Comics and race: Can’t we all just get along?

A plea for peaceful coexistence — A plea for peace beyond boundaries

I was going to blog later about the recent controversies over race and comic books, but I’ll weigh in here while the news is still relatively fresh. Warner Bros./DC Comics announced that Laurence Fishbourne has been cast as Daily Planet editor Perry White, and Disney/Marvel revealed that after Peter Parker was killed in Ultimate Spider-Man (in one alternate continuity), the new Spidey is Miles Morales, an African-American/Hispanic youth.

I can understand that many fans will have negative reactions to any changes to well-known characters, from Samuel L. Jackson playing Col. Nick Fury to Jaime Reyes becoming the Blue Beetle. However, I’m distressed by the amount of invective spewed by ignorant people who see such changes as tantamount to destruction of the American way.

I don’t want to return to the “good old days” of the 1950s, when Caucasian males called the shots for much of the world, Jim Crow was still part of the U.S. legal system, and miscegenation (marriage of people of different ethnic backgrounds, of which I’m a product) was still frowned upon at best.

Yes, every ethnic and religious group has been guilty of crimes against humanity, but for the past few centuries, Europeans have shared their culture — and their hang-ups and wars — with the world. I’m not saying that anyone else would be better, but I do think the majority (if only 50%, if one combines people of African, Asian, and Hispanic descent) should be mindful of the socioeconomic hurdles that minorities have faced and often still face. Is casting white actors as people of color more offensive than trying for more diverse depictions in fiction?

English settlers discriminated against Irish immigrants, the Irish against Italians, and they all sometimes banded against former slaves. Now, gay marriage is used as a wedge issue while potential federal default, wars overseas, and other more pressing issues are debated without the benefit of a well-informed public or reason and courtesy.

Women still earn less money than men on average for equivalent positions, even after factoring in delays because of childbearing. Comic book fans should be sensitive to Superman‘s “never-ending fight for truth, justice, and the American way.”

I hope that sanity and comity prevail, and several of the articles I’ve linked to above demonstrate patience and tolerance, even as they report about disheartening bigotry that persists among what I hope is only a loudmouthed few. My favorite superheroes, including Superman, Captain America, Batman, and Wonder Woman, have all been depicted with blue eyes, but real-world heroes come in all colors, faiths, and shapes.

Coming soon: More Comic-Con roundups, Cowboys & Aliens, and travel!

Thundercats and other toons

Cartoon Network's new Thundercats — Thundercats, ho!

On Friday, 29 July 2011, I watched the premieres of a few new animated television shows. I especially liked the latest incarnation of Thundercats, which was among the shows previewed at San Diego Comic-Con, on the Cartoon Network.

As with G.I. Joe: Renegades, Transformers: Prime, and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, intellectual properties from the 1980s are being revived, with more modern production values and writing. Although I’m a bit too old to have childhood nostalgia for the originals of these series, I applaud this trend, mainly because of the rare improvement in quality.

The one-hour premiere of Thundercats was faithful enough to the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, but it has a lot in common with recent animation as well. Our favorite felines inhabit a more populated Third Earth than their predecessors, and their (over-)reliance on agrarian civilization and royal magic in contrast to the technology of their foes is reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.

The well-designed city of Thundera, varied character archetypes, and new conflict among the Thundercats also reminded me favorably of Avatar: the Last Airbender, which will soon be getting a sequel of its own in Nickelodeon’s Legend of Korra (also previewed at Comic-Con). I liked how Lion-o’s father the king isn’t infallible, not all reptile folk are evil, and even that sidekick Snarf can’t talk.

Thundercats is worth watching for fans of fantasy and related role-playing games, and I’ll definitely be adding Thundercats to my summer TV viewing schedule! We’ll see whether the Kung-Fu Panda series can keep the eastern-flavored martial arts action going and if it’s faithful to the popular Dreamworks movies, which I liked more than the Shrek franchise (the Puss in Boots spin-off does look amusing).

I wish I could say that the other cartoons were as promising as the fantasy Thundercats, Legend of Korra, or Kung-Fu Panda. It was nice to hear Heroes‘ Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia as a smarmy Tony Stark/Iron Man and a youthful Logan/Wolverine in Marvel’s first anime-style series on G4.

