Reviews, comments and observations on stories that feature DC Comics' best detective (cough, afterbatman, cough) and the sensational Sue, his spoiled wife. I'll be pointing the best ones, the key ones and the lousy ones.
There are many interesting things going on with the above image from the fantastic third issue of Justice League 3001. I'm sure Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis were just having fun, but that's what happens when you have talented craftsmen on the job.
Among the extras we can see the somebody looking like Ambush Bug, a creation of Keith, and another guy resembling the Shadow (perhaps an homage to Andy Helfer?). The Chrysler Building seems to be on the background, which would mean we are seeing the New York City of 3001 AD, when Earth is a dumpster called Takron-Galtos, a place for criminals and low lives.
The restaurant sign alone reveals that there is a Ralph and Sue themed bar and grill, which might lead us to assume a number of things. Until we see the next panel!
You are thinking "is that Wolverine next ot Clark?", but in this picture,
there are a couple of DC regulars hidden in plain sight as well.
There's something funny going on. Let's take a closer look.
Those are freaking Ralph and Sue!!
I won't get ahead of myself. We have two great options. In the worst case, those are not resurrected Ralph and Sue, which means their legend was so strong it lived as a franchise for almost 1000 years. But let's be practical, if Barry was resurrected for the 3rd time, and we know Firestorm (in control of Cadmus) is now reviving even guys like Gardner, odds are those are resurrected Ralph and Sue and they own a place now. Only Keith and J.M. know the answer and future plans for the characters.
This is a great year for Dibny fans.
By the way. I cannot recommend enough to buy this series. The creative team is a guarantee, and, after a great start, it has been getting more and more entertaining with every issue. The art is fantastic, the story is great and it's impossible not to care about these characters. Not because they are beloved DC icons, but because the compelling way they are written.
It all depends on this picture from Justice League 3000 #14. That's a flasback with (left to right) Ralph, Max, Oberon, Ice and Sue, showing a moment, way after the Super Buddies issues, sometime after Fire exchanged places with Ice at hell.
The story also states that Ice never saw Fire again, however,
a. that's not how Ice revived in the pre-Flashpoint continuity, as seen in Birds of Prey #105 (July 2007),
b. Fire and Ice reunited and teamed up in Justice League: Generation Lost (2010),
c. by the time Ice was resurrected in the pre-Flashpoint continuity (July 2007), both Ralph and Sue were dead and Max had turned evil.
If I'm correct and those are Ralph, Max and Sue, it means we have our first post-Flashpoint continuity in which they are still alive at the present time!!
And here is a cool picture of the whole gang. Just because:
Update: I've confirmed it at J.M. DeMatteis blog, CREATION POINT(actually, he did said so in an interview that I missed before I asked). By the way, that blog is really awesome, J.M. is incredibly cool and gives honest answers to about everything.
For some years, before Dwayne passed, I had the great privilege of plaguing and terrorizing The Dwayne McDuffie Forums with my idiotic opinions and, somehow, getting some conversation with the great Maestro. I loved how he always gave me these one liners in which he spotted the flaws of my long piles of ranting nonsense and made several of my views collapse on their own weight. He is gone now, but I will always appreciate how many of his views are now mine as well.
From science, social issues and home-made philosophy, to the way a comic book works, we talked about everything in that forum. Among the topics that were particularly attractive to comic book nerds, the one that appealed the most to me were his views on continuity.
This week, on his blog, Creation Point, the ever cool and incredibly talented J. M. DeMatteis exchanged a couple of replies with me on his ongoing Justice League 3000 (which I cannot recommend you enough) and how it is set outside the main continuity of most of the current DC Comics titles, in a world in which all his Justice League International stories happened. All of it got me thinking again about Dwayne's views. To this day, I consider them an impending revolution in the superhero genre and I think they expose the ideal way for publishers to work with it.
Dwayne wrote three essays on the subject, which I consider must-read material for any lover of comic books and superhero mythopoeia. Along with other interesting articles, they are available at his site. However, for the sake of diffusing and keeping them for posterity, I am sharing a transcript here. So, enjoy:
Crisis On Mono-Earth!
