COMICS BLEND

GLAAD Outstanding Comic Book Should Be?

An X-Man got married to a Man. A gay Green Lantern was born. A Riverdale teen met his geek (and gay) icon. A twist on who was a Slayer in Buffyverse. Those were just some of the GLBT characters and storylines that made mainstream headlines, boosted comics and possibly helped change our culture.

GLAAD revealed their nominees for Outstanding Comic Book. Congratulations to the writers/artists/editors and publishers for the recognition. The nominations reflect on the big year for gay characters in comic books and the impact they have on society.

Astonishing X-Men, Earth 2, Kevin Keller, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batwoman are great books by talented creators but which book should win and why?

Op/Ed:

Do I have a favorite? I admit I have a X-Men bias but it was my first comic book.

I have go to with Astonishing X-Men. Northstar’s wedding to Kyle Jinadu was not just a one issue stunt. Jean-Paul has been out since 1992. Jean-Paul an Kyle’s romance developed in earlier volumes of Uncanny X-Men and the most recent Alpha Flight series.

AXM create your own cover — Astonishing X-Men #51 variant courtesy Marvel

In Astonishing X-Men #51 Jean-Paul and Kyle got married in New York’s Central Park surrounded by teammates. Marvel even gave the book 2 variants: one with Jean-Paul and Kyle kissing and one with the happy couple on the cover with some of Marvel’s most famous couple’s on their big day. You may call that smart marketing. It is. By looking at this special cover it sent a message that Jean-Paul and Kyle’s ceremony and relationship was the same as Reed and Susan Richards and other Marvel super couples. (Let’s hope they turn out better than Scott & Jean, Storm & T’Challa or Quicksilver & Crystal!)

The wedding was not the end of Kyle’s screen time in the book. After the honeymoon Marjorie Liu continues to explore the complicated life of being married to a superhero in every issue. Who would have thought Wolverine would be giving a guy relationship advice about his husband? Remember when Jean-Paul couldn’t come out?

Northstar wasn’t the only GLBT character featured in this book. Former New Mutant Karma was central to the storyline of Liu’s thrilling arc. Liu didn’t touch on Karma being a lesbian just a conflicted character who showed why she’s a great hero and mother figure to her younger siblings. It didn’t matter than Karma was a lesbian but perhaps Shan may find love now that she’s survived the villain of Liu’s first arc.

By Editor

HULK FUN!

It’s not too late to jump on one of the most enjoyable titles of the Marvel Now relaunch. This week’s Indestructible Hulk #3 is the third outstanding example of how great storytelling has made one of oldest icons fresh and fun again.

I definitely have to call this book cinematic. If you enjoyed Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and the Hulk from The Avengers then you’ll enjoy the ride Mark Waid and Leinil Yu will take on in this new series.

Banner is now working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Bruce gets to be a great scientist. Maria Hill gets a big green W.M.D. After showing up Tony Stark in a battle of the brains with his new invention, Bruce HULKED OUT on Iron Man to prove a point.

Maria Hill has given Bruce a job, a lab and the chance to show Tony and Marvel’s other big brains that he’s their scientific equal (or perhaps better as the series go along!) In this issue Maria recruits Banner’s lab team. Seriously who would want to work for a boss who could become a monster?

While science geeks audition to be part of Banner’s think tank, Bruce goes on a mission against A.I.M. and discovers a technological blast from the past that could pose a new threat. Waid and Yu craft a confrontation packed with action, humor and moments that may inspire a “awesome!” from you.

This is the best issue so far in a new series that’s big on action and fun.

By Editor

Mark Millar: Challenges of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

UXM141 — Uncanny X-Men #141 courtesy Marvel.com

The comic book writer who launched Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates (which influenced The Avengers movie) is now the Creative Consultant for the Marvel movie franchises controlled by Fox.

I wanted to share part of Mark Millar’s interview with SciFiNow about the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise to direct the film based on the classic storyline set in the past and a dark future. Turning that beloved X-Men story into a film is ambitious.

