Over the years we've seen quite a few characters struggle with chemical addictions in comics. From Tony Stark's alcoholism, to Grant Morrison introducing the drug Kick in New X-Men to today where Daken has become addicted to a powerful new drug called Heat. How do you as a reader feel about it? Is it a sore subject that should be avoided? A lazy plot device? Does it hit home for you as a reader due to some of your own personal experiences?
For myself, I've done drugs and seen people who have ruined their lives because of them. I think it's a topic that if done correctly can be interesting and even informative.
The DC reboot was without a doubt the comic news of the year and possibly the decade. Unless you've been living under a rock you know all about it. But, if you pay attention Marvel isn't taking it lying down. They've slowly been relaunching their own characters in new series, just not all at one time like DC. Over the last few months we've seen new titles for Thor, Moon Knight, Daredevil and Captain America. There is also news of new books on the horizon such as a new Uncanny X-Men series, Wolverine & the X-Men, a new Hulk ongoing (renumbered of course), a new Defenders book and others.
What do you think of Marvel's strategy? Are they going the low key route on purpose or is this part of a bigger plan?
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This is my first real attempt at something like this so bear with me if it sucks terribly.
Cable. Nathan Dayspring Summers. The man died valiantly to save Hope and preserve the mutant race. Traveling to the future with X-Force to thwart Bastion he didn't make it back alive. Is this his final mission?
The Setting: San Francisco, CA. It is several months after the events of Second Coming. It's winter time and very chilly in the city by the Bay. In a local children's hospital a young child named Joshua Baker lies in his hospital bed. A victim of a near drowning accident, the 13 year old boy has been here for several months and is only kept alive by a respirator. His parents have clung to a false hope that one day their son will return to normal and walk and play again. They still visit him everyday and bring his favorite candy and set it at his bedside. The family is slowly beginning to lose hope and the doctors have given them a timeline for their son to be taken off the machine.
On Utopia, Cyclops is having a rare day to relax and think. He reminisces over the events of the last few years and his thoughts float back to the time when his son was born. As a tear runs down his cheek and alarm sounds. It's the San Francisco Police Department and they have dire need of the X-Men's help. A splinter group of the Friends of Humanity is holding hostages at a local museum and have intentions to kill or maim everyone inside. Cyclops mobilizes a team of himself, Northstar, Wolverine and Angel. They meet the SWAT team outside of the museum and Cyclops devises a plan using the building's schematics and layout. The X-Men make short work of them and the hostages are saved.
Back at the Children's Hospital, the decision time has come for Joshua Baker's parents. The doctor's reports aren't promising and per California state law they can't keep the boy on life support any longer. His parents Maggie & Thomas have had many sleepless nights pertaining to this day. They have a final meeting with the doctors and both agree that the time has come. They walk into Joshua's room and look at him for what they think is the last time. The doctor enters the room and after a brief conversation he tells them that it is time to pull the plug.
Maggie holds her son's hand and strokes his cheek. Her husband holds her tight as they fight back the tears. They knew this day would come but that didn't make it any easier. A group of nurses enter the room to assist the doctor in the procedure. As the doctor begins to perform the final procedures there's a sudden spike in the readings on the medical instruments.
"Doctor, what's going on?" asks his mother. "I'm not exactly sure. I've never seen anything like this before. There's a sudden and strange amount of brainwave activity." The doctor replies. The boy's father shouts. "What does it mean??!!??" The doctor is dumfounded. "This is unparalleled...."
The boy's eyes open and his father tightly grips his hand. He looks around the room and then spots the television in the background. There's a news report with the X-Men that were involved in the bank hostage situation. Cyclops is onscreen in full costume.
"Dad?" The boy asks... "I'm here Joshua, I'm here!" Mr. Baker is in tears with joy at what's happened. "My name isn't Joshua....it's Nathan". The boy retorts. "Son, you must still be in a state of confusion. I'm your father. Your mother and I are right here for you." The father replies. "My father? My father is the man on the tv......."-Joshua
First and foremost, Dan Didio and Geoff Johns would be on the next train to Nowheresville, Outer Mongolia. Now that the dead weight is out of the way, I present Jake Fury's DC Universe!
Step 1: I'd bring back the Earth-1 & Earth-2 concepts. I loved them when I was a kid and I think DC has enough characters to pull it off again. However, there wouldn't be any crossovers or a yearly Crisis.