As I told Steve M.R., I thought both characters were a good fit for Japanese adventures, with Iron Man‘s technocratic interests and the classic storyline in which Wolverine follows lost love Mariko to Japan. However, I found myself already missing the energy of the computer-animated Iron Man: Armored Adventures and the cleaner lines of X-Men: Evolution, not to mention MTV’s Spider-Man and the fun Spectacular Spider-Man.

I’ll keep watching for a little while in the hope that the latest Iron Man and Wolverine cartoons approach the level of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (not to be confused with the kid-oriented Super Hero Squad). Marvel also has Blade, X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man (whose print equivalent has replaced Peter Parker in the tights), and Hulk and the Agents of SMASH shows in the works. The direct-to-video Thor: Tales of Asgard was apparently successful enough for a sequel: Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers.

On the DC side of Comic-Con and genre TV news, I’m still looking forward to the return of Young Justice, the premiere of Bruce Timm’s Green Lantern: the Animated Series, and the next inevitable Batman series. I’ve already mentioned the Batman: Year One and Dark Knight Returns releases, and more adaptations are planned, including Justice League: Doom, Superman vs. the Elite, and Batman: the Killing Joke.

Janice and I have been enjoying the Seinfeld-inspired Looney Toons Show, and I hope to catch the dieselpunk War of the Worlds: Goliath, which features the cast of Highlander: the Series, whenever it’s released in the U.S. (thanks to Heavy Metal magazine for the previews).

Coming soon: Toys and games at Comic-Con, Cowboys & Aliens review, and more food and travel!

Live action at Comic-Con 2011

Fans in costumes at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 — Justice League fans in costume

Continuing my look at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, as in recent years, movie and television adaptations dominated news from the genre entertainment convention. Although I read lots of print comic books and graphic novels, I have to admit that the show is an opportunity to get a glimpse of numerous upcoming projects.

In the past few years, flicks such as Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and Green Hornet were heavily promoted but did poorly at the box office, even though some critics and fans liked them. As a result, it’s no surprise that two of next year’s biggest superhero movies, The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers, didn’t have full panels at Comic-Con. Warner Brothers/DC and Disney/Marvel did release previews to coincide with the convention, however.

I read more DC Comics titles than Marvel ones, but I’m more excited by Joss Whedon’s Avengers team-up than the conclusion to Chris Nolan and Christian Bale’s dour Batman trilogy. After Captain America, I’m hoping for more four-color heroics rather than more angst in an era already dominated with real-world news of wars, natural and manmade disasters, economic recession, and political stalemate. I also think that the upcoming animated Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are a better way of exorcising Frank Miller’s influential stories than turning them into live action.

Of the other comic book movies, I’m curious about Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, even though I don’t see a need for a reboot (still with Nicholas Cage) after the first film. I found it more entertaining than Ang Lee’s Hulk, which deserved a reboot, and not every superhero adaptation needs to be as seriously highbrow as The Dark Knight.

I had strong reservations after seeing the first still photos of lanky Andrew Garfield in costume for The Amazing Spider-Man, but the latest previews are more promising. It may be a bit soon for a restart of Sony’s franchise, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a fresh director and cast taking a crack at Peter Parker’s misadventures, and I like Emma Stone, who’ll be playing love interest Gwen Stacy.

Fright Night looks like an amusing horror/comedy remake, and Knights of Badassdom should appeal to fans of Your Highness and various live-action role-playing docudramas. I’m more interested in Aardman’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits than Arthur Christmas (technically animation, I know, but it’s fantasy/comedy of a sort).

We’ll see how closely Alien prequel Prometheus and Rise of the Planet of the Apes tie in with their respective science fiction/horror series. I’ll also be curious to see if the Total Recall remake is closer to Philip K. Dick’s writing than Paul Verhoven and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s version. I’ll likely skip the latest sequels for Final Destination, Jurassic Park, Twilight, and Underworld, but I might see The Raven (not to be confused with ABC’s Poe TV series).