(c. 2001)
As I patiently await my copy of the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths trade paperback, collecting the outstanding 12 issue maxi-series that tried to untangle the beautiful mess of 40 some-odd years of DC Comics continuity, I can't help but wonder: Isn't it past time we got rid of all this "shared universe" crap?
I suppose I should explain.
Crisis was everything you could ask for in a crossover epic; a great story, featuring dozens of superheroes facing their greatest challenge ever; a sincere promise of "anything can happen" that gave the proceedings something almost unheard of in series fiction: real suspense; final bows for old favorites not seen in years; Easter eggs enough to keep the most anal fan busy for weeks looking for them all; and beautiful, psychotically detailed, art. I almost liked Crisis enough to cough up the hundred bucks they were asking for the hardcover edition that came out a couple of years ago (but I didn't, out of fear that my late father would have risen from his grave to smack me on the head for stupidity). In addition to being both an aesthetic and a commercial success, Crisis also achieved its primary goal: wiping the slate clean so that the DC Universe could go forward without the many contradictions among its myriad continuities. The result, a single, contradiction-free DC Universe, would be the standard at DC Comics from then on, or at least until folks started writing more stories.
Today, less than twenty years later, despite at least three other "reboots," (each more inventive than the next in their efforts to explain away the various inconsistencies that routinely crop up) DC continuity is at least as confused as it was before Crisis.
I'm not here to debate the merits of comic book series set in shared universes. I've enjoyed reading shared universe stories. I've written shared universe stories, myself. I broke into comics by creating Damage Control, a concept thoroughly dependent on existence of the Marvel Universe. At Milestone, I even committed a shared universe of my own. But I repent my sin, and so should we all. The interconnectedness of shared universe stories is one of the biggest barriers to new readership. I know that's counterintuitive. Crossovers increase sales, right? I mean, that's why we keep doing them. True, but what we've also been doing is selling more and more books to fewer and fewer people. One reason? Shared universes are too hard to follow.
In the interests of clarity, which is my point, let me repeat myself: Shared universes are too hard to follow.
The vast amount of information a reader has to master, simply to understand a typical monthly superhero comic is ridiculous. That's all well and good for geeks like you and me but it's become impossible to be a casual reader anymore. Casual readers should be our bread and butter; they certainly used to be. But I defy you to pick up a random issue of most current comics and be able to understand what's going on in it without the equivalent of a Ph.D. in trivia. We want more readers but we don't offer them any way in. Let me give you an example. Last year's Batman: No Man's Land promised exciting stuff from a number of top-notch creators. But can you imagine the confusion of someone picking up a random single issue of a story that ran through four (or was it eight?) monthly titles for an entire year? And where does DC get off asking them to commit to buying 48 (or was it 96?) individual comics to get a single story, no matter how good? Apparently, they got off at the bank, as I'm told the Batman titles sold much better than usual during that run. Me, I decided to wait for the trade paperbacks, which I haven't yet cracked, because I'm not sure I have them all. Too complicated. I suppose I could call Kurt Busiek and ask him to sort it out for me but I'm afraid of going to the well too often. Besides, this is not an option available to the casual reader.
But the problem's even worse than it seems, because to really understand the Batman stories, you have to know all about something called "JLA." And to really understand JLA, you have to read four (or is it five) Superman books, and a couple of Flash books, and Wonder Woman, and Hawkman (if I really wanted to drive my point home, I'd have used Hawkman as my example but shooting fish in a barrel is only easy if you don't mind getting water all over the floor. I'd have had to spend more time trying to explain Hawkman to you than making my point), and Green Lantern, and Aquaman, and a bunch of other stuff that may or may not be cancelled. This is insane. How many people would watch ER if, in order to understand it, you had to be current with the continuity of every single show on NBC? Right. Practically no one, and NBC is free. Talk about "Must Watch…"
I'm not just picking on DC, here, although I promise I will in the future. I could just have easily talked about X-Men titles, or Heroes Reborn reboots or, God help us, Spider-Man. The shared universe really was a good idea, once upon a time. That time has passed. Let's trash these unwieldy things.
