.1 Issues...The Good and the Bad

Recently Marvel has been putting out ".1" issues of their comics.  As I understand it, these .1 issues are meant to be a jumping on point for new readers.  When they first came about I thought they were going to be a one-time thing, but I keep seeing solicitations for new .1 issues so I guess that isn't the case.

I'm of 2 minds on these issues.  The long time comic book reader in me doesn't really like them.  I do like stand alone issues, without question, but since the .1 issues are usually done by a different creative team the tone of the .1 books just doesn't resonate with the rest of the series, at least in the ones I've read.  If I'm going to go back and reread a run (which I enjoy doing), I don't care for the .1 issue throwing off the tone of the main creative team.

Due to that lack of consistency, it seems to me that the .1 issues are also a way to pad the time the creative teams have to put out their book.  I'd rather see a planned fill-in issue than a mad scramble or delay, so if that's part of the strategy then that's fair enough.

I do, however, like Marvel making an effort to reach out to new readers.  Dan Slott commented on Twitter that for everyone who complains about the Amazing Spider #679.1 issue numbering, somebody else tells him that the numbering is why they picked it up.

I guess part of what bugs me is I don't care for the Big 2's "creative accounting" to get to milestone issues.  I've detailed this before using the Thor books as my example, so I won't go too deep into it here.  Basically, I don't like how books are canceled and relaunched with a new #1, only to revert back to the original numbers to get the sales boost of a #1 and a #500.  With the .1 issues, this approach to issue milestones can get even more convoluted.

I really do think that comics should look at adopting a volume system.  You get the sales boost of a #1 and a "final issue" every year or two, however long you decide a volume is going to be (I would say at minimum 12 issues since that's two-6 issue story arcs).  It would also make it far easier on new readers to break in and be able to follow along; to be honest, if I hadn't of bought the Thor books as they came out, trying to follow the story through the numbering system alone would be a nightmare (again, see the linked post for details).

So good on you Marvel for reaching out to new readers, but I think there is still work to be done as that same approach is going to make things even more confusing in the long-run.

Smell Like An Avenger

I was reading an article today about a line of Avengers colognes and perfumes coming out in advance of the movie, and while at first I scoffed at the notion, I will admit based on the descriptions that these guys actually did their research.

Patriot, inspired by Captain America, pays homage to the "confident, stand-up-to-bullies average Joe" in every man, with "hints of green lime and white pepper, and finishes of dry oak, sandalwood and tequila."

Okay, this one doesn't knock my socks off, though the tequila finish kind of caught me off guard.

Mark VII smells like mandarin and jasmine with light patchouli, reads a company release, for an Iron Man-like "I don't play well with others" confidence.

Okay, I almost laughed out loud when I read that the principle odour in Iron Man's fragrance is mandarin.  While at first I thought this was just really ironic, as I kept reading I get the impression these guys actually did their homework.

There is also a "Russian spy/trained assassin" perfume, called Black Widow; a Nick Fury-inspired scent, called Infinity; and a "dangerous-sexy" unisex scent based on the villain Loki, the bad brother of Thor.

Okay, giving Iron Man a scent of mandarin as opposed to WD40 could have been a one-off, but the fact that they named the Nicky Fury scent "Infinity" really leads me to believe these guys put some thought into these.  For anyone reading this unaware, comic book-Nick Fury owes his longevity to a little chemical cocktail called the Infinity Formula.

I skipped posting the details of Thor and the Hulk because nothing really struck me there, you can read them at the full article if you wish (http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/02/13/superhero-inspiration-adds-punch-to-fragrances).  Well done JADS, well done.

Rating the Thor Scribes

At the Thor Message Board the other day a challenge was put forth to rate out of 10 the writers on Thor going back to Dan Jurgens.  I tweaked the criteria slightly and said I would only rate the writers on the ongoing title, not mini-series or one-shots.  I thought I would expand on my reasonings here.

Kieron Gillen - 10/10
I've said this before and I am sure to say it again, Kieron Gillen is the second coming of Walt Simonson when it comes to Thor.  Like Simonson, Gillen has a great grasp on Norse mythology and weaves it seamlessly into Marvel's interpretation of the worlds of Asgard.  His dialogue, a tricky subject when it comes to Thor and company, is great, a perfect updating of the old "thee and thou" days.  His villains are layered, and have many aspects to their plans; watching Loki and Mephisto verbally spar with each other was a real treat.  What is especially impressive with Gillen's contributions is he has never been annointed the regular scribe on Thor, it's always been to pick up the pieces of somebody else's work.  I would love to see what Gillen could do with Thor if he as free to set the direction of the character, and if you're not reading it you have to check out Journey Into Mystery, one of the best books Marvel puts out and is written by, surprise surprise, Kieron Gillen.