“I know how it’s done, so I’m not worried. I’ve been in all these meetings and talked about it at length with everyone, and everything I hear sounds incredibly mainstream. It’s no more difficult than The Terminator, or whatever, there’s one element of time jump in it, but other than that it’s absolutely fine.”

One of the biggest challenges in turning comic book teams into big screen teams is screen time for fan favorite characters and deciding who to cut. Millar compared what he faced writing Ultimate X-Men with the development of the X-Men movies.

“I remember when I was writing Ultimate X-Men and people were saying ‘I want to see Gambit, I want to see Rogue, I want to see…’ Everybody has a list, and at first you think ‘I’m going to please everyone’ and then you realise you’re pleasing no-one by just throwing in ten second cameos, you know.

I think that was the major problem with that first Wolverine movie and X-Men 3. Bryan Singer did such an incredible job with that original movie – it’s quite like Star Wars in that there’s Episodes IV, V and VI, and we’ve got the Matthew Vaughn prequels, and I love that – I love the fact that it simplifies so well. X-Men in the Nineties was so convoluted in comic-book terms, and Bryan drove a knife through it and make it work and simplified the whole thing.

I’d like to have that same approach and if we are bringing in a character then it shouldn’t just be for a trailer or to get a picture up online, get people excited, it should actually have a point in the story.

The trick with that is to try and keep the cast relatively small so that you actually care about them.”

For the entire interview here’s the ScifFiNow link.

Bryan Singer has revealed Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Hugh Jackman will reprise their roles. Kitty Pryde is critical to the original story but no word on it Kitty (played by Ellen Page in X3) will be in the film.

If you missed it – here’s my X-geek wish list for the next movie!

By Editor

X-Men Traitor?

Cyclops, Magneto, Emma Frost and Magik star in the upcoming Uncanny X-Men. Scott’s team is recruiting new mutants for the revolution. Marvel is making it very clear in this new teaser image by Chris Bachalo – there’s a TRAITOR in the new team/book!

This image shows the heavy hitters plus two brand new characters. The question is not just “who is the traitor?” but who is the traitor working for?

Let’s the TRAITOR theories begin:

It’s possible Wolverine allowed Cyke to “recruit” one of the new kids to his side to get the inside track on the rival X-Men.

Could the traitor be working for the Avengers? Just because Captain America formed the Uncanny Avengers to bridge the gap between mutants doesn’t mean someone like Tony Stark wouldn’t want a spy in Cyke’s camp.

Emma Frost? Scott and Emma are over. Emma has been in the Hellfire Club, lead the Dark X-Men during Dark Reign and has slipped into the role of traitor, seductress and villain to suit her needs. Emma could be secretly working for Tony Stark or Wolverine. Plus, you know the return of Jean Grey is really getting to her!

Who do you think the traitor is and why?

Brian Michael Bendis knows! Can’t wait to see how he plays this out! The book is out February 13th.

By Editor

Batman, Joker and DEATH OF THE FAMILY Finale!

Batman fans are recovering from the shocking events of this week’s Batman #16. What Bruce discovered inside Arkham Asylum was the Joker at his most horrific and demented. (A literal Dance of Death!)

Next month’s Batman #17 is the final chapter of Death of the Family and we learn the Joker’s full plan and how it will affect the Batman family. Writer Scott Snyder is talking about what to expect in the grand finale:

“Well, I can tell you there are definitely some insane moments in the conclusion and some crazy things happen so, I’ve always been braced for it as something that isn’t designed to just shock for the sake of shocking, but is the culmination of the story in a way that feels organic and surprising,” Snyder tells The Huffington Post. “I can’t remember who it was, but I had a teacher that gave me a writing quote when I was a student that said ‘Every ending should be both inevitable and totally surprising,’ and I completely believe that. Hopefully this is an ending that feels organic to the story we’ve been telling, and when you get there you’ll say ‘I can’t believe this just happened,’ and at the same time, you’ll feel that it’s a cumulative, horrible thing out of everything that’s been going on.”

