Deconstructing the Marvel vs. DC “Dilemma”
It’s a common practice. You meet someone and discover he or she reads comic books. You ask about which of the big two publishers, Marvel Comics or DC Comics, he or she prefers. If you agree, you have a lot to talk about. If you don’t, you have even more. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But the idea of one company being inherently “better” than the other, and the idea that you have to pick a side, is flawed, and when people take it too seriously, they cheat themselves out of a lot of good stuff.
Animation Wednesday: Justice League: The New Frontier
This post is part of the Animation Wednesday series, a weekly column which looks at animated TV series and movies of the past, present and future.
On some level, all stories are a product of their times. Authors are influenced and inspired by the events and cultures they experience, and their works react to them. This is kind of a problem for long running serial fiction, in which the characters must stay perennially young and fresh. Superman spun out of the Great Depression, partially as Siegel and Shuster’s voice of the common man. James Bond was created as an idealized version of Ian Fleming’s experiences and ideas about the Cold War. John McClane draws from the grit and guts of the early 90s. But without these contexts, without the KGB for Bond to fight or the Nazis for Captain America, the characters often float aimlessly, robbed of their reason to exist.
That’s why stories like Justice League: The New Frontier are so fantastic. New Frontier, adapted from Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier graphic novel, tells the story of the formation of the Justice League in the context of the 1950s, when many of the characters were created. Although it’s narrower in scope than the graphic novel, it still manages to feature an impressive cast of characters, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and more. The plot follows the rise of a second generation of superheroes, after the Justice Society of America was forced to disband by the McCarthy hearings. It intertwines the origins of the Martian Manhunter (Miguel Ferrer) and Green Lantern Hal Jordan (David Boreanaz) with the larger threat of the mysterious Centre (Keith David).
Walking the Walk, Instead of Just Talking
So there’s a new Spider-Man in town. His name’s Miles Morales, he’s got a new costume, and he’s biracial, half-black and half-Hispanic. This is a good thing, and one that’s long overdue.
Before I go any further, here’s two important pieces of background information, to provide some context. The new Spider-Man is appearing in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, part of a smaller shared universe Marvel set up about ten years ago to provide more contemporary takes on classic characters (incidentally, it’s also where the idea to use Samuel L. Jackson came from). Earlier this summer, the Ultimate universe’s Peter Parker died in a climactic battle against Norman Osborn (don’t worry, he won). This doesn’t affect mainstream Marvel continuity (termed “Earth-616″), where the Peter Parker most people are familiar with is still having the same webslinging adventures he’s been in since 1962.
Animation Wednesday: Young Justice
This post is part of the Animation Wednesday series, a weekly column which looks at animated TV series and movies of the past, present and future.
DC has a strong track record in animation. Batman: The Animated Series revolutionized superhero cartoons with its clean designs, quality writing and powerful atmospherics. Justice League and Justice League Unlimited told long-form story arcs in an engaging, approachable way and featured a laundry list of obscure characters and homages. Teen Titans adapted an older comics series as an wild, anime-influenced action-comedy. It’s reaching the point where it’s hard to imagine what new takes WB Animation Studios can come up with that haven’t been done before.
They can come up with Young Justice, that’s what. Young Justice is unrelated to the late 90s comic series of the same name, or mainstream comics continuity at all, for that matter. It follows the adventures of a covert-ops team of sidekicks in a world where superheroic exploits are a relatively new thing. The team consists of a mix of classic characters like the original Robin and Kid Flash and more recent additions like Superboy, Miss Martian, and a new Aqualad and Artemis. They operate out of an old Justice League headquarters and take various secret missions assigned to them by Batman and Red Tornado, the team’s house-parent. It’s an interesting premise which recalls several comic series while still remaining new and surprising.
Rundown: The Top 5 Patriotic Superheroes (Besides Captain America)
I enjoyed Captain America: The First Avenger quite a bit. I didn’t mention this in the review, but I actually saw it twice in a row, and I’d totally be willing to see it again in theaters. Since I’m still running on a patriotic high, I decided to make a list of patriotic superheroes. Although Captain America is probably the most famous star-spangled hero, he’s not the only one, or even the first. There have been a number of cool-looking, inspiring, or at the very least interesting red, white, and blue heroes over the years. So without further ado, here’s the top five patriotic superheroes who aren’t Captain America!!
5. U.S. Agent
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Secret Identity: John Walker
Ok, so the guy isn’t super different from Captain America, but bear with me. John Walker was a U.S. soldier who briefly took up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers left the government. Rogers had issues with following the directives of the U.S. government, and Walker was recruited and trained to be a Cap who more willingly followed the chain of command. Walker served as a more aggressive, lethal Captain America until suffering a breakdown and being replaced by Rogers. He eventually resurfaced as U.S. Agent, a government-sanctioned superhero who served on a number of Avengers-related teams.
Animation Wednesday: Batman: The Brave and The Bold
This post is part of the Animation Wednesday series, a weekly column which looks at animated TV series and movies of the past, present and future.
Let’s talk about Batman for a second. Batman means a lot of different things to different people. On the one hand, it’s the story of a boy, orphaned by violence at a young age, who grows up and dedicates his life to fighting crime, using the vast resources and skills he’s developed. On the other hand, it’s a story about a grown man, a millionaire ninja detective, who dresses up like a bat and goes out to beat up crooks at night, often accompanied by children. There have been a lot of different takes on Batman since he was first created in the 1930s, with varying levels of seriousness, camp, pathos and self-awareness. One that falls on the lighter end of the scale is Batman: The Brave and The Bold, which is in its third and final season on Cartoon Network.
DC Relaunch: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest
Several weeks ago, DC Comics announced that beginning in September, all of their titles would be relauched at #1, with some current titles being cancelled and others being heavily retooled or rebooted. Additionally, all DC titles will be available digitally the same day they hit stores. 52 titles have been announced so far, with more to debut next year.
Reaction was mixed when the news broke. A lot of fans applauded the move as one of the Big Two publishers finally moving into the 21st century, but there was also some apprehension in terms of rebooting some series and erasing stories-and characters- from continuity. Over the past few weeks, the covers and solicits for the new DC Universe have been released, and it’s kind of hit or miss. I’ve collected some of the titles I’ll be picking up, as well as a couple I think will be stinkers and a few which are just plain odd.
