connect with Frank Castle are effective, simply because they are rare, never over-wrought, and frequently, intentionally, quashed.

When you think of great hero films, you think of Spider-man, Iron-man or Batman. I would hazard that for most people, The Punisher films don’t even make it near the list—and for good reason. Some heroes simply translate well to the silver screen: big budget special effects and inspiring stories of good’s triumph over evil make for high dollar opening weekend.

But The Punisher isn’t about that.

The Punisher’s tale is like the classic action story told backwards: He begins, satisfied, in a happy life. Then he loses the girl, goes on to fight a seemingly hopeless battle, and then a new villain is introduced, again and again, ad infinitum. It is episodic and ongoing by nature. Any effort to “tie up loose end” or provide the kind of conclusion a film demands seems artificial to the story

The Punisher is a story that is perfectly tailored for the comic medium and few others (unless Marvel was to, say, make an equally edgy ShowTime series… which sounds incredible). With the backing of the MAX series, it is told in a way that is true to the spirit of the character.

So, my Comic of the Month for November is The Punisher MAX, for its masterful storytelling, expert use of the strengths of the medium, and ability to make Frank Castle seem exactly as badass as he should.

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Comics are silly

2009-11-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

A couple Christmases back, I decided to introduce my older brother to the world of comics. I strategically selected volume one and two of Batman: Hush. For those of you who haven’t read Hush, you should—it is the archetypal Batman story: detective work, high stakes, twists and turns, and it features the whole rogue’s gallery.

Anyway, I waited anxiously for several days before calling to ask him about it. As anticipated, he’d read through it in a couple sittings and loved it. He was confused, however, about one particular element: the guest appearance of Superman.

“They're in the same fictional world together?”
“Yeah. They, uh, work together sometimes. They’re both in the Justice League.”
“Really? Like in Superfriends?”
“Kind of, yeah. It’s called The Justice League in the comics. They have a base on the moon.”
“Hah, Superman and Batman hang out together on the moon? That’s ridiculous.”

Sometimes I forget how silly that premise sounds.

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Superman's Children

2009-11-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

The Man of Steel, The Last Son of Krypton, Kal-El, Dad.

Perhaps in an effort to continue appealing to the growing—and aging—population of adult readers, the social and personal lives of several notable characters have taken on a noticeably more mature tone since my youthful days of reading comics by flashlight under the blankets. This is not news, though: it has been over about thirteen years since the wedding of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and Spider-man beat them to the chapel by almost a decade. Now that so many heroes are hitched, and since it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see them advance past their surprisingly fit early-thirties (baring elseworlds comics, time travel, or a quickly resolved incident with red kryptonite), the question seems to ask itself, “Well, how about kids?”

Maybe it’s his overwhelmingly paternal persona or the elephant-in-the-room question of how it would work mechanically, but the possibility has been explored with no greater frequency than for ‘ol red-and-blue. Enough so that the central plot of Superman Returns probably didn’t seem all that original for the well-read fans out there. While the tricky subject of how to handle aging in comics makes the likelihood of watching Superman raise canonical offspring pretty low, the subject, and it’s different potential iterations, keeps coming up.

Read on to take a look at a few of the “kids” he’s had and see how the Man of Steel does as a papa.

Connor Kent (Kon-El) - Superboy

·    Introduced: Adventures of Superman #500
·    Superman’s relationship to Conner: Sort-of a genetic father. Or mother? Kon-El lives in Ma Kent’s house and follows in Superman’s footsteps, but his cover story of being Clark’s cousin is really more apt a description of their relationship. Clark is his friend, occasional mentor, and inspiration, but is almost never painted as a father figure.
·    Profile: One of the most interesting and well developed characters on this list, Kon-El is the result of a genetic experiment and not technically Superman’s son. He does, however, share half of Superman’s DNA, making him close enough. It was later revealed that the other half of his genome was contributed by Lex Luthor as part of one of his nefarious (and convoluted) schemes. In his civilian identity of Conner Kent, he lives in Smallville with Martha, wears glasses as his primary disguise, and going to Smallville high, just like Big Blue’s origin story. After “dying” in the recent DCU-wide Final Crisis, he went missing for couple years, only to be brought back in the recent Legion of Three Worlds miniseries. His reappearance has him headlining the new Adventure Comics, struggling once again with the notion of being the lovechild of the world’s greatest hero and the world’s greatest villain.
·    Powers: All of Superman’s abilities sans telescopic and microscopic vision (so far). He also has ‘tactile telekinesis’ which is attributed to the combination of human and Kryptonian DNA. It is unestablished whether he has inherited Luthor’s male-pattern baldness.
·    In continuity? Yep. Hey DC, would you stop twiddling your thumbs and get him back on the Teen Titans, please?

