Category Archives: Comics
Dog Logan Set to Return…Again
Does anybody remember Dog Logan, Wolverine’s half-brother? He was in the comic Origin from 2001, when they revealed that Wolverine was really James Howlett, a sickly boy who was born in Canada in the late 19th century. James was the illegitimate son of Mrs. Howlett and the groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Whereas Dog was Thomas Logan’s actual son. It was a cool twist, believe me. I liked Origin.
Wolverine isn’t the one you think
Well apparently sometime last year…or this year, who knows…Dog returned in the pages of Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine because the two heroes went on some jolly quest through time and managed to bring Dog to the present day. I didn’t read it. The comic was one of those random mini-series that Marvel puts out because having the names Wolverine and Spider-Man on a comic book cover is sure to sell. That Dog returned in that comic, let alone came to the present day, was a fact that seemed to avoid my notice. Apparently he’s since been living out in the wilds of Canada doing research on his half-brother the superhero and headmaster of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
He also likes to cook and eat actual wolverines, because Dog is nothing if not a believer in poetic justice.
His beard appreciates his wit
Well writer Jason Aaron – friend of the site – is going to use Dog in upcoming issues of Wolverine & The X-Men. He said as much in a recent interview with CBR.
On the story side of the coin, Dog Logan should shake up the series in a major way in the wake of its “Avengers Vs. X-Men” crossover tales. The villain was a major player – and major mystery – in Marvel’s successful “Origin” series where it was revealed that Wolverine had a half-brother, but since then the character’s appearances have been few and shrouded in secrecy. Most of that was by Aaron’s design. “I’ve always had plans for Dog, ever since having him pop up in ‘Astonishing Spider-Man And Wolverine,” the writer said. “And I’m really excited about the chance to dig into his character and really figure out what makes this guy tick. He’s one of those deeply-flawed sorts of characters that I love to write. And while he will be coming back into Logan’s life to raise some hell, I want him to seem like much more than just some mustache-twirling bad guy with a grudge against his brother. I think Dog is a pretty tragic figure, so I want him to be a much more complicated villain. But he’s also still a Logan. And Wolverine’s big brother. So I would expect there to be plenty of asskicking going on.”
That should be pretty cool. I always thought Dog had a lot of potential, especially since he wasn’t overused. He hasn’t had any major appearances since Origin, after all – though someone decided that Dog would grow up to be Sabretooth when they made the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That was suspected in Origin, but thankfully Marvel never went that route.
Though how Aaron is going to establish Dog as his own character instead of just another version of Sabretooth/Romulus/Daken/any evil Wolverine ever is anybody’s guess…
The New Justice League of America
Even though Justice League: International crashed and burned, DC Comics is going to try again with a brand new Justice League of America team. Apparently it’s going to run concurrent with the Justice League series that already exists. Because as the Marvel marketing department will tell you, why bother coming up with an original superhero team name when you can just re-use a name that is already a proven seller?
Behold the new team lineup!
Additional member: Catwoman’s cleavage
At the very least, this new team is spinning out of the ongoing story in Justice League. When Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Aquaman and the rest banded together into a team in the New 52, they did so on their own, with no government oversight or control. And there has been an ongoing story about how the U.S. government is a little skittish about the fact that this supremely powerful team of superheroes isn’t beholden to anyone.
So it looks like the government is putting together their own version of the Justice League.
The new line-up: Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, Green Arrow, Katana, Hawkman, Vibe, Steve Trevor, Stargirl and Baz, the new Arab-American Green Lantern.
Here’s what writer Geoff Johns had to say about the team:
The idea of why the JLA forms, and what it is, and what it’s in reaction to… It kind of spins out of Justice League #12; what happens in that, and then subsequent issues, because JLA comes out next year some time. But the book itself is a group of heroes that aren’t necessarily coming together because they want to be together… They’ve been selected specifically. They all want, or need something that Steve Trevor, and the other person behind the scenes that’s in charge of this team can provide.
The first arc is going to deal with something they learn is called The Secret Society of Super-Villains. It’s specific because its run by A.R.G.U.S. They have a team they feel they can now control. Whether or not that ends up being the case is up for debate.
You can read the full interview at Mtv Geek. Because when I think of geek culture, I think Mtv.
As for my personal opinion…I dunno. I think it’s too soon to be doing something like this. We’re barely more than a year into the New 52 reboot, and the Justice League title has barely had any time to settle itself. It’s a good enough comic, but I don’t think it’s as strong as it could be. Adding something like this for it to contend with is too much too soon. It’s like DC doesn’t think they have any time to let anything grow. They did this big reboot of their universe, and now they still have the modern day mentality that they’ve got to just push and push and push more stuff out the door to keep fans happy. They won’t let anything settle or simmer.