Mike Oeming - 9/10
Oeming's Ragnarok storyline was perhaps one of the best send-offs a character could ask for.  Lots of great nods to past continuity and Norse mythology, real character growth and evolution, it was a great read.  The story itself I would rank a full 10/10, but Oeming had an advantage over the other writers in that he knew he didn't have to put the toys back in the sandbox when he was done, meaning he could effect some really drastic changes and developments that normally wouldn't be possible.  As such, it didn't seem fair to give him the full 10/10, but if he were to come back to the title I'm sure he would be embraced with open arms by the Thor faithful.



J Michael Stracynzki - 8/10
What I really liked about JMS' run was the slow boil of the story; you could tell he was building to something, and each issue advanced the plot nicely.  Most of the issues could be enjoyed as a somewhat standalone story, a rarity in today's market.  Some people think there wasn't a lot of action, but we got to see Thor take on Irom Man, the Destroyer, Surtur, those are some real heavy weights.  Fights need to have a reason for being, and every battle Thor entered was charged with personal or larger stakes; with Iron Man he was expressing his displeasure at Tony's actions in the Civil War, with the Destroyer he was fighting to save his people, against Surtur he was fighting for the life of his father, there were real consequences beyond something as simple as a grudge match.  The only real problem with the title was the delays, it really derailed the story and is the only reason I knocked JMS' ranking down.


Dan Jurgens - 6/10
I'm the opposite of a fair number of fans, I liked Jurgens later run on the title compared to his earlier issues.  I think part of that was the art; John Romita Jr. is a master storyteller, and a lot of guys could learn how to tell a story from him, but I've never cared for his sketchy/blocky style (I was a huge fan of his old style when he was working on Amazing Spider-Man the first time around).  But I didn't care for the story elements too; I thought Thor's dialogue was atrocious, for starters.  I didn't care for the whole Jake Olsen thing, so that didn't help either.  However, I absolutely loved Jurgens "King Thor" era, which slowly saw Thor turn into Odin, essentially.  It was a phenomenal way to explore and extract aspects of the character that hadn't been explored before.  Yes, Thor was returned to the status quo for Oeming to tidy up the series, but man Jurgens was cooking in the later part of his run.

Matt Fraction - 1/10
I'm probably being generous giving Fraction the 1 point, but he's had great artists doing his stuff, even though the colourist destroyed Pascal Ferry's art on his first run.  Anyway, Fraction seems to have simply ignored the work done by JMS and Gillen, taking away the more contemplative and mature Thor we were enjoying and replacing him with a hot tempered brute.  The dialogue, as I've chronicled before on this blog, is atrocious.  The story concepts are great, but the execution is horrendous.  I love Thor, and have a full run going back to volume 2 of the book, so Fraction not only got me to drop a book I was invested in emotionally, but also as a collector.  That is very hard to do.  I look forward to when he leaves the book and I can come back to it, and the collector in me has resigned himself to maybe getting the Fraction books in the dollar bin in future to re-complete the collection.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Lately I've been contemplating selling off my comic book collection.

It's not something I really want to do, but it is getting harder to justify continuing the hobby.  The space required to store my books is one consideration (I always dread loading the comics when moving), and the cost is another.  Comics are not getting cheaper, and with a new bundle of joy at home my expenses are not getting cheaper either.

I love my comics.  I love reading about heroes who do what is right simply because it is the thing to do.  I love the creative application of superpowers, in both combat and non-combat situations.  I mean, I'm just as interested in the creative application of super powers to clean the Mansion as how they would be applied to defeating Ultron. 

I have long dreamed of the day when I could share my love of superheroes with my son.  I don't think I've bought him anything superhero related yet (other than a stash of birthday presents he'll be ready for a few years down the road) but friends and relatives keep buying him Spider-Man stuff just because of my love of comics.

However, with the cost of comics these days, am I doing him a disservice by getting him into the hobby?  I've spent a lot of money on comics, and the majority wasn't purchased at the current prices!  To start collecting now with the prices as they are would be pretty expensive getting towards a collection as extensive as mine.  And a lot of the comics I have from back in the day can be read as stand-alone issues, which isn't the case now.

As I write this though, I do recall the argument I used to give to my father when he would rag on me for buying comics; "Would you rather I spend my money on reading material or on cigarettes & alcohol?".  He never had much of a comeback for that one.

