Death is in everything that Batman does.
The fire of his existence, of his endless crusade, was sparked in an alley with the death of his parents and fed by the loss of Jason Todd all those years ago.
Even now, in this new 52, death hangs in the air with the conclusion of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s “Death of the Family” event, as the question is asked: why hasn’t Batman killed the Joker? (more…)
The first issue of Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time hit stands this week. With so many offerings in different media being presented to us for the 50th Anniversary, how does IDW’s stack up?
Warning, here be spoilers. And Katy Manning.
The first thing that struck me was the similarity between this and The Five Doctors. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Five Doctors, but we are definitely getting the same set up here. A mysterious hooded enemy is observing the Doctor through multiple incarnations, throwing old adversaries at him. In The Five Doctors, the Doctor gets scooped off and away. Here, it is only the companions. Where they are being sent, we don’t know. If it turns out to be the Death Zone, I shall kick someone.
The more I ruminate on it, the less it feels like a William Hartnell story. While the characterization of the regulars is nice, the story itself feels more and more out of place. It is perfectly in keeping with the era that the Doctor meets a historical figure. Indeed, one of the original goals for the series was to educate and expand on famous events and people. This became less of a priority after the Daleks made such a splash, but it was still part of the series until Patrick Troughton‘s first season. Yet Huxley would have been a controversial choice for the sixties, still being a divisive figure. He would have been in living memory for some people and the show shied away from such things until the 1980s.
Also, as the following annotations note, the Doctor getting to the precise time and place he intended was completely unheard of. Oft times, the TARDIS crew had no idea where they landed and would have to figure it out over the course of the first ten minutes of the first episode. This was part of fun of the show. You never had a clue where they would wind up next.
Simon Fraser’s art is a mixed bag. In terms of storytelling, it is very well done. There are some great panels of the Doctor battling Zarbi that can’t be missed. But this is a comic that lives on likenesses. The Doctor himself is alright, but Ian and Barbara look nothing like William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, Vicki often looks far older than 16, and strangely Huxley is pretty good. Fraser has a knack for old men apparently.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I have always adored the Zarbi, so any excuse to see them again is very welcome. Quite where this is all going, I’ve no idea but we shall hopefully get some more clues next issue.
And now, a few things to notice about Issue #1.
Page 1, Panel 1 — While most images in this panel are too small to make out, of special notice is the upper right hand corner which features one of the infamous Katy Manning (who played companion Jo Grant) nude photos. Its inclusion here may be an indication that in the Who universe, Jo also took a nude photo with a Dalek. Jo met the Daleks in the episodes Day of the Daleks and Planet of the Daleks.
Page 2, Panel 2 — From top to bottom: The fourth Doctor and an unknown companion in Hollywood. Judging from the hairstyle, it’s probably Sarah. There is no recorded adventure with the fourth Doctor in Hollywood, but his first, second, fifth, sixth, eighth, tenth and eleventh incarnations have visited. This is the carving of the tenth Doctor and Donna as featured at the end of Fires of Pompeii. A photo of the TARDIS in Roald Dahl Plass taken during Boom Town. Roald Dahl Plass is also home to the Torchwood Hub.
Page 3, Panel 3 — From left to right. Row 1: Barbara Wright, an older Vicki Pallister, Captain Jack Harkness, the second Romana, Amy and Rory Pond-Williams, Micky Smith. Doctor Liz Shaw. Row 2: Dorothy “Ace” McShane, Rose Tyler, Adric, Frobisher (Doctor Who Magazine comic strip), Adam Mitchell (Dalek, The Long Game). Row 3: unknown (Possibly Charlotte Pollard from Big Finish audios), K-9, Matthew Finnegan (IDW comics)
Page 5, Panel 3-The sixth Doctor would meet a young Charles Darwin in Bloodtide. Darwin also gets name checked frequently in the seventh Doctor story Ghost Light,a sort of parable about evolution.
Page 6, Panel 3 — The first Doctor was almost completely incapable of getting the TARDIS where he intended to go. The running arc of the first season was his trying to get Ian and Barbara back to the 20th century. Just how they are in 1868 on the right day is something of a mystery. Let alone writing Huxley a letter that would get to him in a timely manner…
Page 8, Panel 2 — The first Doctor usually carried a tiny pen torch, but this larger model is new. The same prop torch would later be used as the first version of the sonic screwdriver. The flashlight was invented in Britain in 1899.
