Marvel previews upcoming events

This Wednesday, Marvel released a 64 page comic entitled Marvel: Point One, a collection of short stories that lead into Marvel’s major upcoming storylines throughout the next year or so.  The $6.00 price tag is a little steep, but it’s the type of thing that regular comic book readers definitely want to check out.

Stories in his anthology come in wide variety, previewing future story arcs such as Ultron in Avengers and exciting new series such as Defenders and Scarlet Spider (which from the preview, looks just as good as I was hoping! J) Each of these stories are accompanied by the writer and artist of each accompanying titles, so it gives readers a good taste of which books they want to check out. 

For me personally, I definitely have to add Defenders and Age of Apocalypse to my pull list.  Defenders especially was awesome, and writer Matt Fraction’s Dr. Strange was very entertaining.  The book also made me excited about books already present on my pull list, such as Avengers and the soon to be Scarlet Spider.  I mean, did you see that Ultron art by Bryan Hitch?  And Kaine is still just awesome, a great psychological character that somehow also works as a badass.  It's good thing too that most of these stories seem exciting and generate interest; Marvel is going to need something to combat DC Comic’s massive sale lead.

Animated Green Lantern Looks to Deliver

That Green Lantern movie sucked.

Okay, well maybe that’s a little harsh, but don’t take me saying that lightly; my green lantern tattoo isn’t just for show you know! (Okay, well, yeah it kind of is….)  To be fair, I wasn’t expecting that much walking into the movie.  Few exceptional cast members, paper thin and predictable story, and a needed emphasis on special effects led to a shallow super hero movie that was easily outclassed upon it’s release this past July by the likes of superhero epics such as Thor and X-men: First Class.

Still, this mainstream attention was enough to garner further marketing interest in the character, and DC is set to air a new Green Lantern animated series in just a few short weeks, aptly titled Green Lantern: the Animated Series.  While that information is certainly interesting, what has got me most excited is a certain animated mastermind’s attachment to the project; at the executive producer’s helm sits Bruce Timm.  If there is one guy you want attached to a DC animated project, it’s this guy.

In the 1990’s, Timm produced and co-created not only the legendary Batman: the Animated Series, but also not quite as successful Superman: the Animated Series and Batman Beyond. Timm later went on to be the sole creator and producer of Justice League, and it’s later incarnation Justice League Unlimited.  Justice League and it’s later incarnation, along with Justice League Unlimited are generally considered the best of an impressive bunch, with darker storylines and character arcs than those typically found in these types of Saturday morning cartoons. 

 For fans though, the best part was that these cartoons all took place in the same continuity.  In other words, the Batman and Superman that but heads in a three part storyline in Superman: the Animated Series are the same ones that display friendly bickering when they appear side by side in Justice League.  Justice League Unlimited took things a step further, bringing in plot lines that dated way back to Batman: the Animated Series.  For fans of super hero comics, Bruce Timm helped create what can be considered the most faithful representation of these characters and storyline in any media.  Not a feat to be taken lightly. 

With such a big name backing the series, things are already looking good for Green Lantern: the Animated Series.  The premise of the series involves the Red Lanterns as the primary enemy, with lead Atrocitus set to take center stage as the primary villain.  I was initially displeased at first because this meant fan-favorite villain Sinestro would surprisingly NOT be the main villain, nor would the Sinestro Corp.  Apparently, the reasoning for this is that DC was unsure they wanted the direction the character to go in at the time, which makes sense to those reading the comic; I guess DC wasn’t sure whether they wanted Sinestro to continue on his sort of kinda redemption storyline that he’s had going on for a while now.  Disappointing, but the inclusion of the Red Lantern Corp is still exciting, and likely means that various other corp can show up, such as the Blue Lantern Corp, the Indigo Tribe, or the sort of loveable Orange Lantern Larfleeze. 

Voicing Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern is Josh Keaton, the former voice of Peter Parker from the latest Spider-man cartoon, which is also fairly exciting for nerds such as myself.  Oh, and the guy that voices SpongeBob Squarepants is also voicing this guy….head.  Also aiding the series is the fact that it will be the first DC animated series produced entirely in CGI.  This gives the show an almost Jimmy Neutron look to it which may seem goofy at first, but leads to fluid and exciting fight sequences.  Not to mention some of those Red Lanterns still are looking quite badass.  Check out this video to see what I mean.

Marvel deals with layoffs and the cancelation of a number of titles

Marvel Comics has not been having the best time as of late. 

           

This past month Marvel Comics announced that they were laying off 15 members of their staff from the editorial and production departments, due to cost cutting reasons and not staff performance.  Shortly hereafter, Marvel revealed the cancelation of it's current titles, including critically well-received yet underselling comics such as Iron Man 2.0 and Alpha Flight, also due to budgeting reasons.  Times are looking quite dire for Marvel, to overdramatize it. 

           

While Marvel’s financial woes are unsettling, from a fan’s perspective the cancelation of some of these titles are extremely disappointing.  Iron Man 2.0 was a fun companion title to “Invincible Iron Man.”  Though you would probably never guess this from the title, this comic follows the going ons of Tony Stak's pal James Rhodes, aka War Machine (see Iron Man 2) and was filled with advanced technology and a military esque atmosphere. 

