Four-Color Coverage

Monday – 21 July 2014
Last week, after announcing that “Thor == woman,” Marvel dropped another bombshell: Sam Wilson, known in the Marvel Universe as costumed adventurer The Falcon, would be the next Captain America.

Sam Wilson as Captain America (© Marvel Comics)

Falcon and Cap have been allies and partners for many years, so it’s not completely unheard of… you know, other than the whole “Black Captain America” thing.

Wait? What’s that? You say that there was another Captain America who was Black…?! He must have been a bad mother… Shut yo’ mouth!

The Captains America (Isaiah Bradley and Steve Rogers) and Patriot (Elijah Bradley)

I’m just talking ’bout Cap.
We can dig it.

In a recent interview, Marvel Senior Vice President of Publishing, Tom Brevoort, discussed the upcoming changes and how Sam Wilson will not be the same kind of Captain America that Steve Rogers was.

So now, after the recent adventure with the Iron Nail in Captain America in which the Super-Soldier Serum that’s kept Steve young and virile for so long is now neutralized, shut down and sucked out, Steve has now been restored to sort of the state he would naturally be in had he lived on all those years. The reality is that now he’s got to pass that mantle onto someone else. While he still as mentally acute and just as sharp and battle savvy as he ever was, he’s no longer physically in the condition where he can live up to the demands and duties of being Captain America. That being the case, the person he decides to pass the mantle onto – which, in previous occasions Steve didn’t get to decide – is Sam Wilson, the Falcon.

I think it’s something of a no-brainer of a decision on his part; Steve and Sam go back many years at this point. They’ve fought shoulder to shoulder, and are true comrades and brothers in arms as only guys who have gone out so often and risked their lives and shared dangerous moments can have. Steve realizes that Sam might not have the same approach in every situation, but he is honest, trustworthy, valiant, loyal and worthy to carry the shield and take on the name and position of being Captain America.

Truthfully, I am intrigued by the idea of making Sam the new Cap, but I find myself more looking forward to juxtaposing Sam’s style against that of Bucky (The Winter Soldier) Barnes’ tenure as Captain America, rather than that of Steve Rogers’ time as Cap. It will also be interesting to see how Bucky reacts to the news that Sam will be the new Cap, as Bucky is now dead. (Secret spy dead, anyway.)

I also remembered something I’d read in another article while reading this interview: Apparently, Steve will be acting as Sam’s “silent partner,” assisting in missions from a distance. This reminded me of Bruce Wayne’s roll in relation to Terry McGinnis on Batman Beyond. But, maybe it’s just me. (Maybe it’s Maybelline.)

There appear to be many changes afoot at Marvel. We can only hope that they will use these changes to introduce some fresh concepts – and lasting ramifications, if not permanent changes – into the House of Ideas.

Wednesday – 16 July 2014
Yesterday, Marvel made waves on the Internet by announcing that Thor would be a woman.

Thor.

Naturally, the Internet went full-blown, bat-shit crazy. One article that I found to be particularly amusing asked “What does this mean for Chris Hemsworth?” Let’s be honest: It doesn’t mean a damn thing. Do people seriously think that Disney/Marvel is going to go that far afield with one of their biggest properties? I think not.

On the issue/non-issue of Thor’s change in status quo, my brother-in-law, John, and I had this conversation:

Rob: Nope, you’re not.

Rob: It’s happened before.

Rob: Not so much “Thor as a woman,” but he has been a frog.

Rob: And he has been replaced by at least two other people

Rob: My take on this is people are getting their panties twisted over semantics.

Rob: My thought: Thor Odinson will be deemed no longer worthy to bear Mjolnir.

Rob: Someone else will be given the power of Thor.

Rob: That “someone” will be a woman.

Rob: .eof

John: Feh. I’m amazed at the things over which people freak out

John: HOLY SHIT A FICTIONAL CHARACTER IS DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT FICTIONALLY

Rob: Wait. You’re surprised by geek/nerd responses on the Interwebs!?