Still, the thought of selling off my collection and getting out does have some appeal.  Going digital has some appeal, if the prices were to drop; having my comics accessible on my tablet and not taking up space in the basement is pretty handy.

For now I think I'll be standing pat and continue my love of comics, but I have to admit the temptation is there to get out.  The idea that a long-term fan like myself (20+years) is thinking of getting out due to the current story structures and pricing should be an alarm bell to the publishers, but it doesn't seem like it's much of a consideration.

More Digital Musings

I've been reading, and researching, more on digital comics over the last few days, and while I still like my idea of a digital download code being standard with the print version of the comic, I have to wonder how the Netflix model would work with comics.

For anyone unfamiliar, Netflix charges you $8/month and lets you then stream as much of their content as you like.  They rotate through what is available and what isn't, but I've seen a fair amount that interests me and I just signed up for a free trial last week.

So could a NetComics fly?  Marvel does, or did, I'm not sure, have their own digital subscription service that let you pay a monthly fee to read their digital content, but I've always felt that initiative suffered due to the rather random assortment of books available.  When it comes to the older books, don't put up a random smattering of titles, at least do it by story arcs.  The titles available were pretty random, without much rhyme or reason to which books were available.  I'd rather see more complete listings rotated on a monthly basis than random books here and there.

I'd like to be able to use an app like Comixology to pay a monthly fee, and I can read as much or as little of what is available as I want.  Give me an option to pay to download the comic to my hard drive, or to order a print copy.  This way readers can sample a wider variety of titles than they might normally and could lead them to purchasing more titles.

I love my print comics, but I am really enjoying reading digital comics on my tablet as well, but the current digital model exactly having me rushing to purchase digital comics.

All Ages Does Not Mean "For Kids Only"

One of the criticisms levied against the DC Heroes Reborn New 52 was that the content in some of the books is too adult (the biggest examples being Starfire in Red Hood & the Outlaws and Catwoman in her own mag), and not all-ages friendly.  The response from some readers was that comics aren't necessarily for kids.


Now, I certainly think there is a place for more adult story-telling in the comic book medium; I'm not going to give an 8 year old Batman: The Killing Joke or the Watchmen to read.  But I do feel that there is a distinctive difference between books suitable for all ages and those intended only for kids.

A good all ages story has elements that kids can enjoy, that adults can enjoy, and that everybody can enjoy.  If you want to look outside of comics, Pixar's movies are a perfect example.  The movies are marketed to kids, but adults enjoy them just as much or more.

Comic books, at least the mainstream Marvel and DC books, all used to be all ages!  Stan Lee made a point of not writing down to his readers, instead he did his very best to challenge the reader to keep up!  As a kid I always did well in subjects like language arts and spelling, and was told that I had a very large vocabulary.  I attribute that directly to my love of comics, because I was exposed to these big words and concepts that prose books aimed at my age level could give me. 

I look at my progression with Spider-Man as a good example of how stories can cater to all ages.  As a kid, I was drawn to Spider-Man.  He was brightly-coloured, funny, had awesome powers, and fought cool supervillains.  In Grade 3 I tried my hand at my own Spider-Man comic, which was painfully brutal (but my Mom saved all the same, I wonder if she still has it...); the story featured Spider-Man foiling Electro from robbing a bank. 

Here is the important part of that comic I tried to make; Peter Parker wasn't in it, it was all about Spider-Man.

As I grew older, I came to care about Peter Parker, the man behind the mask, more and more.  I'm at the point now that I'm far more interested in Peter than Spidey; when I came out of Spider-Man 2 in the theatre, I commented that the movie was so good I didn't even care if he ever put on the Spider-Man costume.  The life of Peter Parker was far more interesting.

Thus Spider-Man, for a very long time, was an all ages book.  Kids might focus on the cool powers while adults (who still appreciate the powers and the fights, don't get me wrong) catch more of the nuances of the plot.


It takes real skill to do a good all ages book.  The best example I can think of, in any medium, of all-ages writing is Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Waterson.  Kids love the strip, and adults love it just as much or more. 

It's easy to throw in some T&A and make verything dark and gritty to make a book "adult" and "edgy".  It's far harder to craft a story that everyone can enjoy, and it's a shame that more Marvel and DC titles aren't even making the attempt.

The other night my son was crying in the car, so after awhile I pulled out my tablet to read him a story.  Unfortunately I discovered the storybooks I thought I'd downloaded needed an Internet connection, so I got the idea to read him a comic.  I had downloaded some free comics from Marvel and DC's Comixology pages, and I figured I could just adapt the story to the pictures as we went; he's only 7 months old, he's not going to know the difference!

