DC Women Kicking Ass

If We Put Them on Everything They'll Have to Do SOMETHING: Zazzle Opens Super Best Friends Forever Store

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:10:00 -0400

Over a few months of hearing nothing about the ESBUFFS (aka Super Best Friends Forever) there’s been two signs that the series may not be dead and gone.

The SBFF are, of course, the trinity of Supergirl, Wonder Girl and Batgirl from the fantastic animated short series done by Lauren Faust for DC Nation. Unfortunately Cartoon Network only made a few shorts and Faust then told me she wasn’t available to do more. But she also told me, “Who knows what the future holds?”

Earlier this week, DC Comics unveiled their SDCC exclusives and the SBFF were included. And then yesterday DC unveiled the SBFF Zazzle store where you can buy just about anything with the SBFF on it including mouse pads, mugs, phone cases, and, of course, t-shirts. You can get all the SBFF together. (And in different poses).

Or separately

You can get 20% off everything by using SUPERHEROBFF.

So what does this mean for the SBFF. Earlier this week when the SDCC pieces appeared I put out a cry for a digital comic from DC trying to drive the demand for it. Faust told me that “there’s always a chance it could happen, BTW…

So here’s what we do. Tell DC you want a digital comic with the SBFF’s! Buy the stuff from Zazzle! And eat Burritos. No wait, do the other two things.

If they are offering merchandise there is a chance. Let’s make it into a reality!

Here's That Man of Steel Scene When Lois Escapes in a Pod

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:06:20 -0400

You’ve seen bits and pieces of it in the trailers. Sometime in Man of Steel Superman rescues Lois from what looks to be a flying pod.

But so far we’ve only seen that rescue. Here’s a look at what happens before that.

The Lego set “Superman Black Zero Escape” is the only Man of Steel merchandise that features Lois Lane. Poor Amy Adams, even Kate Bosworth got her own standalone tie-in, albeit a Barbie doll.

As you can see from the box, a comic book is included. And that’s what below is from.

What I like about this is that even though it at first shows Lois looking helpless it then shows her taking initiative and executing her own escape. Because that is what Lois would do.

So go Lego Lois. Or Lego Black Widow. Because in the world Lego superheroes they are basically the same thing.

Geoff Johns' Final Green Lantern Sets Up A Leap Over the Final Green Lantern Hurdle?

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:09:10 -0400

Oh, you probably know I don’t read the Green Lantern books. And you probably know I think Hal’s basically a jerk. And you may know that I’ve complained a number of times about the fact that everytime a ring chooses someone on Earth it always finds a dude (except for this woman). And before we go any further, the ring didn’t find Jade.

Hal, John, Guy, Kyle and Baz. Dude, dude, dude, dude, dude

How can it be that no woman from Earth has the will to become a Green Lantern? How can the ring just bypass every woman on Earth to end up with a man? Other planets have female Green Lanterns. It doesn’t make any sense.

Well, it looks like that may be changing. Yes, DC may have finally put a ring on …

… an Earth woman. In Green Lantern #20, the final issue of Geoff Johns’ momentous run, it is strongly suggested that my complaining may have to end.

Who is Jessica Cruz? Is this just a possibility? Or is this a result of the Trinity War?

I might have to start reading the Lantern books.

New Man of Steel Trailer Shows Off a Bad Ass Faora Warner Bros....

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:54:19 -0400

New Man of Steel Trailer Shows Off a Bad Ass Faora

Warner Bros. has been upping its game with each new Man of Steel trailer and this may be the best yet. The latest one features a voice over by Michael Shannon/General Zod and it is very intense (the soundtrack helps) and some bad ass dialogue from Antje Traue as Faora. There’s also some new footage of Amy Adams. I’m feeling very good about this movie right now.

Comics to Buy, May 22

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:11:35 -0400

Greetings all and happy New Comics Day! Here are some of the things I’m picking up that you may want to put on your radar.

As usual I’m starting with a first issue and this week it’s one I’m very interested in from DC. If you’re read Tiny Titans (and if you haven’t why not?) or Superman Family Adventures you know that Art Baltazar and Franco are terrific creators. But those books are targeted towards kids while this book is not.