Note: though I would normally complain about his costume consisting of a t-shirt and jeans, given how big an improvement it is over his original fade haircut and leather jacket, I can’t bring myself to criticize.

Chris Kent (Lor-Zod) - Nightwing

·    Introduced: Action Comics #844
·    Superman’s relationship to Chris: Foster father. Though only sharing a handful of issues with Clark and Lois, he still thinks of them as his parents, despite no biological connection. It is implied he was treated poorly, even abused, by his biological parents, so he looks fondly on his time with Lois and Clark and still refers to Lois as ‘mom.’
·    Profile: The only full Kryptonian on the list, Chris is the son of the Phantom Zone criminals General Zod and Ursa. Clark and Lois adopted Chris as their foster child when he mysteriously appeared on Earth in Action Comics. After a few issues of the new parents struggling with his burgeoning powers, it was revealed that he’d been sent to Earth to act as an “anchor” for the Phantom Zone criminals to escape. He ended up being pulled back into the zone but has recently reappeared, full grown (“time works differently in the Phantom Zone”), and taken up the identity of Nightwing.
·    Powers: All of Superman’s abilities, and some additions and aberrations related to his strange origins. He is immune to Kryptonite, ages erratically when outsize of the Phantom Zone, and has telekinesis similar to Superboy’s.
·    In continuity? Yep.

Mia (Cir-El) - Supergirl

·    Introduced: Superman 10 cent Adventure
·    Superman’s relationship to Mia: Mistaken paternity test leads Superman to believe he is the father. Complicated by false-positive test results, we got to see Soupy squirm a bit before the Big Reveal. Would have made a great Maury episode. To give him credit, he made the effort to get to know her, and even after the truth came out, Superman still held on to paternal feelings for his “daughter” and considered her family.
·    Profile: The result of another villain’s labyrinthine schemes, Cir-El was created by Brainiac in an effort to get close to Superman, alter the future, force him to build a robot for Lois, which he would then take control of. Or something. Due to artificial memory implants, Cir-El believed herself to be the daughter of Superman and Lois, while she was in fact a human with Kryptonian DNA tacked on. It was a quite a kick to watch Mia show up and surprise Superman with her existence—like a sperm-bank baby showing up at their father’s doorstep eighteen years after he sold his fluids for some CDs.
·    Powers: Impeccably well kept bikini-line, all of Superman’s abilities plus the power to generate “red sun bursts”—small explosions of red sun energy from her hands.
·    In continuity? Probably not. Though she was wiped from history, it was hinted at that she might still exist on a parallel Earth somewhere.

Ariella Kent (R’E’L)

·    Introduced: Supergirl #79 (Volume 4)
·    Superman’s relationship to Ariella: late father.
·    Profile: An aberration that was never ‘meant’ to exist, the six year-old daughter of Earth-2 Superman and Supergirl (The retconed Matrix version, not the cousin version. Ew.) was the result of one of Supergirl’s multiverse adventures. When the Specter showed up to correct the timelines, Supergirl asked that her daughter be spared from the purge. Her story is a little tragic, really: she was sent to another universe where she wanders, parentless, as a super-child without a home. The result of Kryptonian and a superhuman union, Ariella is incredibly powerful, with several powers beyond either of her parent’s capabilities. Due in part to her naivety, she is wrecking ball of planets and timelines. We didn’t get any opportunities to see daddy-daughter time, but were treated to a pretty heart-rending moment of Supergirl having to give her up.
·    Powers: Standard-issue Kryptonian powers along with teleportation, telekinesis, and time-travel.
·    In continuity? Probably not. Last seen in a now out-of-print trade paperback well before the most recent DC reboot, it’s doubtful we’ll ever see her again.