I have not read “Alpha Flight” personally (I dropped it after the first couple of issues due to, ironically enough, budgeting reasons….huh) but it’s been he recipient of vast critical acclaim since it’s debut.  Strangely enough, three months prior to his Marvel had announced that “Alpha Flight would be extended past it’s “limited series aspect into a regular ongoing monthly series.  Given that, I can’t understand why Marvel would choose to cut this title so quickly after making this decision, especially given that Marvel has titles selling less than Alpha Flight…..second thoughts I guess.

Marvel even announced the cancelation of two mini-series that have not even seen release; Victor Von Doom and Destroyers.  Destroyers certainly did have an interesting concept (monster type characters such as She-Hulk, the ever-lovin blue eyed Thing, and the X-men’s Beast are united by an obscure World War 2 character the Destroyer), but I’m more bummed about the cancelation of Doom’s new mini-series,  The last mini series that focused on a younger Doom, Ed Brubaker’s Books of Doom, was a great read, and gave the already rich character of Doctor Doom even more depth. 

Plus, read this interview with Victor Von Doom writer Nick Spencer and tell me that series doesn’t sound like it would totally be an awesome read! Still, the continuing cancellation of these titles certainly doesn’t make Marvel’s financial future seem very bright, and it would not surprise me if Marvel continues to cancel a few more in the coming weeks.  Just please, please do not cancel Scarlet Spider…

Generic blog about the Walking Dead

In terms of live action television, those based off of a comic book have never seen much mainstream success.  Shows such as Adam West’s Batman, The Incredible Hulk, and the more recent Smallville are often remembered more for their camp value than their quality storytelling.  That’s not to say that these shows did not have their high points (Smallville’s Clark Kent/Lex Luthor frenemy relationship comes to mind.  For proof of that here's a creepy fan music video), just that for the most part these shows failed to fully capture the heart and imagination of the characters and story in which they were based upon.

               

That’s why it feels so surprising that The Walking Dead has turned out so damn good.  Week after week, the show succeeds in leaving me hanging on the edge of my seat with anticipation.  It makes sense though.  On paper, the show has all the right ingredients for success; a (mostly) likeable cast, characters that are very much three-dimensional, gratuitous blood and gore, and perhaps the only monsters that could rival Edward Cullen in popularity; zombies.

While a comic book show succeeding so well in and of itself is unexpected, it’s only fitting that it happens with one based off of a post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled world.  For whatever reasons, zombies have gotten their cold, clammy hands on virtually every form of popular culture, it’s only natural that they would creep their way over to ongoing television.  The show is based off of what was originally somewhat of a cult-classic comic book of the same name, and the comic is still going strong to this day, growing ever closer to that elusive issue #100.  Robert Kirkman, creator of the series, has helmed the series since the very first issue, and has been very hands on with the show since the beginning, trying to stay true to the spirit of the comic.

The spirit of the comic that is, not the storyline.  In terms of storytelling, the show jumps back and forth between staying true to the original comic’s storyline and veering off into completely different directions.  Without a doubt, this is my favorite aspect of the show.  On one hand, it’s just very cool from a fan’s perspective to see landmarks that look as if they were ripped straight from the page, such as a ruined Atlanta City and Hershel’s farm. Even more exciting still is the liberties that the show is taking with it’s storyline.  Important plot points from the show such as Jenner and the CDC, and Sophia going missing were completely absent from the comic.  

However, the most drastic departure from the comic is the presence of Shane.  In the comic book, Shane was killed at the end of the very first storyline at the hands of seven year old Carl, yet here he is still alive and (sort of) well on the show, serving as the resident anti-hero type character.  Sitting somewhere between deplorable and sympathetic, Shane is by far the most interesting and three-dimensional character on the show.  There are many different aspects of the character that were barely touched upon within the first six issues of the comic; his brotherly affection and rivalry with Rick, the clear devotion he has to Carl, and the dangling love triangle between Rock, Shane, and Rick’s wife Lori.   

All of this is very emotional stuff, and for fans of the comics, it makes the show infinitely more interesting.  I’ve always thought the Harry Potter movies would do better if they did not try to stick so close to the original storyline, and I feel like The Walking Dead is proof of that.  Rather than just retelling what readers of the comic already know, the show gives us a new take on a familiar world, a fun companion to an already great storyline that is in some ways superior to the original.

To be honest, I feel like much of the show’s success has little to do with it’s status as a live action comic book show; in fact, quite the opposite.  I think the show’s success is correalated to the series mainstream zombie appeal, as many people I have spoken to that were unaware that a comic book even existed.  This would be rather fitting; after all, most people are not even aware that the popular horror show Tales From the Crypt was based off of a horror comic of the same name from the 1950’s.  Still, recognized in it’s status or not, if you’re a fan of good television, you owe it to yourself to check this show out.  So far, I have not seen one person regret it.