I chose "Billy Batson & The Power of Shazam", and let me say, I enjoyed the story more than my son did!  Reading about a kid with the power of Superman, and how he uses it, was a wonderously fun adventure.  The little touches like Billy transforming into Captain Marvel and then putting on civilian clothes to go to Parent Teacher interviews as his own father, that's exactly what a kid would do if they had the power to do so!  I think the rest of the series is only $.99 an issue for the remaining 5 so I am going to be picking this up next time I am on Wifi.

All ages does not mean just for kids, there are lots of great stories out there without blood, guts, and women in thongs.

Real Men Wear Skirts

DC unveiled Jim Lee's redesign for Darkseid, a character that I didn't really think needed one.  Much like the rest of his redesigns, it looks very nineties.  Sometimes less is more, but I don't think that Lee has ever adhered to that.

This look is very busy, and needlessly so I feel.  Having the Omega symbol plasted all over every aspect of this design is like Superman being covered in S-shields, or Batman in Bat-symbols.  A logo or symbol should be a single focal point, not plastered over the outfit over and over again like we see here.

I liked the old Darkseid look far better; few men can wear a skirt and still look badass doing it (hello Dr. Doom), and Darkseid is one of them.  Here is his original look, as interpreted by Michael Turner.

The look is very simple, but he still looks like a guy I don't want to mess with.  The focal point on Darkseid should be his face, as it is his distinguishing trait, not at multiple Omega symbols all over his body.

And as always, I feel that if a character is going to be popular, kids need to be able to draw the character.  Darkseid is one of the premier, if not THE, premier supervillain at DC Comics.  Kids should be able to draw him.  Alex Ross made this point recently, and it's very true.  Look at the most popular superheroes out there; Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, etc, are all simple enough for kids to draw.  This new Darkseid is going to give professional artists problems, let alone the amateurs out there.

Maybe comics would be delayed less if their costumes were easier to draw!



What Makes a Good Superhero Movie?

Due to the close release dates of Thor and Captain America the two movies get compared a lot, unsurprisingly so.  After seeing Captain America, one of the guys at my local comic shop asked my opinion on the two, and I said without hesitation that Captain America was better.  He said that he had heard conflicting sides on that debate, but he put a lot of stock in my opinion because I am a big fan of both characters (as almost all of the books in my pull box are Captain America or Thor related).

To clarify, I thought Thor was great.  I may have dreamed of seeing a Thor movie in my lifetime, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever see a good Thor movie, let alone a great one.  But I still think Captain America was better.  Why?

The character development in the opening act was so good I didn't care if there was any action at all.

Now of course I wanted to see Captain America's mighty shield standing up for freedom, but there is a man behind that shield and he is a great man indeed.  Before being exposed to the Vita-Rays and taking the Super Soldier Serum, Steve Rogers was a sickly, small man.  He had a list of illnesses pages long, but he still tried to enlist in the army 5 times, coming back after every rejection.  Why?  Because he doesn't like bullies.

I am far more interested in this man, who does everything he can to join the army, not for glory, but because he wants to help.  This man, who threw himself on what everyone thought was a live grenade to save a group of soldiers who had shown him nothing but contempt.  This is a guy I want to see more of.

Often I spend superhero origin stories just waiting for the hero to emerge, but when the story is told as well as this one, I don't care if he ever picks up that shield.  I felt the same way about the second Spider-Man film; I was so invested in the story of Peter Parker I didn't really care if he starting shooting his webs.  The first Iron Man also did a good job on focusing on Tony Stark more than Iron Man.

The Dark Knight is interesting because it is obviously one of the most successful superhero movies ever made, but I was far more engaged by the Joker than I was by Batman.  I didn't care at all about Bruce Wayne or Batman, I wanted to learn more about what made the Joker tick.  And really, Bruce/Batman came in a distant third because the fall of Harvey Dent was equally as captivating.  I almost wish they were not making a third film in this franchise because I doubt it can top the Dark Knight.

What is funny about this is that Stan Lee was doing this in the comics years and years ago; he took cardboard cutouts with different superpowers and gave them personalities, made them real people.  It's a wonder that so many superhero films can't seem to grasp that.

Where Has My Marvel Universe Gone?

I've been reading comics for about 20 years, which is kind of scary when I think about it since I started reading them when I was 8 years old.  I got my start with Marvel, and while I spent some time collecting a lot of DC and read books from other publishers as well, I have always read Marvel books during those 20 years. 

I hardly recognize the Marvel Universe anymore.

I am finding it harder and harder to stick with the characters that I have loved for all these years. 

This is what Spider-Man
should have done.