Page 9, Panel 4– The Zarbi seen here are different than those seen in The Web Planet. In that story, they are large bipedal ants with six limbs. Here they scuttle around on the ground and seem to have either six or eight legs depending on what panel they’re in.
Page 11, Panel 3 — Here the Doctor calls Ian “Chatterton”. This is an example of what is referred to in fan circles as a “Billy Fluff”. During most of the 60s, Doctor Who was shot on video almost as live. Tape was very expensive and there was very little editing. They would pretty much only stop if something went very, very wrong. If a line was fluffed, it was often left in. Hartnell had a tendency to fluff his lines, sometimes quite noticeably. How much of this was intentional to show how the Doctor was a befuddled old scientist, no one will ever know. But this did often show itself when the Doctor was referring to Ian. Of course in this comic, Ian’s last name has not been mentioned yet, so if you didn’t already know who Ian was, you might be confused.
Page 15, Panel 3 — The Isop-tope Device was created by the other native race to Vortis, the Menoptera, a race of giant butterfly men. At the end of The Web Planet, it was Barbara that threw the Device at the Animus, seemingly killing it.
From page 1, panel 1
Page 19, Panel 2 –The Light at the End is also the title of Big Finish’s forthcoming 50th anniversary Doctor Who audio featuring the fourth through eighth Doctors.
Page 20, Panel 4 –The Doctor shall encounter the Zarbi again in Twilight of the Gods and Return to the Web Planet. A Zarbi also made a cameo appearance in The Mind of Evil as a manifestation of one of the Doctor’s greatest fears! A seed of the Animus returns in Twilight of the Gods, trying to take over Vortis once more.
Page 23 — As mentioned in John Ainsworth’s essay, the 60’s Doctor Who comic strip was a sometimes bizarre sidestep from the show. For the sake of completeness, the Zarbi did appear in the comic and in the Doctor Who annuals released at the same time, but these are so confused in terms on continuity, these are usually ignored. For example, The Lost Ones features the Doctor traveling alone to Vortis before The Web Planet and includes a war between Atlanteans and the Menoptera.
Oh sure, he reigns supreme now, standing high above us all on Nerd mountain following the success of The Avengers (meh), but like all of us, Joss Whedon has regrets.
For instance, there is that time he wore that salmon and grey colored henley jersey shirt for 14 consecutive months, the time he didn’t blame more people for the failure of Alien: Resurrection, the time he turned down an Indecent Proposal-style offer that could have gotten Firefly a back 9 (Robert Redford was inexplicably powerful at Fox in the early aughts, but I’ll never know why he craved Alan Tudyk in that way) and apparently, that time that he wasn’t able to sell the Buffy animated series.
Here’s what Whedon had to say on the non-life of the Buffy-toon during a Q&A at the Director’s Guild:
“We got to do almost everything we wanted to do. The only thing we didn’t get to do is an animated version, which was a delight for us because the writers themselves were working on it. We wrote seven scripts … it was ‘what could we not do [on the regular series].’ They were really fun to write. We could not sell the show. We could not sell an animated Buffy, which I still find incomprehensible.”
Thankfully for Whedon and us, he has continued the Buffy story into the comic book realm with Dark Horse’s Buffy series. Within those pages, Whedon and his shiny cohorts have been able to take Buffy to the limit without the bounds of a TV budget.
Whedon even got to pay homage to the dashed cartoon in the 20th issue of Buffy Season 8, “After These Messages… We’ll Be Right Back”. Written by Jeph Loeb (who worked with Whedon on the Buffy animated series and who is now working with him on the SHIELD pilot) and partially drawn by Eric Wight, the sorta-one shot cuts into Buffy’s dreams as she remembers the comparatively calmer days of season one, so if you really want the scoop on what the Buffy Animated Series would have felt like, go pick up the comic and find out.
Source: Blastr, Assignment X
So, the Justice League movie. They don’t have a director, they don’t have a script, they don’t have any stars, but they have a release date, and now they have a villain too.
And could it be any more obvious…
I’m goona rap at you people.
I respect Tony Harris’ art — the fellow can move a pencil on paper in a way that is pleasing and Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days is among my favorite books — but when he tries to pivot from pictures to words, something gets lost in translation.