Snyder and Greg Capullo have transformed the Clown Prince of Crime into a something even more horrific. This story could take Bruce back to his origin when it was just Batman – no Robins, no Batgirl, no one else. In a twisted way is the Joker making Bruce a “better” Batman?

“Joker is coming at Batman from a place of very personal terror for me. And a place of personal guilt, and also a place of great personal anxiety,” Snyder told PopMatters. “So I think he is coming after Bruce in a way that is getting at a very, very personal story for Bruce. Because as much as Bruce loves the Family, you could make the accusation that in some ways he wishes he could stop worrying about them. Does that me he wishes they didn’t exist? Of course not. Does that mean he doesn’t love them? No, of course not. But that’s the way the Joker interprets it. The Joker says, ‘You’ve become slow and weak, and you’ve become nothing of the Batman I used to know. So deep down I know you’re unhappy. And I’ve heard you think this almost (not in a supernatural way, but just in a kind of figurative way),’ So he says, ‘Let me grant you your wish, because I’m here to serve you. And we’ll have so much fun afterwards.’”

Batman #17 hits February 13th.

Thanks to The Source.

THANOS RISING: A Bad Guy is Born!

He was the big purple bad revealed during the first ending of Marvel’s The Avengers that made some in the audience go “huh?” or “OH —-!”

Thanos was behind Loki’s alien army in the movie but in the comic books the super villain once wiped out half the universe.

The comeback of Thanos continues in a brand new limited series Thanos Rising this April by Jason Aaron (Wolverine and the X-Men) and Simone Bianchi. Aaron talks with Marvel.com about why he wants to delve into the origin of the death worshipping God of Titan.

“The chance to do as dark and creepy a story as I’ve ever done for Marvel. This is not a super hero story. There are no good guys swooping in to save the day here. This is the origin story of a very bad dude. A cosmic mass murderer.”

Aaron says the story begins on the day Thanos is born and “things start to get weird right from the get-go” and as for the women who influence the Titan Aaron says “Thanos has dangerous taste in women.”

The series will introduce new characters and classic characters like Mentor, the father of Thanos and show us how Titan “was a sci-fi paradise when Thanos was born. A place without weapons, without the idea of murder. But that all began to change…”

For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.

Thanos killed half the universe in the classic story The Infinity Gauntlet. The gauntlet was seen briefly in the movie Thor. In the pages of the new New Avengers the member of the Illuminati are searching for a lost Infinity Gem. Could these upcoming comic book stories be setting the stage for what we might see in Avengers 2: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against Thanos?

By Editor

Wil Wheaton! Now It Really Feels Like Comicon!

Actor, author, gamer and geek icon Wil Wheaton will return to Emerald City Comicon, March 1-3, 2013 in Seattle. Wheaton played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation and has been a voice actor on several popular video game franchises plus recently appeared on The Big Bang Theory and Eureka.

I will always remember Wheaton as Gordie from one of my all-time favorite movies: Stand By Me.

This is Wheaton’s 6th consecutive year as guest of ECCC. Wheaton’s ST:TNG co-star Patrick Stewart is making his first ECCC appearance this year.

By Editor

GLAAD Media Award Nominees for Outstanding Comic Book

Astonishing X-Men #51 variant courtesy Marvel

2012 was a big year for GLBT comic book characters. X-Man Northstar got married. New Mutant Karma became the star of a major storyline. The Buffyverse welcomed Billy the Vampire Slayer. Batwoman kept kicking butt and teamed up with Wonder Woman. Green Lantern Alan Scott is gay on a reborn Earth 2. Archie Comics star Kevin Keller met George Takei.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their portrayal of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Here are the GLAAD Media Award Nominees for Outstanding Comic Book:

Astonishing X-Men by Marjorie Liu (Marvel)

Batwoman by W. Haden Blackman and J.H. Williams III (DC)

Kevin Keller by Dan Parent (Archie)

Earth 2 by James Robinson (DC)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Andrew Chambliss, Jane Espensen, Drew Z. Greenberg and Scott Allie (Dark Horse)

Congratulations to all the nominees!

By Editor

Escape. Engage. Enjoy.