Amanda Conner covers make everything look great don’t they? I’m hoping that this book has a little less grim and grittiness than some of DC’s other offerings.

A book that definitely doesn’t have that grim and gritty feel is Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs L’il Gotham which collects the digital comic. A fun book for kids and adults.

And I still like some things that are dark and Justice League Dark is still my favorite Justice League book.

And on to Marvel where this week three of my favorite series appear. Perhaps you listened to the Podcast and heard Kelly and discuss Fearless Defenders - if you did you know the art is still a bit of an issue. This issue, however, has a guest artist and he is one of my favorites -Phil Jimenez who knows a bit about drawing Amazons and warrior women. This issue is a tie-in to a big cross-over and so has a higher price but still ..

. Phil Jimenez!

I wonder if “Yamblr.” will be bought by, I assume, Tahoo! in the YA world? Can Loki change it? Or will Yahoo change the name of Tumblr to Yamblr for reals? All questions sure not to examined in this book.

I’m a little less sad at not reading the book with that Amazon when I can read about Sif. This starts a new arc, so jump on board this book which has some of my favorite art right now.

And you are reading Powers, right?

That’s it, what’s on your list?

Revealed for the First Time: The Early Shuster and Siegel Comics that Led to Lois Lane

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:10:02 -0400

Do I have a treat for you today. As you know, this year is the 75th anniversary of Superman and Lois Lane. In April I ran a series of posts from some of the creators who wrote Lois to celebrate the character. Brad Ricca is a well known authority on the history of the creation of Superman and Lois and we discussed his doing a guest post for the series. The result is this post which discusses and shows for the first time in many decades some some of the early, non-Superman comics by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel that led to the creation of Lois Lane.

Brad Ricca (shown below) takes it from here.

So when Sue approached me about writing a guest post for the 75^th anniversary of Lois Lane, I jumped at the chance. I love the character, like DC Women Kicking Ass (especially on Twitter), and oh yeah, I have a book coming out called Super Boys (June 4, St. Martin’s Press) that is all about the creation of Superman. But I had one request: I didn’t want to write about Lois.

And not because I don’t like her or don’t think she is important. For one, I am fairly/mostly confident that we wouldn’t still have Superman kicking around popular culture if it wasn’t for Lois Lane. And I don’t mean that in a condescending “she’s his rock” kind of way. I’m not going to roll out the old “she’s a gutsy reporter!” or “she’s a scrappy gal whose super-power is the printed word, Jack!” or any of that stuff. I’m going to be more practical. When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman they literally did it to impress a real-life girl. And that comes through in the early stories. The cape, freezy breath, and mighty strength gets old – kids liked that stuff just fine, but those first customers really kept buying Superman because they understood what it felt like when you were around someone you liked but couldn’t tell them. Comics and genre fans have somehow always understood that a little bit better than most, if we’re being honest with ourselves. That’s what Lois brought to the narrative. Lois added real-life honesty to a story about an invulnerable alien from an exploded planet. That’s where the truth in the story lies, if you ask me. She threatened him in the biggest way imaginable: what if she doesn’t like me? And threats are important because they make a story real.

So back to me not wanting to write about Lois Lane, because apparently I already am. In the book, I go into a brand new, detailed history of where the character came from. Yes, she was a real person, and yes, I have proof. A book about two guys who create a guy wearing tights isn’t really important to anything real about the world, but I am proud of the Lois stuff in there because it gives us all another perspective to a story we all think we know already. The story of the genesis of Lois is a really crazy one, and really heartbreaking too, with a twist ending to the whole thing.

But go buy the book or get it at the library for that stuff. What I want to talk about here is how Jerry and Joe got to Lois in the comics – she didn’t just spring out, fully-formed, after all – she evolved, changed, and transformed through a series of characters that Jerry and Joe did in their early, pre-Superman comics. Lois took her time. And because these early comics have never really been reprinted since the thirties, no one has seen them for a long time. Until now.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), New Fun #5, October 1935.

