Superman 2000

Any discussion of DC and Warners’ varied attempts to revitalize Superman for a modern market wouldn’t really be complete without at least some mention of Superman 2000, a now famous (or, depending on how you look at it, infamous) 1998 pitch by writers Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Mark Waid and Tom Peyer designed to overhaul the Superman comics franchise. Their proposal, which you can read here, is forward-thinking yet faithful, immensely engaging, well thought-out, filled with promise and in general a pleasure to read and contemplate. And of course, keeping with their recent history of playing it either too safe or stupid (or both) with the Man of Steel, DC editorial of course turned it down at the eleventh hour.

DC and Warner Bros' Superman Problem

DC and Warner Bros’ have a major Superman problem, and no, I’m not talking about the possibility, however small, that they may still losethe rights to the character back to the families of his original creators,Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. No, the Superman problem I’m referring to is the ongoing and very obvious struggle of DC Comics and their parent company Warners to fix, update or tweak Superman so as to make him more appealing to modern audiences, this despite the fact that Superman is arguably their most iconic character (yes, ahead of even Batman) and undoubtedly one of the most recognizable fictional creations on planet Earth.

For the past two decades, some very talented people who obviously care a lot about the character have been in charge of crafting his adventures in comics and on both the big and small screens, yet it should be obvious to anyone who has followed The Man of Steel’s history over the past twenty years – a period marked by several reboots, re-imaginings of his origin story, failed attempts to relaunch a film franchise and/or make him “grittier” and more in line with the moral ambiguity of modern times – that the corporate entities charged with stewarding the character have very little idea of what to do with him.

It’s clear to anyone paying attention that DC and Warner Bros have been locked in a constant, near desperate effort to “fix” Superman and make modern readers/audiences care about him, a struggle that most recently has led in part to DC relaunching its entire line of comics with the New 52 and the latest misguided attempt to steal headlines by making Superman and Wonder Woman make out in the most recent issue of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League, the publisher’s flagship title. The problem, of course, is that Superman isn’t broken, probably never was, and almost certainly doesn’t need “fixing” in any real sense. What needs fixing is DC and Warner Bros’ failure to understand the character and what makes him so important to so many people on this planet and this country in particular. 

Back to The Rez: Thoughts upon Re-reading Scalped

 

Scalped, one of my absolute favorite comic series of the last decade, wrapped up its sixty-issue run this past Wednesday, and as planned I spent this weekend rereading the first 45 or so issues before taking in for the first time the climactic 15 installments. Naturally I have a lot to say about this brilliant, gut-churning series, but I’m going to do my best to keep the discussion as spoiler free as possible while still attempting to pinpoint why I think Jason Aaron and company created one of the best, most badass crime stories you’ll find in any medium. Keep in mind that at this early juncture, the modest but loyal readership of this blog seems to be made up of equal parts casual comics readers and diehard, longtime enthusiasts, so I want to do my best to service both parties’ interests moving forward. Without further ado, after the jump is my thoughts on Scalped, a series I really can’t recommend highly enough:

Neil Armstrong: (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012)

Here's to the first real Starchild -- Neil Armstrong. 

Hard-Boiled Comics, and Why I Love 'Em

This past Wednesday saw the publication of the final issue of Jason Aaron and R.M. Guerra’s noir masterpiece Scalped, reminding me 1) I really need to get off my ass and catch up on the issues published over the past year; and 2) I’ve yet to really rant about my love of crime fiction on this nifty new blog of mine.

The first concern I plan to remedy this weekend, one of the only quiet ones I’ve had in a long time. As for the second, we can take care of that right here and now, and maybe even throw in a few recommendations for you fellow noir enthusiasts looking to sample the best hard-boiled crime fiction the comics medium has to offer.

 

From the Vault: Why Planetary Rules the World

While I catch up and get this blog ready to operate on a regular schedule, here's an IGN article I wrote a couple years ago about one of my favorite series of all time, Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary. Enjoy.

One of greatest comic book series of the 20th Century debuted in 1999, but had the majority of its issues see print between the years 2001 and 2007, with the last hitting stands in October 2009. For those who have experienced the wonder of Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary for themselves, that statement might not need much explanation. For those who haven't, allow me to explain.

Although there's certainly no shortage of respected comic book voices loudly proclaiming the greatness of Planetary, the fact that Ellis, Cassaday and company took a whole ten years to complete their 27-issue opus seems to have kept it off that universally accepted short list of mainstream comic book masterworks composed of the likes of Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. Now that the series is finally complete and collected in two beautiful Absolute Editions (available on stands now), that omission is no longer acceptable. Because make no mistake about it: Planetary is the greatest mainstream comic of the last twenty years, and, for a number of complex reasons, might just be the best of the last century. At the very least, it's my favorite. Here's why:

While I'm Not Working, Here's Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Do

I'm back from an epic weekend of music at the fifth annual Equifunk Festival, where the Frank Stalloners had the honor of sharing a bill with such tremendous acts as Galactic, Dumpstaphunk, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, The Pimps of Joytime and many, many more. Suffice it to say I'm absolutely beat. Throw on top of that the fact that I have my weekly Tuesday Night Jam gig tonight and that I owe my artistic partner in crime, Tom Travers, some script pages for the new strip we're working on, and it means I don't have the time to knock out a decent blog post tonight. So while I'm not working, I figured I'd share with you legendary artist Wally Wood's 22 Panels that Always Work, an invaluable tool for any comics creator interested in making even the most mundane dialogue panel visually interesting. Check it out if you haven't already, then take a look at modern master Michael Oeming's take on the same rules. 

Sorry again for the delay. We'll be back on schedule tomorrow.