Today, on the Great Public Embarrassment Generator known as Facebook, Harris took to the soap box that we are all given in exchange for our personal information and he told the world, nay, the universe, what he thought about female cosplayers. Apparently he thinks you are all phony, so please pack up your bosoms and go home. (Okay, that wasn’t expressed, but it’s sorta close to that, isn’t it? Go ahead, read it, I’ll wait…)
Now, I don’t know what Harris thinks a real female comic book fan dresses like, and I really don’t care. His notions are either fiction or a fraction of the truth, because in my experience as a chubdorable male that frequents conventions, female comic fans don’t dress in one specific way or the other.
They are cosplayers, they are “sexy” cosplayers, they are tee shirt clad, and so on and so forth. There is diversity within their ranks and that is outstanding, undeniable, and irreversible.
Women, men, Klingons, and everyone else should feel comfortable to be themselves when they go to a con because that is one of the most beautiful things about cons — they are a sanctuary for a group of people who love similar things and they should be a free, safe place.
What threatens that? People with agendas and people who forget that they have sisters and mothers and grandmothers and pretend that women are there to be preyed upon, though the portrayal of Comic-Cons as a lawless badland over-run with dick-in-hand thugs feels inaccurate.
With that said though, every costume is not an invitation and they aren’t declarations of whoreishness. They aren’t political statements either. Sometimes a Power Girl costume is just a Power Girl costume and sometimes that’s someone’s way of getting attention and that’s cool too. Really, whatever thrills you.
Honestly, I’m too busy looking for 1/2 price trades or sprinting from panel to panel to notice (because as a grown up, I have seen breasts and thus they have no power over me), but sex and sexiness and dressing in a sexy way should be embraced and allowed because hell yeah freedom and all that good stuff. And oh by the way, plenty of men dress in cosplay and plenty of them wear the form fitting costumes popularized by their favorite characters as well, but no one ever brings that up or the fact that men are sexualized in comics as well. Well, almost no one.
Here’s another thing that should be celebrated at cons: newbies. I’ve been a hardcore nerd for five years. Wanna see my nerd card? Frak you. I’ve spent days marathoning Buffy, BSG, Angel, Trek, Doctor Who, and I’m coming off a period of hurricane inspired technical isolation that I spent in the OCD hell of action figure re-posing and the nerdvana of thumbing through the contents of a long box of comics and trades on my own private Elba. I didn’t do that to gain favor with others, I did that because I love this shit and I love this shit because science fiction and fantasy are about inclusion.
Tony Harris’ remarks aren’t about inclusion (or reality, unless I’m just too mellow and toy obsessed to notice the sexual Gettysburg that Mr. Harris spies) and that’s unfortunate because as someone who makes comics, you would think it would be in his best interests to try and bring people into this world, not push them out.
Alright, that’s really all I have to say about this, so in conclusion: I really don’t care if people want to dress up as Chewie or Cheetara and I just want everyone to relax, read a comic (even a Tony Harris one if you can excuse his remarks), and enjoy this amazing era in nerdiness without letting the rest of the bullshit seep in. Peace out.
The opinions expressed in the above article are those of the writer and not Nerdbastards.com. Also, did he just close out the article by saying “Peace out”?
We told you last month about the Aurora Rise benefit that is being organized by All C’s Collectibles in Aurora, CO to help the victims of the Aurora masacre and now, with Aurora Rise set to go on this weekend we wanted to remind you about this awesome event and the collective comic book community response to this tragedy.
In the time since late July the event has grown immensely – securing Mike Mignola, Steve Niles, Matt Fraction and others for in-store signings and appearances. They have also added the support of DC and Marvel, who have joined Dark Horse Comics and Image Comics as sponsors.
The event has now been picked up and covered by Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Bleeding Cool, and serveral other outlets, with Rich Johnston and company over at Bleeding Cool repeatedly reporting on the event and donating items to All C’s. Speaking of items that have been donated that list is astonishing and with all proceeds from the silent auction going to the Alex Sullivan Fund and Giving First Aurora, this is bound to make an impact on the lives of those most affected by those horrific events. You can check the Aurora Rise Facebook page for updates on the list of products that will be available, including a small selection of items that may be auctioned online.