One of the very first Loii was the character of Lois Amster in “Doctor Occult” from New Fun Comics in 1935. Lois Amster (named after a high school crush of Jerry’s), is a straight-up damsel in distress – running from vampires, of all things. She is later used as bait.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), New Comics 2, January 1936.

That early stereotype (“Save me, First Ever Mystical Noir Trenchcoat Magician!”) changed dramatically a year later with “Federal Men,” another short comic that Jerry and Joe were doing in New Comics, starring the appropriately named “Steve Carson.” Here, in a case meant to evoke the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, Carson goes up against a hard-as-nails woman wanted in several states. Her name is (wait for it) Kate Lane. She kicks all kinds of stereotypical authority – she is confident, sexy, and has a permanent wave as she repeatedly shoots at Steve – but she’s a criminal, so she doesn’t last.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), Detective Comics 13, March 1938.

Kate Lane was tough, but she was also a sociopath. But there was something in her character that Jerry and Joe wanted to save. The Lois character we know really began to come together in “Spy,” another Jerry and Joe serial that ran in Detective Comics. The main protagonists were a team of intelligence officers named Bart Regan and Sally Norris. Sally looks just like Lois Lane, who by this time was just a month away. In fact, Bart and Sally are really Lois and Clark without Superman – they get into terrible situations, but get themselves out with their own wits. It was kind of like Remington Steele or Hart to Hart, only way earlier, and infinitely better. They go on secret missions for FDR, question their sometimes violent orders, gamble repeatedly, and square off against real-life groups that were actually risky for Jerry to write about (see the book). It is great, great stuff and has never been reprinted.

They also flirt constantly.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), Detective Comics 16, June 1938.

Note: in the thirties, this was some pretty serious tension. When Sally later wins the bet, it is only because she has killed the bad guy and not Bart.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), Detective Comics 16, June 1938.

Two months later, Sally, who is sick of waiting for Bart to make a move, even decides to propose to him herself.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), Detective Comics 18, August 1938.

Their wedding is, of course, broken up by spies, but it ends well. They continue to go on adventures and Sally continues to be smart, witty, and relevant to the narrative. Just like Lois, only married. She had the romantic draw of Amster, but the chops of Kate Lane. But there was still one more important step.

Also appearing in Detective Comics at the time was Jerry and Joe’s longest-running feature before Superman – “Slam Bradley.” Slam was a private investigator who essentially just beat up bad guys. And at the end of every episode, he kissed some new girl he saved.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), Detective Comics 5, July 1937.

Slam literally just punched people across rooms for pages and pages as his sidekick Shorty tried to keep up. But there were limitations to such a story: they could change locations, but there was never anything really different. That changed with issue #16.

Jerry Siegel (w), Joe Shuster (a), Detective Comics 16, June 1938.

In this issue, Slam and Shorty meet a rival private investigator who is competing with them to solve a case with a $5,000 reward. That’s her giving Shorty the vicious uppercut. She is tenacious, smarter than her heroic rivals, and drawn like a Hollywood starlet. She is also named for the real person, Joan Carter, who was the original model for Lois Lane. She’s the one you will meet in the book. She was not only the physical model, but the model for something else, too – one of the key hooks of the Superman mythology. You’ll see. What matters here is that the missing link in this evolution of characters was the element of realism. Throughout their whole creative lives, Jerry and Joe put real people into their comics. And that is why Lois is so successful, I think. She’s not fiction, not really. And we somehow know that when we see her. That’s why we like her so much.

Jerry and Joe’s characterizations of women were indebted to the times and their own adolescent mindsets, to be sure. But when we see these early DC (more or less) characters kicking grainy 1930s ass, it’s really interested to consider that the same guys who literally invented the costumed superhero were also committed to developing female characters who resisted easier stereotypes; characters who would, over time, be leaps and bounds from running from vampires.

Wonder why that changed?