I refused to buy the Spider-Man titles (other than the very rare mini-series, such as Spider-Man/Human Torch) after the resurrection of Aunt May, as Amazing Spider-Man #400 is one of the best "death of" stories ever.  I was at the point where I was willing to forgive and come back when the reveal of Gwen Stacey and Norman Osborn's twins came about.  That drove me futher away then the Aunt May thing did, and since then the added atrocity of (poorly) magic-ing away Peter and Mary Jane's marrage came to pass.  It's too bad, because Spider-Island sounded like a pretty fun concept, but since I now feel I've outgrown the character I haven't picked it up, nor will I return to the Spider-titles.

I no longer recognize the Avengers.  Ever since Avengers Disassembled I haven't recognize the team.  To me, the Avengers are the go-to team when the world is in danger, and around the time I dropped New Avengers (approximately #35), I really felt that the then-current line-up would have no real chance against a Skrull Invasion or the Masters of Evil.  That line-up mostly remains in place today, and I cannot stand the writing of Brian Michael Bendis on the Avengers to even entertain picking up the current adjectiveless Avengers title.  From what I've seen on-line it's still not "my" Avengers anyway.

Thor has undergone some really great character development over the past few years under J Michael Stracynski and Kieron Gillen.  Then Matt Fraction took the reins and I no longer even recognize the character.  Under JMS Thor was quicker to think and slower to act, he had a grandeur to him that made you feel he truly was a god.  He no longer spoke in Shakespearean tones but still had a tone of voice that conveyed he was something special.  When Fraction took over, that was all thrown out the window in favour of a brute who smashes first and thinks later, if at all.  He is a petulant man-child who is angry at his resurrected father (despite the two making peace under JMS), who recently died as prophecized (even though JMS made a large point of the breaking of the Ragnarok-cycle signalling a fresh start for the Asgardians).  If not for the hammer I don't know if I'd recognize him.

Continuity is ignored, a lot.  I'm not talking about contradicting a story from 20 years ago, I'm talking about contradicting a story that came out 2 months prior.  As mentioned with Thor, it looked like Matt Fraction didn't even glance at the issues put out by JMS or even Gillen before he got started.  Characters are free to be on multiple superteams across the country at the same time.  Wolverine has long has the superpower to be in every book put out in a month, but to have him be a regular member of the X-Men, Avengers, and X-Force is a bit much, especially when the X-Men were living in San Fransisco while the Avengers are based in New York!  Spider-Man is having solo exploits, running around with the Avengers, and is a member of the Future Foundation!  Considering how often Marvel has their books crossover with each other, this is pretty hard to swallow.

I remember when a character crossing over to another book was special.  It didn't happen every issue because the books had sub-plots, character development, and a main plot of it's own to move forward.  Now it seems almost every book has to be tied-in to whatever Event-of the-Month is happening, and it really derails the other books from doing anything of note.  The best books from Marvel, I feel, are the ones that can hide in their little niche corner away from the main events to tell the stories they want to tell.  Daredevil, up until Shadowland, was a great example of a brilliant book that pretty much got left alone.

There is a splash page in Secret Invasion that has always stuck with me.  In it, a ship full of Skrulls disguised as "classic" Marvel heroes is squaring off against the then-current Avengers, and honestly, I found it very hard to not root for the Skrulls since they looked a lot more like heroes I know and love.

I just cut out The Mighty Thor and Secret Avengers from my pull list, and I'm not sure how long my other Marvel titles are going to last.  As a Marvelite for 20 years, that makes me really sad.

Crossovers Too Awesome to Happen

Like most fans out there, I love a good inter-company crossover.  There is something really exciting about seeing favourite characters that cannot interact normally on the same page.  Sure, we've had some duds like Marvel vs DC, which was ambitious but any comic that shows Wolverine beating Lobo gets a big thumbs down from me, but we've also had some gems like X-men/Teen Titans and JLA/Avengers.

The crossovers I've mentioned were all big cosmic end-of-all-existence type stories, which certainly have their place.  But I've always enjoyed the quieter moments when these characters meet, like the Avengers and the JLA working together modifying one of Aquaman's aquatic vehicles for dimensional travel.  I still maintain one of the best inter-company crossovers ever was Superman/Gen13.  I have passing knowledge of Gen13 but honestly do not know a ton about the characters, which was probably one reason I picked up this crossover, to learn more about them.  The mini-series did not disappoint, as it was a completely character-driven story; the heroes did not fight each other once, and I couldn't have cared less.

It is in that vein that I'd love to see the following crossovers, but since there wouldn't be enough explosions and cosmic peril I doubt they would ever see print.