Speaking of Twilight or Red Riding Hood, I’m not the target audience of teenage girls for Snow White and the Huntsman, The Hunger Games, and assorted Wizard of Oz features, anymore than I’m the audience of tween boys for the techno brawlers Transformers or Real Steel. On the other hand, I might see the similarly mythic Immortals and Wrath of the Titans.

I’ve always been more interested in science fiction than horror. Doctor Who and Torchwood: Miracle Day had a strong presence at this year’s Comic-Con, including the stars in attendance and many participants in a Doctor Who lookalike contest. I don’t yet have a Blu-Ray player, so I’ll have to wait for the extended version of the original Star Wars trilogy.

I’ve been enjoying the latest episodes of SyFy’s Warehouse 13, and I hope that Alphas, the latest attempt to deal with metahumans like NBC’s late, lamented Heroes, does better than its predecessors. I’d put Castle with slightly more realistic procedurals such as Leverage and White Collar, and stars Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic have some geek credits.

I’ll blog about animation, toys, and more separately.

Comic-Con 2011 and controversy

Adam Hughes takes on the women of DC — Women of DC Comics

As I continue catching up after my trip to Chicago just over a week ago, here are some reflections on 2011’s San Diego Comic-Con. Since the largest genre entertainment convention in the U.S. now gets as many as 125,000 attendees, I’m probably better off watching coverage on G4 than trying to make the hajj myself.

As usual, much news coverage of the show focused on movies, television, and fans and “booth babes” in costume. Even as some observers have predicted that comic books and movies based on them have peaked, others have examined the various cycles of different subgenres and media. My impression from afar was that Comic-Con‘s popularity is still growing, even if the intellectual property that it’s based on is overshadowed by nonprint adaptations and tie-ins.

Speaking of comic books and graphic novels, there were still numerous announcements at Comic-Con. Marvel has held onto its position as market leader with the usual rounds of crossover storylines, resurrected characters, and literary adaptations. Independent publishers such as IDW and Dark Horse (as well as DC’s Vertigo imprint) continue to do well with fantasy, horror, and science fiction licenses.

DC Comics released more information about its renumbering, or “soft reboot,” this coming September. The backstories of most of its titles will be compressed to make its main superheroes younger. After Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have aged about one year for every two years of real time. Resetting more than 25 years of continuity to put them back in their late 20s or early 30s may cause more problems than it solves.

I hope to post my own ideas on how to balance forever-young vigilantes with evolving storylines and supporting casts, but DC’s editors faced numerous questions from skeptical fans. I’m not especially worried about costume redesigns or re-resurrections. I was disappointed, however, that DC’s management got defensive when questioned about diversity among its artists, writers, and characters. Marvel has had a slightly better track record lately of encouraging women and people of color to both create and read its comics.

DC eventually acknowledged people’s concerns and said it would keep trying. One blogger pointed out that major comic book characters are more of a corporate brand than an artistic vehicle, and I agree that our favorite franchises have taken on a life of their own, with profit often overcoming common sense or freedom of expression. For example, thanks to Chris Nolan and Christian Bale’s live-action movies, Batman is one of the biggest brands in the world right now, even as Warner Bros./DC is eclipsed by Disney/Marvel in most other areas.

On the other hand, I’m not quite ready to boycott DC and am giving the publisher the benefit of the doubt. I ran Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition for a year before switching to Pathfinder, and I’ve found that TV’s Star Wars: Clone Wars has made up for George Lucas’ stilted prequel films. If Dan Di Dio, Jim Lee, and company can learn from their early missteps, DC could yet increase its readership through refreshed storytelling, modern digital issues, and more timely comics (no pun intended).

In coming posts, I’ll look at other Comic-Con news, review Cowboys & Aliens, and describe my favorite superhero games!

Captain America movie review

On Sunday, 24 July 2011, Janice and I returned to the Showcase Cinemas at Legacy Place in Dedham, Massachusetts, for Captain America: the First Avenger. I’m pleased to report that the latest movie adaptation from Marvel Comics is one of the best genre movies so far this year and could be one of my favorite superhero flicks ever!