Does this mean we need another Crisis? Must we do without continuity, without team-ups or crossovers? Should we all just pack it in right now and go find a new hobby? No, I'm not suggesting anything that radical. Not quite. If you come back next week, I'll tell you how we can have our cake and eat it too. Which is fortunate, because if I can't eat my cake, I don't want any.
See you next week.
- Dwayne McDuffie
Yep. Mono-Earth sounded as a great idea, but the expressions of these multiverse characters show us how painful it was to understand its continuity.
The Rules of the Game: Crisis On Mono-Earth, part II
When last we met, the menace of "shared universes" (the unwholesome practice of setting the majority of a publisher's titles in a single continuity) was killing superhero comics.
I'm borderline serious, here.
I've already argued that shared universes add layers of unnecessary complexity to the reading experience. New customers can't figure out where to start reading, should they be so inclined. Casual readers don't exist anymore, as they can't hope to follow the stuff unless they're willing to commit totally. Even guys like us (well, most of us), who have already been reading pretty much everything for years can't keep it all straight any more. The result of these hopelessly tangled storylines, needlessly interwoven through dozens of comic book series, is to make anyone but a head case ditch the whole thing. Which folks are already doing, in droves.
Not to worry, Gordius. Just bring that nasty knot over here and Dwayne McAlexander will make everything all better.
I propose we sever the ties that bind. With one minor class of exceptions (which I'll get to later) let every individual title be its own universe. Marvel Universe? Screw it. DCU? Please, as if it were remotely coherent now. Tell the truth. You like the Elseworlds stuff better anyway, don't you?
Well, even if you don't...
I've already received letters from readers who freaked because they think I'm suggesting we get rid of continuity. Relax, I'm doing no such thing. I'm simply suggesting a separate continuity within each and every title. Ever wonder why the Avengers don't show up and help when the Fantastic Four is locked in mortal battle with Galactus? Well, don't. Because under the new rules, there aren't any Avengers in the FF Universe, and vice versa.
"What!?!," you say. "No guest shots? No crossovers?"
Sure there are. But only if the creative/editorial teams want them. The first rule of individual continuity is this: Nothing is canon unless it happened (or is referred to) in the pages of an issue of the comic you're reading. If the Empire State Building was destroyed in the latest issue of Green Lantern, there's no Empire State Building anymore, but only in Green Lantern. The Flash remains free to coax Gorilla Grodd down from the top of that that very same nonexistent building, because in his comic, it was never destroyed. Should I read only one of those titles, I don't have to keep track of continuity that has nothing to do with the comic I bought. If I happen to read both titles, the "discontinuity" is no more confusing than the fact that on The West Wing, the President of the United States is named Josiah Bartlet, and on Spin City, his name is Bill Clinton.
You still want to know about guest shots, don't you? Okay, Rule #2: Guest Shots are permissible, but they only affect the continuity of the book they appeared in. If Flash does a guest-shot in Green Lantern, there's no Empire State Building and the Flash sees nothing wrong with that. Moreover, back in the pages of The Flash, the crossover story never happened (unless it's explicitly referred to in those pages). You with me? If you're reading Green Lantern, it happened, if you're reading Flash, it didn't. Anybody can still meet anybody though, if you're into that sort of thing.
Rule #3: No continued stories crossing from one book into another. A multi-part story is fine, as long as all the parts take place in the same title. No part one in Flash, part two in Green Lantern, part three in the 48 page bookshelf Faster Than Lantern's Light! nonsense. If I like the Flash, that's all I should ever have to read. If I really like him, I can follow his circulation-building guest shots in other titles if I want to. But I never have to.