Thor and Wonder Woman - Rather than tell a tale of the Amazons versus the Asgardians, I would explore a sort of diplomatic exchange, where Asgard sends a delegation to Themyscira and vice versa.  Can you imagine the shenanigans the Warriors Three would get up to on an island filled with only women, especially Fandral?  I'm sure Artemis would love to do some training with the Valkyries.  And in the end if you need a big battle, I'm sure that Loki and Ares (DC) could come up with some delicously diabolical plot to foil.

Justice League International (Giffen/Dematteis) and the Great Lakes Avengers - This would simply be comic gold, playing these teams up together.  I could easily see a card tournament breaking out when these teams get together, with the loser having to accept G'Nort onto their roster!

Captain Marvel and Power Pack - Power Pack is a group of kids trying to make it as superheroes in an adult world.  Captain Marvel is a kid who can transform into an adult.  I think the potential for a really fun and poignant all ages tale is here just waiting to be exploited.

Iron Man and Batman vs Lex Luthor - I don't want to see these guys slug it out in suits of armour, I want to see a board room battle royale.  I'd love to see a corporate espionage style of tale that sees LuthorCorp trying a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, with Batman coming to Iron Man's aid.

Edwin Jarvis and Alfred Pennyworth - We've had the Justice League battle it out with the Avengers, but now I'd love to see these two gentlemen's gentlemen sit down for a spot of tea to swap war stories.  This would have been a great back-up feature to JLA/Avengers.

I could go on and on regarding this subject, but what about you?  What crossovers have you always wanted to see?

Goku is a Jerk

Last night I watched the finale of the Dragon Ball Z television series. If you haven't seen it (or the rest of the Dragon Ball Z series) and are planning to there are spoilers ahead, but the show has been over for a few years now so I think we should be safe.

I believe near the end of the Dragon Ball series was when Goku and his now-wife Chi-Chi got married. I haven't seen most of Dragon Ball yet, I'm working my way back to it. Anyway, for the purposes of Dragon Ball Z, they are married at the start of the series and have a young son, Gohan.

Chi-Chi comes off as very over-bearing, forbiding Gohan from learning to fight like his dad and admonishing Goku for his lack of ambition, employment, and so forth. It's meant to be played up for comedy, as Chi-Chi comes across as a very high-strung control freak. The world is going to end and Chi-Chi is more concerned with Gohan's grades than existence as we know it ceasing.

However, while watching the finale last night, it really hit me how selfish Goku really is and how Chi-Chi really doesn't deserve the reputation she has.

Goku has been blowing his friends off for years, continuing to train relentlessly with no menace in sight. When he finally does show his face, it's to enter the World Martial Arts tournament. Long story short, after his match in the Finals Goku tells his family that he is going to be leaving them for a few years to train a new fighter.

Goku mentoring a new fighter isn't the problem, it makes sense. However, while his oldest son Gohan is grown up and presumably living on his own, his younger son Goten is still a teenager. He doesn't discuss any of this with his wife, nor does he even tell her in private; she has to find out when he drops the bomb on everybody.

Goku did not enter into this mentoring agreement spontaneously, he had it all planned out and never even mentioned it to his wife, who he has just made a single parent, again, so that he can train a new fighter. And not even so that fighter can protect the Earth, no, it's because Goku can't find anybody powerful enough to give him a good scrap anymore.

What I find really troubling is that distance is nothing to Goku. With his instant transmission ability he could be home for dinner with a snap of his fingers. But no, instead he chooses to abandon his family to fulfil his own dreams and desires.

Throughout the series I'd have to say Goku is a pretty poor father. There is no doubt that he loves his sons, but I think I can say pretty safely that Piccolo has been more of a father-figure to Goku's boys, especially Gohan, than Goku has ever been.

So really, who can blame Chi-Chi for getting bent out of shape when Goku says he has to go save the world again? He is constantly, even when the world is not in danger, leaving her behind to look after their home and family. She hardly ever knows if she is a single parent or not, and even when Goku is around you could argue he's just a third child to look after.

While it may have been funny once upon a time to play up Chi-Chi as the overbearing spouse, in reality she is a pretty strong woman dealing with a very irresponsible husband, if you can even call him that.

Kids and Comics

I have a 5 month old son, and I love him to pieces.  When we found out my wife was pregnant I had dreams of designing the Spider-Man bedroom of my dreams if we were to have a boy.  It turns out that everyone I know would outfit it for me since Griffin has already gotten a ton of Spider-Man stuff already.

But would I want him to read a current Spider-Man comic book?  I'm not so sure.