John: No, but I am slightly surprised by the vitriol

John: Sometimes the misogyny shocks me a bit

John: I blame Obama.

Tuesday – 15 July 2014
Danielle Corsetto (@dcorsetto), creator of the Girls With Slingshots webcomic,  stopped in Salt Lake City last night as part of her “Slingshot Across America” tour.

Artwork © Danielle Corsetto

The event was held at the Millcreek Community Library. Ms. Corsetto did a signing – two, actually – and a Q&A panel with the audience. She addressed attendees from a bar-height chair at the front of the room. Her manner was relaxed, candid, and occasionally self-deprecating; it was easy to see that she enjoyed the interaction. The question-and-answer session was light-hearted and fun; people posed questions that ranged from:

• What were some of her work methods?
• How did she choose which personalities and traits to give specific characters?
• Where were some characters who haven’t been seen in some time?
• What was her advice on selling non-book merchandise, such as t-shirts?
• When do you listen to – and not listen to – what your readers say?

down to:

Attendee:  How many Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters could Hazel drink?

Danielle Corsetto: Probably only about a shot of one, but she’d tell everyone that she drank many.

NOTE: Before answering the question, Ms. Corsetto had to stop and ask what a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster was. She admitted to having started reading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but stopping after the first chapter.

When the Q&A was done, Ms. Corsetto stopped to take pictures with attendees…

…before taking a short break and setting up for the second round of book signing. I picked up a copy of the first volume of GWS comics:

As an added bonus, attendees who brought – and showed – their library cards were given a copy of the print below:

I realized that I had left the library card at home while I was standing in line.

Of course.

I sent a hurried text message to Sara!, who replied with a picture of the card in the proverbial nick of time! As the Millcreek Library is the one we frequent most often with the girls AND as we are trying to cultivate their love of reading/being read to, it seemed fitting to have Ms. Corsetto sign it to them.

This was a delightful way to spend the evening. Should you find that the Slingshot Across America tour is heading to your town (or a nearby one), I would highly encourage you to take the time to attend.

Monday – 07 July 2014
A few days ago, there was a notification on Facebook that people could attend a screening for Guardians of the Galaxy:

#GuardiansOfTheGalaxy

Anyone who’s known me for more than eleven minutes knows that I’m a comic book fan. It’s something of a given. And I am also a fan of well-done comic book movies. And maybe a few not-quite-as-well-done ones, too. As this movie is squarely rooted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ve been looking forward to it for “a while now.” So I clicked the link and decided to roll the bones (Ha! I worked a Rush reference! Go, me!) and see if I could get to a theatre in time to catch it.

What I neglected to pick up on, thanks in equal parts to not reading the notification past “YOU CAN SEE THIS ON MONDAY!!!!!!!!” and what I’ll attribute to some clever marketing/writing on the part of the company who sent out the invitations, was one key piece:

It was only 17 minutes of the movie.

Yep, didn’t suss this out until I reached the theatre. *sigh* But, I was there. I will admit that the whole “Bag it, I’m going home” thing did cross my mind. More than once…

I decided to stick it out and see what they had to offer. I’m glad that I did. The seventeen minutes that they showed were fun, witty, well-written and definitely well-cast. This last part might give people more ammunition to say that Vin Diesel is a “wooden actor.” I don’t have beef with the man’s chops, after all: He’s the one on-screen and I’m in the seat watching. It was nice to see a little more of what’s going on with some of the characters and how they interact.

There’s been a lot of talk that Bradley Cooper’s Rocket is going to steal the show. That speculation might not be too far off base. He might also have some competition from Diesel’s Groot.

It was good to hear Dave Bautista’s Drax have some dialogue – even if it differs quite a bit from his speech patterns in comics. His origin seems to be different, as well, but that’s something we can just set aside for now.

Zoe Saldana’s Gamora was also given a bit of screen time and showed herself to be a formidable woman. That’s a “good thing” since she’s known as “the most dangerous woman in the universe.”