Before you ask, Rule #4: Team books and multiple character crossover books are permissible but take place in their own unique universe. You may have team books. Even team books like The Avengers or JLA that are made up mostly of members who already have their own solo titles. JLA can have both Flash and Green Lantern as members but it has its own unique continuity, which may or may not contradict the continuities of the Flash and or Green Lantern titles. Big crossover epics like Maximum Security would take place in a maxi series called Maximum Security. You wouldn't need to read any other titles in order to understand it. Characters that guest star in a crossover title aren't beholden to that continuity unless they choose to be.
This brings us to the exception of the exception to my shared continuity rules. Exception #1: Groups of titles may share continuity in ways that violate Rules 1, 2 and sometimes 4. In other words. If the Empire State Building is destroyed In Superman, it's also gone in Adventures, Man Of Steel and probably in Supergirl as well. If you want to define a group of titles as "X-Men books, and all of their spin-offs," this is also kosher. But rule #3 is inviolate.
Another happy result of this system is that it would strengthen certain titles that are diminished by being in a shared universe. Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and Wonder Woman, for instance, would all work better in their own unique worlds, worlds that differ than the shared DCU. Captain Marvel's Fawcett City, stuck in a retro 1950's, with talking tigers and world conquering worms, is at best an uncomfortable fit with Superman's "just slightly ahead of our time" Metropolis. Maybe you disagree with my examples, but you know what I mean. Do street criminals have ray guns? Is public mass transit light rail, buses or transporters? Is the Hulk the strongest one there is, or is Thor? Are magic and the supernatural real, or just scams to be uncovered by the Amazing Randi? The answers to questions like these effect the kinds of stories you can tell. My solution? Let these questions be decided in their own individual titles. Then the creators can build a unique world that supports, not simply allows, the conceit of a title.
The best part of my scheme is that the people who care deeply about how all the various titles relate to one another will have more to argue about than ever. Imagine the fun of trying to stitch all these contradictory continuities together into a seamless whole. The rest of us don't have to risk migraines thinking about it ever again. I remember once, many years ago Marvel executive editor Mark Gruenwald explained Omniverse, his theory of how various fictional cosmologies all fit together, to me. I think I got it, eventually. But I'm sure I had less trouble grasping the finer points of Special Relativity.
None of what I'm proposing is all that radical, really. We've all seen these rules in effect many times before, in intercompany crossovers. Superman vs. Spider-Man was my first exposure to this treatment of continuity but the latest Aliens vs. Whomever mini demonstrates the principles just as well.
Okay, you've got the gist of my plan. Now it's time to shoot holes in it. I'll give you guys a couple weeks for rebuttal. Email me with your comments and critiques, I'm especially interested in examples of good comics that wouldn't be possible under these conditions. In a month or so, I'll respond by either cruelly shooting you down right in front of everybody, or grudgingly admitting that you're right and trying to refine my set of rules. If you're really successful, I'll just give up the whole idea.
Okay, I'm running long. See you next week with one of those "bits and pieces" type things, wherein I try to pass off as a real column a bunch of random notions too thin to carry even a rambling, unfocused, thousand word essay.
- Dwayne McDuffie
And from that we can snowball and make our own takes. Personally, I think DC should go half way. They already have the Multiverse structure, in which they have named universes for realities such as the ones from
DC: The New Frontier (Earth-21),
Gotham by Gaslight (Earth-19),
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Earth-23),
Young Justice (Earth-16),
The DC animated Universe(Earth-12, a.k.a. the Timmverse), or
The Dark Knight Returns (Earth-31).