Now I should actually say right off the bat that I am not reading the Spider-Man books these days, for reasons that I will explore in another post in the future.  So let's just switch this to modern comic books in general.

As the comic book audience has aged over the years, so has the content.  Back in the day it was unheard of to use a swear word in a comic; "hades" was substituted for "hell", "blast" for "damn", and so on.  There was violence, sure, but it wasn't gory or over the top.  The books were smart and never talked down to the reader, but the content was appropriate for all readers.

Nowadays we have books like New Avengers #35, which features a savage beating of the superheroine Tigra by the Hood, a character I'm fairly happy to know nothing about or have an interest in.  I understand that violence is part of comics, I love a good comic fight as much as the next guy, but I don't want nor need to see violence on this scale depicted.  I certainly do not want my son reading this at the age of 8, the same age that I was reading Stan and Steve's run on Amazing Spider-Man in the reprint Spider-Man Classics line.

The line between good and evil is very blurred in comics these days.  I feel that I have a pretty strong moral center, and I feel that a big part of that is from reading about heroes who do the right thing simply because it's the right thing to do, like Captain America, Superman, and Thor.  Now Superman is throwing people off of buildings, Captain America is the new Nick Fury, and Thor is running around telling people to shut up and calling them a pain in the ass.

I appreciate that Marvel and DC have been putting books out aimed at kids, and that's good, but there was a time when comics were suitable for all ages, with something for the kids and something for the adults.  Some of the best movies are like that, and I miss the days when comics could do the same.

As it is, when it's time to introduce my son to comics, I've got a stack of beat up Spider-Man Classics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko waiting for him.

Superheroes in Television

I think part of the problem with the transition of superheroes to the small screen is the creators spend too much time focusing on the super powers and not enough time on the characters.  Any good series is driven by strong characters and their relationships with each other, not on the spandex.

I still think this suit looks
better than Aqua-Superman
in the upcoming film.

I really think that the show that really got this right was Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.  As a kid I watched it because it had Superman in it.  Now when I watch it on DVD, I'm watching for the relationship between the two title characters.  It is important to note the title; Superman gets third-billing, how often does that happen?  Pretty much never.

My wife, who has no interest in superheroes whatsoever (after watching Spider-Man 3 with me she didn't know who I was talking about when I referenced Venom, though in her defense I rewatched the movie and they never do call him that on-screen), loves Lois & Clark.  While we were dating long distance she and her best friend would borrow the seasons from me and they would devour them inside a week.  They wanted to see the love story, they didn't really care about Superman.

I keep hearing about new television series being developed by Marvel and DC; I've read about the Hulk, Mockingbird, and Cloak & Dagger from Marvel and Wonder Woman from DC.  I don't think any of those properties (especially from the synopsis' I've read) really fit the small screen very well.  Here, in no particular order, are the properties I think would translate well to television and how I would do them. The titles are just for fun though!

Daredevil

In my mind Daredevil is a slam dunk of a television show.  Rather than focus the majority of the show on Daredevil, shine the spotlight on Matt Murdock and his legal practice.  There are a ton of legal dramas on television, just add a swashbuckling vigilante into the mix.  I think Matt's blindness would also be able to give the show a different spin than your average show.  The best part about this series is you can easily work in guest stars from the Marvel Universe.  The Punisher could be a recurring character who Matt has worked with as Daredevil in the streets and defended (or prosecuted!) by attorney Matt Murdock in the courtroom. Work in Luke Cage as a bounty hunter or as Matt's personal security.  Jennifer Walters as a rival attorney.  So many characters could be worked in, but again, keep the focus on the characters, not on their superhero exploits.

X-Men
As much as I hate to admit it, putting the X-Men back into a high school setting (cliche, I know) would work extremely well.  X-Men Evolution did a great job with this concept; I resisted the idea at first, but after watching the show they developed a unique look at the X-Men's history and relationships that was very well done.  I would probably put the X-Men into a regular high school, so you can explore the prejudice and persecution angles, but also of acceptance.  I'm not even sure what line-up I'd use since almost any one I can come up with would make for a good show.

Justice League of America
I don't actually know what I'd call the series (Super Buddies, Formerly Known as the Justice League?), since using the Justice League name leads people to believe Superman, Batman and company are the stars.  No, I would base this show around the Giffen/DeMatteis/Macquire premise, as a comedy.  Guy Gardner, Sue Dibny, Elongated Man, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice and Maxwell Lord.  The characters aren't over-powered (the problem with including J'onn J'onnz), but the potential is there for a lot of laughs.  I would do the series in the same vein as the Tick live action series, which was hilarious.