And there’s Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord. He’s already been the “face” of trailers and other media, so it didn’t feel like he was given quite as much time as the other Guardians, although tonight’s  footage did expand on the headphones scene in the prison. It plays out even more amusingly than it does in the trailer.

So, what did I think of what I saw? I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed that we didn’t get to see the full movie. On the other hand, it was great fun – the seventeen minutes went by far too quickly. If the rest of the movie is as tight as what we got to see this evening, Marvel/Disney has another hit on their hands and has added a fantastic new area for expansion and exploration to their growing Cinematic Universe.

Now all I have to do is wait for another three weeks…

#GuardiansOfTheGalaxy

Wednesday – 02 July 2014
Janelle Asselin, from Comics Alliance, takes a stab at commenting on Wonder Woman’s place as a feminist in the world of comics. What’s probably the best feature of her article is that she doesn’t think that being a feminist should be shied away from… especially not by her incoming writing and art team:

DC has a Wonder Woman problem. Or perhaps more accurately, Wonder Woman has a DC problem. The idea of Wonder Woman as a feminist icon is so imprinted in her history, and in analysis of the character, that separating her from feminism should be near impossible. But that hasn’t stopped people trying.

Much has been written over the years about the ebb and flow of feminism in the Wonder Woman comics, the relative feminism of her appearances on the small screen, and her role as an icon for the movement. A recent interview with the new Wonder Woman creative team of Meredith Finch and David Finch has brought the topic back into focus.

It’s a solid article and well worth the time to read.

Read More: The ‘F’ Word: Wonder Woman’s Feminism Shouldn’t Be Covered Up | http://comicsalliance.com/wonder-woman-feminism-meredith-finch-david-finch-dc/?trackback=tsmclip

28 April 2014
There have been some excellent articles about women in comics/fandom over the past couple of weeks. Below are some of the items that I’ve come across. There’s a link to each article, followed by a brief excerpt. Check them out.

Comics Alliance: Ask Chris #193 – Let’s Pitch a Wonder Woman Movie
Q: I am sick of hearing that a Wonder Woman movie is too hard. I know how I would do it, but what’s your pitch for a Wonder Woman film? — @Bibphile78

A: A few weeks ago, I probably would’ve backed off of this question, for two simple reasons. The first is that I was pretty sure my specific tastes don’t really match up with what goes into a big-budget Hollywood film, but that was before we knew Marvel was spending a ton of money on a live-action arena show involving dirtbikes and skateboard tricks, and that they’d cast someone who once played Velma in a Scooby-Doo movie to play Aja in a big-budget Jem and the Holograms picture. At this point? I’m pretty sure I’ve somehow ended up being the target market for mass media, and believe me, I’m as surprised about that as you are. So what the hell, let’s pitch a Wonder Woman movie.

The Mary Sue: Greg Rucka Has Something Important to Say About Your Gatekeeping of Women in Geek Culture
[Editor’s Note: With creator Greg Rucka’s permission, we’re republishing a piece he wrote on his personal blog in its entirety. Some strong language to follow from a husband and father who’s fed up. The topic of conversation? The above t-shirt design spotted at WonderCon this past weekend.]

I rarely use this to just blog. I’m going to just blog now, so you can all just ignore this if it’s not to your liking.

Warning. Contents under pressure.  

The Daily Dot: Every Review of Black Widow in ‘Captain America’ Is Wrong
As a pop culture fan, you get used to the fact that mainstream critics are rarely going to share your glowing adoration of trashy entertainment. Justin Bieber albums may sell like hotcakes, but that’s not because they get good reviews.

For me, it’s superhero movies. The genre may have come a long way over the past decade or so, but most film critics are still less than thrilled to evaluate the latest installment of Wolverine Punches the Bad Guy. Luckily, it’s no skin off my back if some middle-aged dude at the New York Times can’t tell the difference between Quicksilver and The Flash.