Brad Ricca is a SAGES Fellow at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – The Creators of Superman, out June 4 from St. Martin’s Press. Visit www.super-boys.com and @BradJRicca. Pre-order the book here.

kristaferanka: Four Redesigns I did for She Has No Head’s new...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:24:12 -0400

kristaferanka:

Four Redesigns I did for She Has No Head’s new article by Kelly Thompson

The theme were characters that need a redesign.

My pal Kelly Thompson has an awesome post up this week with some redesigns of female costumes by Kris Anka and Meredith McLaren. Above are Anka’s design for Raven, Harley Quinn, Starfire and Emma Frost. Go take a look. Sadly the comments more than meet internet commenting standards.

Stephanie Brown Reference In Li'l Gotham?

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:29:44 -0400

Yesterday’s Li’l Gotham was a Mother’s Day issue and was one of the best yet. In this world, Damian is still alive and his parents are much better behaved (especially this issue).

Damian takes his friend Colin on a tour of the Batcave including the trophy cases of former Robin costumes.

But note that one on the far left. It’s familiar, no? Let’s check this theory out.

As you know DC has been pretty hardcore about not letting Stephanie Brown appear in comics since she last appeared in Batman, Inc. in December of 2011. She was supposed to appear in Smallville Season 11 but when certain editorial folks found out she was changed to Barbara Gordon.

And the in the very first issue of Li’l Gotham a character who was dressed as Stephanie Brown and had blonde hair was quickly changed to brunette right after the digital copy went up.

But it does appear that just maybe a reference to Brown is in this week’s issue.

Let’s first take a look at ALL the Robin costumes pre-52 through this handy guide.

Stephanie’s costume has a black cape, green arm, red tunic with straight bottom and green tights.

Let’s look at composite of the costume in the trophy case from Li’l Gotham (right) and a Stephanie’s costume in a trophy case (left - original here)

Looks like a match. What do you think?

She's Back - First Picture of Jennifer Lawrence In Days of Future Past

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:15:23 -0400

Bryan Singer posted the first picture of Jennifer Lawrence in costume for X-Men: Days of Future Past a little while ago on Twitter.

Lawrence told E earlier this year she’s wearing a body suit from the neck down this time.

Amanda Conner Variant for Fearless Defenders #5

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:47:59 -0400

It’s A LOT of Marvel ladies drawn by Amanda Conner for a variant cover of Fearless Defenders. How much would I love if DC let Conner do a cover with the all their ladies.

Also I’ll add I’m happy to see Colleen Wing here.

DC Unveils SDCC Exclusives; I Know What I'm Getting

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:02:57 -0400

DC has unveiled its exclusives for SDCC. You can see them all at USA Today but I’ll show the one that I’ll be getting. Oh yes, I will.

Behold the ESSBUFFS!

It’s pricey - $49.99 but I simply must have it. Of course, I’d rather have an ongoing series with these three by Lauren Faust, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. How about a digital comic? Anyone?

A look at Lots of Wonder Woman merchandise from Target

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:24:50 -0400

Target and DC/Warner Bros. recentlly announced they had teamed up to offer Justice League licensed merchandise this summer. Now there’s plenty of Justice League merchandise already out there, but what got me excited was that Wonder Woman was going to be featured. If you’ve read this blog over the past 3 years you’ll know its been a bit of an issue of mine to see the Justice League turned into an all male team. So yesterday, the day the merchandise was set to debut, I headed off to Target to take a look.

First stop a mega Target north of Boston (conveniently located near a birthday party my son was attending). The result? Oh there was some Justice League merchandise, but unfortunately it was all in Target’s “dollar stop” and featured the quartet of Batman, Superman, Flash and Green Lantern. No Wonder Woman to be seen. But the second visit to my local Target was more successful with several pieces of merchandise. (Sadly I couldn’t find the snack cup (or any dinnerware that was alluded to). So take a look.

The Wonder Woman merchandise is targeted to children and with its liberal use of pink and purple, clearly girls. I’m torn on the color scheme, on one hand there’s a frustration with the “girlification” of merchandise through the use of pink (see Lego) but on the other hand many girls do like pink (my daughter is a pinkaphile - hardcore until age 8 or so).