So I dunno. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. Justice League Dark is still selling. But Justice League International got cancelled. So we’ll see what happens when this new book comes out next year some time.
At the very least, the name is a little dumb. The names ‘Justice League’ and ‘Justice League of America’ are synonymous in the minds of the fans. Applying them to two different teams is going to get a little confusing.
Ma-Ti Never Got Enough Respect
All the others got to control some kind of element, but with the power of Heart, Ma-Ti could control people and animals. That’s more badass than people give it credit for. At least these guys recognize the awesomeness of Ma-Ti and the Planeteers! It’s a live action fan-made trailer for modern day Captain Planet movie. And it is a thing of brilliance.
How cool was that? Those people at Altermotion Media Entertainment did one hell of a job. Even the Captain Planet costume looked awesome, and I’m sure that was hard to pull off.
I used to watch Captain Planet all the time, and I liked it when I was a kid. I thought the characters were cool, the concept was pretty fun, and I didn’t care about all the preachiness about cleaning up the environment. I just liked the superheroics. Captain Planet and the Planeteers is ripe for a grittier kind of reboot. Take it seriously, give it the strength and intelligence of modern day cartoons. It could be a hit!
Review: Teen Titans #12
A new issue of Teen Titans, a new villain appears out of nowhere. Writer Scott Lobdell just loves introducing random villains to this series. At least this guy – with the totally pointless name of ‘Diesel’ – seems to be a catalyst for learning more about the new Wonder Girl. Not that we learn much about her or him or her Silent Armor in this issue. In fact, we don’t actually accomplish very much in this issue at all. It’s just bland fighting, followed by a tiny bit of tempting exposition, and then the issue ends just as its getting started – leaving us with a fairly melodramatic cliffhanger that would fit better in comics 20 years ago.
Teen Titans #12
The character growth of the past few issues of Teen Titans is stopped. We’re back to the mindless, ‘x-treme’ superhero action.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
I can’t bring myself to call this a bad issue…mostly because I can’t work up that much interest. Teen Titans #12 is just another in a long, disappointing line of issues. Teen Titans could have been a great comic coming out of the New 52. I know it was kind of flailing prior to the reboot, but back when Geoff Johns reintroduced the teens a few years ago, Teen Titans was amazing! It was my favorite comic at the time, by far. And Johns is now one of the top guys making the decisions at DC. Surely he could have had some influence over the Teen Titans. But no, they gave it to Scott Lobdell, and he’s brought the worst of the 90s comic book problems to the title.
There’s an emphasis on mindless action over meaningful character growth. The heroes are constantly stating the obvious and explaining the scenes they are in. The comic is far more concerned with making sure there’s something ‘x-treme’ happening on every page instead of taking a moment to breath.
Teen Titans is just not a very good comic. Entertaining? Perhaps a little. Good characters? Maybe, in the right situation. But overall, this comic is just all over the place. And the only place it’s not, is with it’s characters.
I Hate When Comic Book Advertising Goes Negative
Let me ask you a question, both comic book fans and non comic fans alike. The Amazing Spider-Man is about to reach the milestone issue #700 this fall. Would you be more or less inclined to buy the comic if the writer went around telling everyone that you’re going to hate it?
Writer Dan Slott seems to think that we’re going to hate what he does to the character in Amazing Spider-Man #700.
I already kind of hate the cover
This kind of comic book advertising – or hype – annoys me to no end. So why is Slott doing it? Why is Marvel Comics doing it? Why even write the story if you know that fans are going to be angered and upset with you? But then for that matter, what is the balance between keeping your fans happy and entertained vs. writing compelling and interesting stories?
The answer to all of these questions is easy. Anger is an emotion, and as long as they get some emotion out of comic book fans, that’s good writing. Right? Makes sense to me. But why not instead try for the happier emotions like love or delight? Why use Amazing Spider-Man #700 to write a story that you know the fans of the character are going to hate? But I digress.
I’m not trying to say that comic book writers should be afraid to write stories that anger the fans, that they should never push the boundaries and try for something new and different. My problem is with then going ahead and using the potential anger as a selling point.
Here is what Slott said in a recent interview about what he has planned for Amazing Spider-Man #700:
I’m really happy with our 1-2-3 punch of #698, #699 and #700. I think people are not going to forget this one. This story will raise some really strong emotions in Spider-Man fans. It will probably be one of the biggest things I ever do to a Marvel Comics character in my career. I don’t know if people will start making little dart boards of me or not for this one. I’ve said it before, but I’m going into hiding after issue #700 comes out. I’m not looking at message boards. I’m not poking my head up out of that hole, because what happens in issue #700 is big!