It also includes a "Prime Earth", which is where the events of most of the DC line takes place and it was formerly known as "Earth-One", "New Earth" or "Earth-0" (don't ask). For my two cents, whatever they call that main reality, these days DC should only keep a limited number of successful titles within it so that editors could keep a tight ship and, consequently, they increase the quality of the continuity (like TV head writers, if you will). Meanwhile, other creative teams can have their very own Earths as a setting for whatever ongoing title, limited series or graphic novel they want to include. This way Darwyn Cooke could write more Earth-21 stories, Brian Augustyn could explore Earth-19 and Alan Moore can have his own "Earth-W" to produce a Watchmen sequel (pfff, ha, ha, ha, just kidding). The existence of a DC multiverse also opens a possibility for writers who have their creations trapped in an extinct continuity and would like to take their contributions and continue working on them as part of a new Earth. Frank Miller intended precisely this when he wrote All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, an unfinished story that he considers to be set in the same continuity of all his previous Batman stories (Batman: Year One, Batman /Spawn, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again), regardless of their ties to unfitting stories by other writers (Loeb's Batman: Dark Victory).Apparently a similar situation is happening with J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen'sJustice League 3000, which is set in the year 3000 of an Earth that includes the events Formerly Known as the Justice League, I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, and all the Justice League International stories by that creative team. Apparently, it also includes the events of Camelot 3000, which basically means that they can hand pick whatever stories they want to fit in their continuity. This dynamic would also make sense for properties such as Neil Gaiman's Sandman, or James Robinson's Starman. Too bad Grant Morrison continued Batman Incorporated as part of Prime Earth, it deserves its own continuity . Of course, all of this might complicate reading lists for every given Earth. If Jeph Loeb wanted to continue his Batman stories from Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, and Catwoman: When In Rome on "Earth-H", he would share the Batman: Year One, as a common canon story with Miller's Earth-31, despite not being able to fitother stories like The Dark Knight Returns, and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again which take place in the future and shows alive two of the characters he clearly killed off his stories. However, taking my cues form something Dwayne pointed in the next essay I am transcribing (time to get back to the star of this post), not one but many series can share stories and characters, but they can conveniently ignore whatever doesn't fit. The essay, titled Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere and was originally published at SlushFactory.com, came from the took the same line of thinking and applied it to deconstruct all TV crossovers. The premise became very popular and was coined the "The Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis" actually became a flow chart that shocked the Internet:
Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere
I know this is going to read like a plug but it’s not, actually it’s an excuse for writing about TV. I’ll try to explain. Last weekend I had the unique thrill of watching pop-culture icons Batman and the Joker make a guest-appearance on STATIC SHOCK, the Kids WB animated series I co-created. It looks like the episode went over well with the audience, too. I’ve read many good reviews. I’ve received well-wishes from dozens of fans. I’ve got some great e-mails from little kids who discovered the show only because Batman was on it. All in all, an unexpected triumph.
Except…
Except there are some comic book fans who are confused by what the crossover does to the continuity of the DC and Milestone universes (answer: nothing, actually) or to the continuity of DC Comics’ animated shows (answer: nothing that matters, really). There’s just a few of those guys out there, mind you but they’re strident. Anyone who has read my old columns knows my radical stance on comic book continuity (part 2 is here. Click the links if you care). The short version is this, I think comic book continuity should be treated as TV continuity traditionally has, that is to say, every show has its own, individual continuity – even when that show shares characters from other shows. The old sit-coms Seinfeld and Mad About You share characters but both shows conveniently ignore that fact whenever they feel like it. This allows them to have all the fun of crossovers, without the silly baggage of both shows having to keep it all straight (and, wonder of wonders, you can watch and enjoy either show without ever watching the other one).
This is the right answer for comics too, because complex interlocking storylines across dozens of series will inherently prove to be absurd. Let me demonstrate. For the purposes of our demonstration, we postulate that any TV show that shares characters with another series is in the same universe as that series. With the help of the guys at the Milestone E-group and their discovery of a wondrous TV crossover website that lists an astonishingly large list of spinoffs and crossovers, I will first reveal to you a stunning tapestry of interconnected TV shows, then prove that none of those shows’ episodes actually occurred. I’ll do the last with two magic words: St. Elsewhere.