One thing I did find interesting was that the Wonder Woman used is old school pre-Crisis and pre-52. The labels, however, have the new 52 costumes.

Surf’s Up! You can see the logo with the Trinity in the lower left hand corner

As you can probably guess by the use of “utility belt” there is a companion Batman set.

They also had this sand pail, which I just had to have.

I really liked these gardening gloves.

I think the towel cape was my favorite.

Pool and swimming Justice League merchandise show up every year but they usually don’t have Wonder Woman (at least since JLU went off the air), so this was nice to see. Note, the costumes on the diving sticks are different from those on the logos most noticably Superman.

I also noticed that they now have a DC themed shirt in the girls’ department. Pink and hearts, of course, but still more than they had before.

Target has in the past only had them in the boys’ department but with the addition of the women’s pajamas and girls underwear, Target now has the widest assortment of DC-themed merchandise featuring Wonder Woman outside of a speciality story.

I’m not quite sure that this is really a play by WB to start interest in a Justice League movie (especially given the hodge podge of costumes) but it is a very good sign to me that the demographic they are targeting is expanding a bit.

I keep wanting to find good Raven-centric stories, but I have no idea if Titans or spotlights are any good. I'd love to look at more Bat family but I am not sure where to start.

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:30:57 -0400

I’m not sure what stories you’ve read but if you haven’t read the original New Teen Titans I’d start with that. The first arc is all Raven.

What do you think about the "Man of Steel" making Jimmy into Jenny Olsen? Or do you think it's even the same character?

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:30:09 -0400

I’m always happy to have more female characters in the Superman mythos. I’m not a particular fan of Jimmy so I’m fine with the gender switch although I suspect we’ll find out she’s his sister.

I am hesitant to write female characters because I am afraid I'm going to do it horribly wrong. I naturally have a much deeper understanding of the male psyche being one myself but women seem so much different to me. I mean, I want to write women that are pure kickass but not overly sexualized but at the same time alluring. Women that want to make changes, for good or bad, to the world. I just feel like I can't get an appropriate mindset to do that though.

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:01:56 -0400

I appreciate that you are concerned. But I think every writer faces the challenge of writing good characters. As far as how to write good female characters I’m going to suggest you read this essay by Greg Rucka.

I was just wondering if you had ever considered making a rec page of comics for a character or series or creator?

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:59:09 -0400

I have been thinking about it! Just have to find some time. But keep an eye out.

So I didn't know that Sword of Sorcery was being cancelled and now I want more of Amethyst. I never even knew who she was prior to the New 52, and now apparently it's over? I'm incredibly disheartened. Do we know if Princess Amaya is going to stay elsewhere?

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:57:49 -0400

Sadly Sword of Sorcery is no more. Prince Amaya will, I believe, continue to be part of Justice League Dark. And you can always go back and read the original Amethyst series from the 80s.

My LCS recently bought a huge collection of DC singles from circa 2002-2009. I'm going to be purchasing 3 major runs, Rucka's Wonder Woman and Batwoman runs, and the Palmiotti/Gray/Conner Power Girl run. In which order should I buy these, assuming I'm working my way to the best one?

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:56:09 -0400

I’d start with Power Girl. It’s a fun series. I’d move on to Batwoman which quality wise is equal to Wonder Woman but is shorter. Then go into Wonder Woman is which is a longer run. Honestly, all three are terrific - you got youself some good comics.

I recently saw a page from Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia here on Tumblr. I've never read a Wonder Woman comic but I'd like to and I was wondering if you would recommend The Hiketeia as a good starting point. Thanks!

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:54:21 -0400

I highly recommed the Hiketeia. It’s a standalone story that provides a great appetizer to Greg Rucka’s terrific Wonder Woman run.

Man of Steel Behind the Scenes Featurette Debuts...

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:39:43 -0400

Man of Steel Behind the Scenes Featurette Debuts Online

Here’s a new featurette via Wal-Mart on Man of Steel that has lots of footage and interviews with Cavill, Snyder, Shannon and Adams who calls Superman, “a timeless story.”