SHIELD
Counter-terrorism shows are popular these days, so unleash Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Maria Hill and the other members of SHIELD.  Some weeks you can work in organizations like Hydra or AIM, others you can just use original creations.  No superpowers required.  My only requirement is we don't get a Samuel L. Jackson Fury...I like my Fury with greying temples and chomping on a cigar, thank you very much.

Power Pack
Why Disney hasn't put this into production for ABC Family, I do not know.  As much as I'd love to see Pixar's take on the Pack, it would be too similar to the Incredibles.  Therefore, give the Powers kids a live action series instead, the younger viewers will have a ball!


Damage Control
Rather than focus on super-powered beings fighting, how about focusing on cleaning up the mess afterwards?  For some reason I imagine this series being done in a similar tone to that of the Office, which is funny considering I rarely watch that show.  I think it would work.

I could keep going, but I'll stop there for now.  What shows would you like to see?

Perhaps DC's Greatest Crime

While I haven't really discussed it here, I have never made it a secret that I dislike DC's reboot/relaunch/whatever-you-want-to-call-it.  I feel they are going to make things very confusing with keeping certain character's histories intact while starting other characters out almost from scratch.  I also think that most of the costume redesigns look like they belong in the 90's.  However, neither of those is the change that bothers me the most.

Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl.

The key points of Barbara's past are that she is the daughter of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (though I don't think he is the Commissioner anymore, at least before the reboot).  She was one of Batman's sidekicks, along with Robin, before the Joker shot her (as Barbara Gordon, unaware of her identity as Batgirl) and caused severe spinal cord damage.  With her ability to walk taken away from her, Barbara reinvented herself as Oracle, an amazing computer hacker and information hub for not only Batman, but to a large number of heroes including the Justice League.

As Batgirl, Barbara belonged to a fairly large club at DC, that of the sidekicks.  Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Speedy...DC is big on sidekicks and legacy characters.  She also belonged to the female off-shoot of a male character club; Aquagirl, Supergirl, Jesse Quick, Jade, and so forth. 

As Oracle, she belonged to a far more exclusive club; that of disabled or disadvantaged superheroes.  Right off the top of my head I think of Daredevil (blind), Jericho (mute), Niles Caulder and Charles Xavier (parapalegic)...and then it gets a lot harder.  If I really stretch myself I am reminded of Silhouette of the New Warriors (parapalegic, able to get around with arm braces).  And yes, there are more heroes I can add to the list if I thought about it really hard or whipped out Google, but I think I will come to the same conclusion. 

What sets Barbara apart from these characters is she got her start as an able-bodied superhero before becoming paralyzed.  With the possible exception of Charles Xavier, I would argue that no disabled character has had such a large impact on their universe as Barbara.

From her wheelchair Barbara made a difference. A huge one.  She was no longer the one out there preventing muggings and saving the world, but she held a pivotal role supporting those who did.  She saved a lot more lives from her chair than wearing her cape.

And now DC is undoing her disability and putting her back in tights.  Barbara, as Oracle, was an inspiration, and not just to those with a simlar affliction.  She showed that having a handicap does not need to hold someone back from achieving great things in their life.  Barbara's way of contributing to society, as a superhero, was taken away, but she found a way to continue to help people even more effectively than before!

As I write this post I am reminded of Rick Hansen, the Man in Motion.  In support of spinal cord research, Rick did a lap around the entire world in 1985-87...in a wheelchair.  He visited 34 countries and traveled, via wheelchair, over 40, 000 kilometers (or 25, 000 miles for you Americans out there).  Would Rick have had the same impact upon the world if he was still able-bodied?  Maybe, but I tend to doubt it.

Now I am certainly not equating the fictional exploits of Barbara Gordon with the real-world accomplishments of Rick Hansen, but my point is that a disabled character is not only inspirational to those similarly afflicted, but to those who are able-bodied as well.  A character like Barbara also teaches acceptance and inclusion of those who are different.

Barbara's past as Batgirl is important because it adds a layer to the character that would not exist if she had always been in a wheelchair.  But to take that away to make her another generic Batman off-shoot is simply criminal.  Oracle is a special, unique, and wonderful character; Batgirl is just another face in the sidekick crowd.

 

From http://www.bleedingcool.com/

Here are a few more great articles and interviews on the subject.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/oracle-is-stronger-than-batgirl-110606.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/gail-simone-dicusses-batgirl-and-oracle-110609.html

 http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/14/confessions-of-a-sadistic-disability-fetishist-a-batgirl-story-by-eric-glover/