He’s joking about having to go into hiding because of how angry the fans will be at him. How is that funny? Why can’t he say something nice about the comic? Even with this big change coming, why not hype it up as something awesome and cool? Why be negative about it? This frustrates me. When I pick up Amazing Spider-Man #700 in a few months, I’m going to be worried and afraid to see what happens. I would prefer to be excited and elated to see what happens.
(And that’s assuming USA Today doesn’t spoil the change a week or a day in advance, like Marvel is wont to do these days.)
The story, for anyone curious, is that longtime Spider-Man arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus is on his death bed. He has only hours left to live, and he’s horrified at how little he’s accomplished with his life. But in those final hours, Doc Ock discovers Spider-Man’s secret identity. What he does with this knowledge is apparently going to anger all of us Spider-Man fans.
Are we sure he can do anything more than just wet himself?
Let me explain my position a bit more. Comic book fans hate change. It’s why all the most popular superheroes remain relatively the same today as they were when they first appeared decades ago. Comic book fans like reading about their favorite heroes doing awesome things. If you change the character or change the things they do, it’s not the same comic anymore. It’s not the same enjoyment.
On the flipside, comic book writers have a job to do. They want to tell new and exciting stories about character that they love just as much as the fans. But if they can’t change or shake up the status quo, the stories are going to get really stale really fast. How many times can Batman fight the Joker before you’re just reading the same story over and over again? Why not let the Joker reap some real, life-altering carnage? Why not let the Joker do something so huge and evil that Batman is forever changed?
A good example of this fans vs. writers conundrum happened only a few years ago in Spider-Man comics, a story called One More Day.
You’re not reaching hard enough!
In 2007, Marvel decided that they needed to make Spider-Man more appealing to younger readers, because that’s just good business. The comic book industry can’t survive on its old, aging fans forever. Kids need to read comic books too. But at the time, Spider-Man was happily married to Mary Jane Watson, and had just revealed to the world that he was secretly Peter Parker. So his identity wasn’t a secret anymore. Marvel’s line of thought was that kids don’t want to read about an old married guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. They want a young, single, happy-go-lucky Spidey! But they couldn’t kill Mary Jane or have them get divorced, because nobody wants to read about Spider-Man the widower or Spider-Man the divorcee.
So Marvel decided to tell a story in which Spider-Man uses black magic to reshape his life.
With Spider-Man’s identity known to the world, his arch enemies send an assassin to kill Peter Parker. But the sniper’s bullet instead shoots Peter’s beloved Aunt May, and her life hangs in the balance. After exhausting all other possibilities to save her, Spider-Man then makes a deal with the Devil in order to save Aunt May’s life. The Devil’s fee is Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage. He wants the soul or essence of marriage between them. They eventually agree to pay this price, and the Devil uses his magic to save Aunt May. He then makes everybody forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. And he changes history so that Peter Parker was late to his wedding day and he and Mary Jane never actually got hitched. In order to maintain two decades worth of stories where they were married, Marvel said that Peter and Mary Jane were only ever in a long term committed relationship.
Spider-Man fans the world over HATED this story. And for good reason.
Because he made a DEAL with the DEVIL!
First of all, people actually liked Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage. It wasn’t like the fans wanted the two of them to break up, the fans were happy with the union. So sacrificing the marriage in the name of sales is just revolting. Second, Peter Parker MADE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL in order to make this happen. And it wasn’t part of some larger story where this choice came back to haunt him in the end and he regretted the whole thing or learned a lesson. This was a one time thing. Marvel wanted Peter to be single again, so they just thought up the first mystical being who might have the kind of power and magic to make it happen. It didn’t seem to matter to Marvel that Peter Parker as a good and heroic character would be forever tainted by MAKING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!
I know comic book fans who stopped reading Spider-Man after One More Day, fans who still hold a grudge against Marvel and refuse to go back to Spider-Man comics because of it. I don’t blame them.
And the point I’m trying to make with this example is that comic book fans will hold a grudge and will stop buying your comic if you write a bad story and piss them off.
Still, I want to emphasize that I’m not saying that writers should never anger their fans. It’s an old rule when writing fiction that you hurt the ones you love, especially when it comes to character. If you never change the status quo of the character or hurt them in some way, you’ll never have interesting conflict in your stories. So by all means, Slott can do whatever he wants to Spider-Man in issue #700. Let the fans get mad. Maybe it’ll turn me off reading Amazing Spider-Man for awhile, but I know I always come back eventually.
I’m just saying that if you’re writing a comic book that you know will harm the character and anger the fans, maybe you shouldn’t brag about it.
((P.S. My guess is that Slott is going to kill Mary Jane!))
Henchman-4-Hire 