In the time since I first heard about Aurora Rise I have spoken with a number of people in the comics community and the sense of purpose and the selflessness that I have encountered has been awe inspiring. From Mr. Farnsworth dedicating his time and turning over his store to help not just the people he knows and knew but also victims that he had never encountered, to Aub Driver over at Dark Horse sounding the horn to the comic book media and Sarah DeLine over at Image coordinating across multiple imprints like Top Cow and Skybound to get people to Aurora and get donations in — all so impressive, all so helpful. I spoke to artist Tim Daniel via email about the event as well and I wanted to share with you what he told me.
The genuine nature of Jason [Farnsworth]‘s desire to assist the victims and families of the Aurora shooting was palpable. I could feel the emotion in his words; the simmering frustration and outright shock mixed with a real hope to help make a difference in these people’s lives. Jason’s words gave voice to my own feelings about the shootings. Through his efforts, I had a chance to contribute something, because none of what happened that night made any sense to me. Selfish really, when I think about it – but also in a way, cathartic - being able to contribute some marketing materials and help grow the awareness of the Benefit Event. Once again though, credit to someone else here, in the person of Colorado artist Anthony Gregori, who took my rough graphics and banged out polished art elements for me to arrange within 24 hrs. Having Tony hail from Colorado, only made it more appropriate and personal.
All of this comes from my admiration of the comics industry as a community, having been witness to so many selfless acts by creators over the last several years; whether it was benefit auctions, donations, appearances – there is always someone in need and often, I’ve seen members of the comics industry step-in with money or goods or whatever, in order to assist others. I’m very grateful to find myself to be a part of such a kind, generous, compassionate community. Jason’s customers, his friends and fellow Aurorans, whether they were in that theater or not – support this industry every Wednesday – there is an undeniable relationship there between each of them and those of us making comics. I’m proud to see the various publishers and individual creators that have stepped forward and acknowledge that connection.
The Aurora Rise event takes place this weekend, August 25th and 26th at All C’s Collectibles. All C’s is located at 1250 South Abillene Street Aurora, CO. Their phone number is: (303) 751-6882 and their email is: allcs@comcast.net. If you live in the Denver/Aurora area or if you know someone who lives in the area please either stop by or let them know that they should stop by to watch Jason Farnsworth and the comic book community rise up to help those in need in the moments after many have forgotten the hell that they have and will go through as time goes on.
According to Ain’t It Cool News (via JoBlo) there are five characters from the original Star Trek series that rebooted Star Trek screenwriter Roberto Orci says are not in Star Trek 2.
You’ll notice that the one name is conspicuously absent from the list and is Khan Noonien Singh, the potential identity of the frequently debated about villain of the upcoming sequel that’s being played by Benedict Cumberbatch. I wouldn’t take this as confirmation though because I think at this point J.J. Abrams and the gang is having fun yanking the chains of over-anxious geeks.
So here is the Orci’s list:
1. Gary Mitchell – In the original series’ second episode, “Where No Man has Gone Before,” Mitchell is introduced as the Enterprise’s navigator and an old Academy friend of Kirk’s. After being exposed to the Galactic Barrier, Mitchell begins being consumed by god-like abilities, and Kirk is eventually forced to kill him on the surface of Delta Vega. Mitchell would be a compelling character for a villain in the sequel, but the story’s already been done in the IDW comic book follow-up to Star Trek. I highly doubt that Abrams et al would have allowed IDW to roll with the story if they were saving something for the movie.
2. Charlie X – From the episode of the same name, Charlie was a teenager who survived a transport ship crash as a 3-year-old, was stranded on an alien world, and given superpowers by disembodied aliens. The Enterprise is transporting him to relatives on a nearby world when the kid loses his $#!% and tries to take over the ship. As you may have notice, no teenage actor has been cast in Trek 2.
3. Ruk – An android from the episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” Technically, he kind of filled the sidekick role in the episode as the real antagonist was Dr. Roger Korby (former finance of Nurse Chapel), so it’s kind of heard to think this character would be the heavy in Trek 2.
4. Janice Rand – Rand was played by Grace Lee Whitney in several episodes of the original series and was a Yeoman, someone who does clerical or administrative work according to the U.S. Navy system of ranking. It would have been understandable to assume than maybe Rand had a part in the sequel because of the casting of Alice Eve, who, like Whitney back in the day, is a stacked blonde. But I guess it wasn’t met to be.
5. The Borg – Thank God! The Borg were done to death on Star Trek: Voyager and milked of any lasting villainy or conflict from their collective bad asses. Resistance, apparently, is consistently not futile. Besides, The Borg were Next Generation villains.