The divide between fans and critics only becomes a problem when I notice professional reviewers making judgments based on their own preconceptions, rather than what actually took place onscreen. There is no better example of this than the ongoing coverage of Scarlett Johansson’s role as Black Widow in The Avengers franchise. Regardless of what ScarJo says, does, or wears while playing this character, countless well-respected film critics continue to mistake her for a vacuous 1960s Bond Girl.

Comics Alliance: Lady She-Woman: Female Superhero Codenames and Identity
Monica Rambeau is on her fourth superhero codename. In the pages of Mighty Avengers she’s Spectrum, having previously gone by Captain Marvel, Photon and Pulsar. The Captain Marvel identity now belongs to Carol Danvers, also on her fourth codename after Ms. Marvel, Binary and Warbird. Her first codename now belongs to Kamala Khan, the fourth Ms. Marvel after Danvers, Sharon Ventura and Karla Sofen.

But Carol is actually the third woman (and seventh character) to call herself Captain Marvel in the Marvel Universe. The second woman was Phyla-Vell, who was the fourth Captain Marvel after she was the second Quasar, before she was the first Martyr, before she saved herself the trouble of another codename by dying. Oh, those women! They never know who they are!

I’m being facetious, of course. These characters don’t choose their identities; they’re given them by writers and editors. If there’s a problem here, it’s not the women, but how they’re treated.

Wednesday – 16 April 2014
Four-Color Coverage is back. Finally.

Sara!, of SaraVictorious, sent me a link to an article from Dangerous Minds titled “How Superman Singlehandedly Thwarted the Ku Klux Klan.”

I’m pretty much a life-long Superman fan; needless to say, I was intrigued.  He might not be my #1 favorite, but he is on the list. In his seventy-five-plus year career, Superman has taken on many threats, but I can’t recall having heard him take on a group like the Klan before. I read the article, thinking that it was simply a comic story that I had somehow missed… and discovered that the storyline was an account of one man’s actual undercover investigation – and exposé – of the Klan and how it became part of the Superman radio program of the mid-1940s.

Click here to read the article.

Tuesday – 10 September 2013
This past weekend, Salt Lake City hosted its first Comic Con, the aptly named Salt Lake Comic Con:

The event was originally scheduled to take place at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah. When the organizers realized that tickets for the event were selling faster than they anticipated, they expanded to another hall in the Expo Center. When sales continued to exceed expectations, the venue changed from Sandy to the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City. I haven’t seen official final numbers, but I have heard that over 70,000 tickets were sold for the event:

This places Salt Lake Comic Con in the top five cons of 2012-2013* in its inaugural year.

After a good deal of deliberation, schedule planning and adjustment, I decided to attend the convention. It would be the first Comic Con – or any other non-train or car show, for that matter – that I attended. I went for two of the convention’s three days: Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, I left work early and spent a little more than three hours at Comic Con. The hall was full of attendees, guests and vendors, all of whom were there to share in their common love of comics, science fiction and… just plain fun. The crowds weren’t bad Thursday evening. There were a lot of people in costume, which is to be expected at a convention catering to a comic-centric crowd. This young lady was quite possibly my favorite cosplayer of the day:

She was passing by in a wheelchair, when I noticed her. I asked her if she’d mind if I took a picture of her and her costume. She gave a quick look at her father, who was pushing her chair. He gave her a smiling nod of approval. She gave a quick smile, stood up and posed… sans smile, just as you’d expect from Raven, especially from the Teen Titans and/or Teen Titans Go! cartoons.

After talking with the guys from Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection for a while, I walked around and looked at various exhibitors’ booths and displays, including a great The Hobbit-themed booth from WETA:

Friday, I was only able to attend for a few hours, but I decided to go in costume, in my Nick Fury outfit:

Attending in costume was a slightly different experience than going in street clothes. I was approached by people – including a number of young children (or their parents, in the case of shy kids) – asking if they could take my picture. When I was trying to decide whether or not to go in costume, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about that. After the fact, I can say: It was actually quite a bit of fun, especially when I saw the kids’ faces light up when I said that I’d take a picture with them.  And let’s face it, when a trio of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and Captain America ask if they can get a picture with you, you say “Yes.”