Director Joe Johnston is no stranger to World War II and action films, with experience in the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Rocketeer franchises. Despite some anachronistic costumes and dialogue (not counting the deliberately science fiction premise and villains), Johnston keeps a steady hand on the proceedings.

For those not familiar with one of the older and more popular comic book heroes, Steve Rogers is a runty kid from Brooklyn who seeks to serve his country and is given a chance to do so by scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine. Turned into the super soldier Captain America, Rogers fights Nazis before being trapped in ice and finding himself in our era, decades later, surrounded by modern superheroes.

The First Avenger is faithful to the comics of Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Ed Brubaker, and Steve Epting. In fact, the work of the latter two brought me back to reading some Marvel titles. Actor Chris Evans, who played the cocky Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the Fantastic Four flicks, is properly virtuous and a blank slate for his physical transformation from a skinny street kid into the buff war-bonds salesman and eventual combat leader. It wouldn’t be Cap if he didn’t get to sling his trademark shield.

Evans is initially overshadowed by the performances of veterans Tommy Lee Jones as the gruff Col. Chester Phillips and Stanley Tucci as the humane Dr. Erskine. He later is supported by Sebastian Stan as sniper sidekick Bucky Barnes, Dominic Cooper as inventor Howard Stark (father of Iron Man‘s Tony Stark), and Star Trek: First Contact‘s Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan of the Howling Commandos. Hayley Atwell (from The Prisoner remake) as comely Peggy Carter and Natalie Dormer (from The Tudors) as minx Priv. Lorraine are among the few women who get to interact with Rogers.

The visual effects are good, especially in the beginning of the movie, where Evans’ face is transposed on a slight-framed body in Depression-era New York. I did notice some blue- or green-screen lighting in later scenes, but the requisite explosions, slow-motion combat, and airborne stunts were all decently rendered. A motorcycle chase scene, attempted train heist, and flying wing all pay homage to the other franchises that Johnston has worked on. The instrumental soundtrack evokes the jazz age but isn’t especially memorable.

Captain America‘s story moves easily from stateside to overseas. Richard Armitage (Guy of Guisborne in the BBC’s recent Robin Hood and Thorin Oakenshield in the upcoming Hobbit) is a Nazi assassin. He is soon surpassed in villainy by Toby Jones (from Doctor Who) as meek scientist Arnim Zola and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, and V for Vendetta) as Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull and mad leader of Nazi splinter group Hydra. Their ambiguous fates, however, were refreshing for what could have been a uberpatriotic plot.

As with Thor and other recent Marvel origin stories, Captain America is somewhat predictable and obviously leads into next year’s Avengers (stay after the closing credits for a preview). The alternate-history war movie, which reminded me of Inglorious Basterds, leaves enough room for Capt. America to have flashbacks in future films.

Overall, Disney/Marvel has continued its winning streak, staying ahead of rival DC Comics in live-action adaptations. I’d give Captain America, which is rated PG-13 for violence, an “A-,” four out of five stars, or an 8.5 out of 10. I liked it a bit more than Green Lantern or Thor, if not as much as the 1978 and 1980 Superman films.

In other superhero news, I’ve watched the first few episodes of SyFy’s Alphas, which combines the ordinary people with powers from Heroes and No Ordinary Family with the covert teams from various espionage shows. It’s decent — I’d rate it a “B-” so far, but I doubt it’ll last.

Even as Marvel’s Super Hero Squad and DC’s Young Justice have yet to return, I’m looking forward to this week’s premieres of the anime-style Iron Man and Wolverine on G4, to eventually be joined by Blade and yet another incarnation of the X-Men. I expect Season 2 of The Avengers to be the strongest of these cartoons.

Also premiering this coming weekend is the Thundercats revival, whose previews gave me a good Avatar: the Last Airbender vibe. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be getting another computer-animated makeover, similar to Star Wars: Clone Wars and Bruce Timm‘s upcoming Green Lantern TV series.

DC is holding onto its lead in direct-to-video cartoons, however, with Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, among other projects announced at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. So many superheroes, so little time! And I haven’t even touched actual comic books or RPGs based on them yet!