A Fistful of Fists

Not much to say here, just a picture dump from some old stuff and some new stuff. The old stuff is in color while the new stuff is in black-and-white, just another example life imitating art. Childhood was a rainbow while the present is grey and the future will be too unless you put the effort in to color it. Who really wants a rainbow anyway? Maybe the rainbow of your childhood was actually rivers of blood, lava, urine, antifreeze, toilet cleaner, and boxed wine sprayed from a sprinkler over your body, paralyzed by the venom of an exotic spider, as you lay in a bowl of spoiled milk and Fruity Pebbles. Childhood can be rough. Rainbows walk a rocky road.

 

One of my favorite people in the world is named Danger and I’m kind of mad at Anthony Weiner for tarnishing his name.

My heart cracks over Batwoman

As I recently posted, I’ve considered Batwoman to stand out as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, title in the New 52. The reason for my admiration and enjoyment for the comic is the well-crafted storytelling and innovative artwork of the fantastic creative team of J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman. They announced this week that they would no longer be working on the book because of an editorial dispute that makes DC editorial look really bad. It’s allegedly not a gay marriage issue, but the issue involves gay marriage, so the association is forced. In denying Batwoman her marriage, DC has contributed to the public discourse on gay marriage, even if the decision was entirely motivated by editorial concerns. The fact that it drove such an amazing team from a book they so obviously loved putting together also contributes to DC’s reputation for driving away its talent. Of all the creators who have walked away since the New 52 started, this news is the most disappointing.

In all honesty, I don’t see how a marriage, gay or otherwise, could really screw up the Batwoman story. There could be a very logical progression here- Kate and Maggie get married, Maggie gets killed, Kate is single seeking vengeance.  What could DC have planned that a Batwedding would disrupt? Are all the females characters in the DC universe so busy that none could spare the time to serve as bridesmaids?

In the interest of the democratic nature of the comic book audience-creator relationship, I’m just writing this to throw my two cents in- DC Comics should beg these guys not to leave. I think a regular rotation of creators on titles can be good, especially in big universes like DC and Marvel and especially if a creative team is putting out lousy work, but Williams and Blackman have made Batwoman such a unique title that they deserve better editorial support.

Dragon Con 2013

To see more pictures from Dragon Con, click HERE

(warning: some pictures might not be suitable for all audiences)

Dragon Con this year went pretty well. I enjoyed nearly every panel which I attended, which was considerably less this year as I volunteered for the first time. As usual, the panels from the academic conference were the most interesting. I must admit I had the most fun at my panel, “Comics Through A Socio-Political Lens.” The other speakers were very nice and delivered witty papers. The crowd was engaging and even included a real life superhero- Jet from the Rock City, Alabama! I got to speak with a lot of artists and writers, such as Neal Adams, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Connor, Brian Stelfreeze, Darwyn Cooke, Van Jensen, and others. Because I was a volunteer, I ended up meeting a lot of movie and TV stars including Malcolm Macdowell, George Takei, Edward James Olmos, and the guy who plays Hank on Grimm. I did feel a bit starstruck meeting the cast of Smallville, especially Allison Mack- talking to her was just like talking to Chloe Sullivan. Supergirl is even more beautiful in real life and Brainiac has been working out. The other volunteers I met were generally nice. Some of them were more interesting than others.

The most interesting person I met wasn’t actually a guest at Dragon Con. I was walking out the Marriott when I spotted a guy wearing a Strange Talent of Luther Strode t-shirt and I complimented him on it. It turns out he’s Tradd Moore and he gave me a copy of Luther Strode Vol. 2, which was pretty sweet.

To see more pictures from Dragon Con, click HERE

After Dragon Con, I realize that I left two great titles from the past year off the list of best comics. Obviously the omission of Luther Strode is a bit embarrassing and perhaps even a little corrupt in light of his recent generosity, but it’s definitely a book that stood out this year. The other omission is the unreasonably controversial and incredibly well-done Before Watchmen series, which I really feel like rereading after hearing Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Connor talk about it.

To see more pictures from Dragon Con, click HERE