*GASP*
Shocking, I know.
EARTH-1
Earth-1 is the home to many of DC's more famous heroes and Silver Age icons. This Earth shapes up as follows:
-JLA- The premiere super hero team of Earth-One. It consists of Superman, Batman (Bruce), Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (Hal) and the Flash (Barry Allen). All of these members would also have their own solo titles.
-Superman, Superboy (Connor) and Supergirl. The first family of super heroes for Earth-One.
-Batman & Robin- (Bruce & Damien)
-Birds of Prey-Bruce's main support group in Gotham. It consists of Black Canary, Catwoman, Huntress and is led by Oracle (Barbara).
-The Outsiders-A group of heroes that combat threats on an international basis. It is made up of Black Lightning, Katana, Geo-Force, Halo & Metamorpho.
-Green Arrow-Oliver Queen resides in Star City and is the CEO of Queen Industries. He also masquerades as Green Arrow and is assisted by his two sons Roy (Arsenal) & Connor Hawke.
-Teen Titans- Led by Tim Drake, this is a team of Legacy heroes. They receive training from the JLA and sometimes work beside them on missions. The team consists of Tim Drake, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash (Bart Allen) & Beast Boy.
-Shadowpact- A group of mages and magicians that tackle the mystical problems that arise. It consists of Zatanna, Dr. Fate & Raven. They are often sent into situations/missions by the Spectre.
-Booster Gold & Blue Beeetle. The two BFF's are reunited with Ted Kord as the Blue Beetle once again. These two partake in zany missions that many of the other heroes frown upon. Many of these take place in different or alternate time periods.
EARTH-2 Earth-2 is an alternate Earth that diverged from the other DC Earth at a critical point in history. It has many of the Golden Age's greatest heroes and others.
-JSA: The premiere superhero team of Earth-2. It is made up of Sentinel (Alan Scott), Wildcat, Jay Garrick, Power Girl, Liberty Belle, Hourman & Captain Marvel (Billy Batson).
-The Marvel Family: The first family of DC's Earth-2 heroes. It consists of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel & Freddy Marvel. ( I hate the Captain Marvel, Jr moniker)
-Batman & Nightwing: Thomas Wayne & Dick Grayson. Yes, I'm stealing this idea from Flashpoint. Thomas Wayne survived the family shooting, not Bruce. He recruited a young Dick Grayson as his apprentice after Grayson's circus family was murdered. There's a significant age gap in this reality as Grayson is in his late teens, early 20s.
-The Flash: Starring Wally West as the Flash and this Earth's one and only Scarlet Speedster.
-Green Lantern: Starring Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. In this reality, Kyle is Earth's only GL.
-Secret Six: A team of mercs for hire. They're often used by Thomas Wayne when dealing with some of Gotham's more dastardly villains. The group is made up of Catman, Bane, Deadshot, Cheshire, Scandal Savage & Ragdoll.
-Doom Patrol: led by Niles Caulder, this team explores the weirder side of things in this reality.
-L.E.G.I.O.N.: A group that deals with incidents in outer space. It's made up of Starfire, Adam Strange, Cyborg & Hawkman/hawkgirl. In this reality the Hawks are the Thanagarian versions.
-The Female Furies: This is a group of female only heroes. It is made up of Donna Troy, Stargirl, Vixen & Jade.
-The Authority: This is a mysterious group of heroes not sancitoned by any of the world's governments. They are viewed with distrust by the JSA and most of Earth-2's heroes. Some even say they're worse than many of this Earth's villains.
There you have it. jake Fury's DC Universe!
Dc, if your money is right then we can make a deal...........
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Most of my girlfriend's comic knowledge is a result of me being a huge nerd and always telling her about the goings on in the world of comics. We were talking this morning and she had some seriously unintentional hilarious comments. I've already told her about the relaunch but then told her about a couple of other changes.
The following is our conversation:
Me: "Guess what else DC is doing?" Her: "What?" Me: "All of the women are going to be wearing pants." Her: "What, how is Wonder woman going to fly when she's wearing pants?" Me: "Superman flies and he wears pants." Her: "Superman doesn't wear pants he wears tights. They're different. They're lightweight and aerodynamic." Thus totally proving me wrong, typical woman. Me: "They're also getting rid of his red underwear on the outside." Her: "Tell me you did not just say that!" Me: "It's true, I've seen the pictures." Her: "These changes sound stupid. They should fire every one of them."