Source: /Film
Good news, everyone! The upcoming Judge Dredd adaptation, Dredd, has received an R-rating, proving that every now and then, the MPAA can do something right. Dredd is rated R for strong and bloody violence, language, drug use, and some sexual content. Boo-YA!
Of course, it was kind of a foregone conclusion that Dredd would get its R. Here’s what producer Andrew Macdonald said back in 2010:
The main thing about Dredd is that it’s a fantastic comic that was completely messed up 20 years ago. Our idea is to make a very hard, R-rated, gritty, realistic movie of Dredd in Megacity, so we’ve got to get the tone right. He’s not going to take off his helmet. His bike is going to feel real. He’s going to hit people and it’s going to feel real. There’s been a change in comic-book movies; they were treated unseriously and now they’re treated seriously.
Plot Synopsis:
DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot – if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Peter Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip.
Dredd, directed by Vantage Point’s Peter Travis and written by 28 Days Later’s Alex Garland, opens in theaters later this year on September 21st, 2012.
Source: Geek Tyrant
We’ve all had those jobs. The jobs that we want to storm out of, double-handed flip-offs on full display with a smile and a string of profane words so severe that they would make Andrew Dice Clay wash his own mouth out with soap. Sadly though, that’s just a fantasy for most of us. A “one day I’ll” that dances around in our brains during the blissful peace of a cubicle daydream. That’s why Chris Roberson (iZombie and Superman) is destined to become a momentary icon, not only did he tell his boss to go to hell, but that boss was DC Comics, and he did it in a very public, and embarrassing way by questioning their ethics and the way they treat writers.
Now, Roberson wasn’t explicit in speaking on the details of his mistreatment by DC, hell he didn’t even say he was mistreated — and who knows, maybe a few well placed tweets on the way out the door are merely the appetizers to a more stout statement on DC, everything is a teaser for another teaser nowadays, an ad for the big reveal. Maybe that’s how Roberson will play this, and maybe he won’t say anything more — focusing on his work and building a career away from DC. One thing is clear though, it takes guts to stand in against Goliath and it is something that is uncommon due to the long memory of powerful people. (more…)
Apparently Shia LaBeouf isn’t merely a talent-less hack who fell ass-backwards into a string of mindless yet successful action films, no — he’s an artist and a genius in the mold of Chad Michael Murray.
The Beouf has put pencil to page and self-published his own written and illustrated comic books in a project so self-indulgent I can’t believe James Franco didn’t think of it first.
There are three books in total, each priced at $20. The words that I’ve seen seem still-born and rushed and the art looks like a grade school doodle that hangs on the fridge long past it’s natural expiration because your mother is a therapist and she worries that you have confidence issues and she doesn’t want you to start cutting yourself just to feel something other than shame.
Matt Wilson has a more full and coherent review of both Cyclical (its about motorcycles) and Lets Fucking Party (a journey into the mind of a well-to-do twenty something with a wallet so heavy that it would make you bust your scrotal seam, were you to foolishly try to pick it up), that review can be found on Comics Alliance, but I guarantee you Matt isn’t talking about cutting oneself or scrotal seams.
Am I being too hard on Shia? Are you making a frowny face in solidarity with the worst thing that ever happened to the Indiana Jones franchise? Alright fine, in an effort to “Go Green”, I hear all the pages of these surefire Eisner snubs will be printed on recycled starfucker panties that the Beouf liberated from the glove compartment of his Hummer. Now that isn’t true, that was a little joke, but it’s less vulgar than the “Megan Fox/scratch and sniff” one that I was going to put out there, and I tried really hard to put a nice end to this story, so I should at least get snaps for that, and also the fact that I don’t try to charge $20 for my half-baked jibber-jabber.
And that’s what gets my hackles up. It isn’t that LaBeouf fancies himself an artist — most people do, so draw Shia, express yourself, sign every picture in the book like you’re Duchamp — but charge $20 for people to feel like they’re getting a piece of you, when all they’re really getting is something you scribbled between flights? Nah, there would have been publishers lined up around the block to put out Shia’s work if it were any good, this isn’t a kid so desperate to be seen that he self publishes, this just seems like a bored movie star who can’t fathom that he might not be good at something.
Sources: Blastr, My dumbass opinion, and the letter Q
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