I wasn’t able to attend on Saturday, but heard about the chaos of the day from a few people. It seems that the bulk of the con attendees came on Saturday. This wasn’t surprising, as it was the only day that surprise guest Stan Lee was going to be at the Con. The number of people attempting to enter the convention center was so great that the Salt Lake Fire Marshall came and limited the number of people able to enter at one time. As people left, they had to get back into the growing line if they wished to get back in.

There were a few points of contention, from what I’ve learned. Most of the complaints seem to stem from a lack of communication and dissemination of information between staff members on Thursday. This led to some confusion about things like where panels were being held and who would be available for guest signings at what time. I also heard that the lines of communication were greatly improved on Friday and Saturday. I’d chalk most of the issues up to “first year growing pains.”

All told, I had a fun – though abbreviated – time at the first Salt Lake Comic Con. As my time was limited, I didn’t attend any panel discussions or stand in line for any autographs/photographs from the celebrity guests. With a bit more advance planning, perhaps I’ll do those things next year. From the attendee point of view, I thought that Salt Lake Comic Con was a good event. If the bumps and scrapes from this year are addressed and corrected for next year’s Comic Con, I expect that it will be even better.

The gallery of pictures I took can be seen here. I wasn’t able to get many pictures on Friday, due to both time constraints and being stopped by people wanting to take my picture. Hopefully, next year, I’ll be able to get more.

* – As of 08 September 2013

02 October 2012
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a fan of The Legion of Super-Heroes.

It is, to the best of my recollection, the single series to which I have been the most devoted for over 30 years. In fact, as much of a Green Lantern fan as I am, the one – comic-related – thing that supersedes it: My affinity for the Legion. Reboots and all. (I think that the Legion has been rebooted – and unbooted – more times than the DC Universe, on the whole.) But it still my “warm, fuzzy place” in comics.

So, when I read the title of this Comics Alliance article, made me smile. For many reasons. Not the least of which was that it was a Legion-related item. But also because it features Tyroc, the first Black Legionnaire.

There have been four (technically, “five”) other Black Legionnaires:

• Invisible Kid II
• Computo (Kid sister of Invisible Kid II)
• Kid Quantum I and Kid Quantum II (Reboot Legion; Siblings; one who replaced the other in the Legion)
• Star Boy (Threeboot Legion)

I should note that while Tyroc was Black, he was not African-American; he was African. More or less. In typical comic book fashion, so as not to commit a character to an actual nation, the powers-that-be at DC Comics created the island nation of Marzal as Tyroc’s homeland. The introduction and characterization of Tyroc was… “somewhat questionable“.. in his early appareances, though it seems that DC is trying to amend that to some degree in the DCnU.

But, I digress…

The point of this blog post was to say that I found a Legion article on Comics Alliance and it made me smile.

And with that, I’m done.

24 August 2012
A couple of weeks ago, Comics Alliance ran an article that asked artists – all male – to compare heroes’ physiques with those of Olympic competitors.

CA has now posed the same question to a group of female artists:

Two weeks ago we ran an article on ComicsAlliance looking at body diversity and superheroes. We asked four artists to rank male and female superheroes by size and describe which athletic types they resembled. The aim was to see if an unspoken consensus exists about what superheroes should look like or if they all belonged to the same generic model.

All four of the artists we spoke to were men. If you’re looking to represent the demographic diversity of the superhero industry that’s sadly a pretty accurate sample. But it didn’t allow us to see if there was a difference in the way male and female artists perceive superhero body shapes, and we thought that was an interesting question. So we reached out to some of the best female artists working in superhero comics today to see how they ranked the heroes.

To read the new article, click here: Superhero Body Diversity: Female Artists Offer Their Take