Carol and Jane Kent

·    Introduced: Superman Secret Identity graphic novel
·    Superman’s relationship to the twins: supportive, successful father. A realistic painting of a family with in-jokes, believable, separate lives, and the relationships we all sympathize with: were Superman to ever have kids in his main-line comic, this is how it should be handled.
·    Profile: The twin daughters of Clark Kent and Lois Chaudhari. While their father isn’t technically our Clark Kent, he has the powers, flies, and wears the suit. Superman: Secret Identity is a unique treat in that we get to see a Superman actually raise his kids from birth, and he makes a great papa. After struggling with whether or not to press his daughters about having powers, he ultimately decides that is their choice to tell him. They end up surprising him by lending a hand in a classic Superman disaster-scene save. It is a brief but heart-warming look at Clark Kent’s struggle to balance a family with a life in tights.
·    Powers: They demonstrate flight, speed, and strength.
·    In continuity? Nope. Still, Superman: Secret Identity is a great book and you should absolutely give it a read if you haven’t already.

Jon Kent

·    Introduced: Son of Superman graphic novel
·    Superman’s relationship to Jon Kent: Absentee genetic father, uncool old-fogey dad.
·    Profile: The son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. After Superman had been kidnapped, imprisoned, and presumed dead, Lois raises her son without telling him about his origins. After a surprising manifestation of his powers, he ends up uncovering the truth about his dad, and like-father-like-son, goes on to save the day. When a geriatric Superman finally returns to the scene he is out of touch, has a politically passé perspective, and a terrible pair of sunglasses. The comic does paint a fair picture of how a father and son struggle with the generational gap that afflicts so many similar relationships.
·    Powers: Demonstrated super strength, speed, and flight (with poorly executed landings).
·    In continuity? Nope.

Lara Kent

·    Introduced: Adventures of Superman #638
·    Superman’s relationship with Lara: Hip, cool, supportive dad.
·    Profile: In a short one-issue side-story issue, Mr. Mxyzptlk appears and gives Clark and Lois a short peak into a “possible future” where they have a super-powered daughter, Lara. We were treated to a montage of the Kent family life from Lara’s birth until her sixteenth birthday. We got a sense, through impeccable writing and great art by several different illustrators, of what it this possible timeline would be like. Even though it was just a one-issue intermission between plot arcs, I honestly remember thinking that it was one of the most entertaining issues I’d read in a long time.
·    Powers: Demonstrated flight, speed, and strength.
·    In continuity? Nope. Sadly, she was a one shot comic character.

In my opinion, one of the pitfalls that so many writers succumb to is using Superman as a stand in for Absolutely Moral Hero, rather than trying to write him as a character (admittedly a tricky task). Seeing him develop family ties gives the reader a point of reference for considering the character. Rather than trying to read from the perspective of Superman (a character who is so frequently and absolutely sure of his moral stance and intended course of action that it makes him difficult to sympathize with), we are able to read from the perspective of someone interacting with him in a personal way—a character who is examining and considering his actions and their implications just as we, the readers, are. I love seeing these elseworld family stories for the same reason I would like to see The Daily Planet and Lois features more prominently in his mainline titles: it enriches the character, makes his world seem bigger.

-Reckless Enthusiasm

Origin Story

2009-11-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome one and all to Graphically Novel, a blog about comic books.

Comics have been part of my life since I was young. I still have vivid memories of reading and re-reading the crumpled copies of Green Lantern and Wolverine that used to lie around my basement. Like many kids, I had sketchbooks full of doodles and traces of the muscle-bound heroes of the mid-nineties along with numerous concept sketches of gaudy originals that I was sure would be the next big thing. Say what you will about the poor business choices some of the big companies made back then, (did anybody else collect the Marvel hero trading cards?) they did a great job of sowing their seed in fertile soil. Well those seeds, steadily fed on a diet of Fox Kids superhero cartoons, are now blossoming into a new generation of discerning, adult readers.

For me, it wasn’t until university that I really started to follow my favorite heroes’ printed adventures on a monthly basis. As a student of literature and philosophy, I was amazed by how effortlessly and unapologetically comics could address some of the most basic questions and ideas we have about ourselves. With stories so ham-fisted, formulaic, and over-the-top that they seem to stumble almost accidentally into the epic mode, the genera of illustrated fiction has rooted itself in our societal consciousness. With the major comic book companies evolving with the times and their new, grown-up reader base hungry for something more than just the old “Zap! Pow! Blam!” it’s a great time to be a comic book fan. As much as some of the purists who pride themselves on encyclopedic knowledge of Golden and Silver Age canon might hate it, we’re seeing exciting changes in both our favorite heroes and the way their stories are told.

So, I’m looking forward to sharing some of my thoughts about the industry and the latest stories, to providing some (hopefully) interesting and entertaining posts, articles, and reviews and about my favorite hobby. Stay tuned for more!