And there you have it. This is coming from someone who doesn't even read comics....pretty telling, eh?
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Since the big announcement by DC, I've been thinking about what characters I'd get rid of to trim some of the fat and streamline things. I've got a few ideas in my mind but I want to know what everyone else thinks. Are there any DC characters that you want to see gone? They can be someone minor, major, male, female or heck someone you just can't stand and want to see gone forever.
That's right, step away from the ledge, slowly. Judging from the responses to DC's big announcement yesterday, I'm concerned about the will to live in some of you. Just kidding, but I feel your concerns as fans. This isn't the end of the world. Yes, there are changes afoot but none of us know how dramatic they're going to be. I honestly have no idea what's going to happen with this but it's certainly created a buzz.
I've noticed how many of you feel very strongly about this and I implore you to speak your mind. It is your right as a human being to express your opinion when you don't agree with something. Harass Geoff Johns on Twitter and let him know how you feel. Send DC comics an email and let the hate flow through you. Walk to the post office and mail them a letter. Hell, the last time I checked their office had a telephone. Call them up and voice your displeaure. Let them know they're not the only game in town and the fans are the ones that pay their bills.
Above all, don't let them kill the fan in you. Look for other comic avenues to explore. You might find something you really like that you weren't even looking for.
Everytime I make a trip to my local comic shop I take some time to browse through pretty much every title that pertains to DC or Marvel. Some of them I have zero interest in but I like to keep my eyes open for anything that may potentially interest me. I also like to remain current on comic events even if I'm not reading the titles. After several recent trips, there's something thats really started to pique my curiosity and it's the way DC handles their female characters compared to Marvel. In my opinion Marvel does a TERRIBLE job with their female characters. Outside of X-23 & Spider-Girl (which I think is getting cancelled again) I can't think of a current female solo title the company produces. For me, this is a crying shame. I've grown up with characters like the Wasp, Sue Storm, She-Hulk, Ms Marvel and not to mention the countless X-women I've followed over the years. Seriously? Marvel has a rich tradition with it's female characters and the only books they have to show for it right now are these 2 titles? Nothing against the books themselves, I've read a good chunk of X-23's arc and really enjoyed it. I just think there are a number of excellent female characters that could hold their own in a solo title. However, most of the time when they're in team books they become eye candy and barely play a role in stories.There are some exceptions like Emma Frost and Rogue. But, these are exceptions to the rule and not the norm.
Compared to Marvel, DC Comics makes them look like they're still living in the 1800s. I have a hard time believing that the powers that be at Marvel would support women's suffrage and probably be against women driving if their current crop of books is any indication. DC's female titles quite simply blow them away in number and genres. You've got Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Zatanna, Birds of Prey, Batgirl and Gotham City Sirens. Not to mention other strong female characters appearing in other books like Scandal Savage, Renee Montoya and Kathy Kane. I haven't read all of these books but at least the effort is there.
Marvel needs to get with the program and follow DC's example. I'm sure there's a new generation of female fans who'd love to see what the women of Marvel are all about.
One of the most important things to me when buying a comic is the art. Most of the time if I can't look at it and enjoy it I'm not going to buy it. I've noticed a trend lately where great artists will pencil a single issue of a comic. I find this highly irritating. Case in point, the current Avengers series. I've always been a fan of Cap, Thor & Iron Man but quite frankly I think John Romita, Jr. sucks. I picked up a couple of issues of the Infinity Gems saga and I just couldn't force myself to do it anymore. All of the men's facial features (5 o'clock shadow, square jaw) look exactly the same and to me as a fan it's quite insulting. I saw a recent Point One issue for the series and it got me interested because the artist was none other than Bryan Hitch. The story was superbly well drawn. If he had stayed on as the permanent artist I would have definitely added it to my monthly hold slot. However, the next issue was pencilled by Chris Bachalo. I'm sorry but his art just doesn't do it for me either. I can't stand the way he draws the human body, male or female and it just isn't visually appealing at all for me. My plea is this for Marvel; PLEASE STOP USING THESE GREAT ARTISTS FOR SINGLE ISSUES! Don't give me garbage for 12 issues then give me a gem only to take it away. Please find a permanent series for Bryan Hitch or Alan Davis to work on. These one-shots are turning me into a crazy man!
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