For those of you don’t know, St. Elsewhere was a slick, well written and acted drama series about the doctors, administrators and patients of the fictional Boston hospital, St. Eligius (nicknamed St. Elsewhere by the staff). After a long, award-winning run, in the very last moments of the show’s final episode, it was revealed that all of the events of the show were merely the prolonged daydream of an autistic child. None of it “really” happened. Whether you like this final twist (for what it’s worth, I didn’t), it’s a legitimate ending to a self-contained show. But if St. Elsewhere played by the rules of comics, either they wouldn’t have been allowed to do it, or they would have precipitated a crisis in TV Land far bloodier than DC Comics’ Crisis On Infinite Earths. Why? Because crossover-wise, St. Elsewhere is the Kevin Bacon of TV shows.
Stay with me now, this is complicated but kind of fun.
Characters from St. Elsewhere have appeared on Homicide, which means that show is part of the autistic child’s daydream and likewise doesn’t exist. It gets worse. The omnipresent Detective John Munch from Homicide has appeared on X-Files, Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. Law & Order characters have appeared on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. X-Files characters have appeared on The Lone Gunmen and Millennium. Characters from Chicago Hope have appeared on Homicide. Characters from Picket Fences have appeared on Chicago Hope. All those shows are gone (if you count cartoons, which makes this game much too easy, the X-Files characters have appeared on The Simpsons. The Critic has also appeared on The Simpsons. Dead).
Characters from Picket Fences have appeared on Ally McBeal. Ally McBeal has appeared on The Practice. Characters from The Practice have appeared on Boston Public. Autistic daydreams, every one.
But that’s not all. St Elsewhere characters have appeared on Cheers, so Fraiser doesn’t exist. Neither do Wings, Caroline In The City or The Tortellis but who cares? Well, maybe you do, because Caroline In The City once crossed over with Friends, which crossed over with Mad About You, which crossed over with Seinfeld and The Dick Van Dyke show. None of them happened in our new, shared continuity. St. Elsewhere also shared characters with The White Shadow and It’s Gary Shandling’s Show. Garry Shandling crossed over with The Andy Griffith show (no, really!). So Gomer Pyle, Mayberry RFD, and Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show are gone. Make Room For Daddy takes out I love Lucy. And there’s more, St. Elsewhere also shares continuity with M*A*S*H, so Aftermash and Trapper John MD are out of there.
Now here’s a good one, St. Elsewhere shared a patient with The Bob Newhart Show, so the Bob Newhart Show is part of the grand daydream. The Bob Newhart Show crossed over with Murphy Brown, which in turn links to, among many others: Julia, The Nanny, Everybody Loves Raymond and I Dream of Jeannie! Meanwhile, the series Newhart was revealed to be a nightmare had by Bob Newhart’s character on the Bob Newhart Show. Newhart crossed over with Coach, which connects it to Grace Under Fire, Ellen and Drew Carey. Drew Carey takes out Home Improvement and NYPD Blue.
All of these shows (and many more that I left out or missed) are daydreams of St. Elsewhere’s autistic kid.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. Links to the Happy Days, All In The Family and Diagnosis Murder universes would take out another 20 or 30 shows. If we can get to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, who knows how many would fall? My favorite possibility? A link to Knight Rider, of all things, would remove every single Star Trek series. I wouldn’t mind some research help from my vast and loony readership on these and any other shows you guys can think of, E-mail me. No cartoons though, that way lies madness. The Scooby Doo movies alone encompass a good chunk of the space/time continuum.
All of these would help me prove my Grand Unification Theory, which posits: “The last five minutes of St. Elsewhere is the only television show, ever. Everything else is a daydream.”
So what does this prove, other than the fact that I’ve got too much free time? Well, my point and I do have one (I can steal this catch phrase because, as I’ve already proven, Ellen never existed), is that while guest-shots and crossovers can be fun, obsessive, cross-series continuity is silly. It’s silly in comics too. Relax and enjoy the show.
- Dwayne McDuffie
All TV fiction takes place in Tommy Westphall's mind!
I added a couple of characters to the Know your Super Buddy post: Power Girl, Crimson Fox and Beefeater. Expect Captain Atom, Powergirl, Metamorpho, Flash and the rest soon.
Power Girl: Kara’s super strength is not only physical but emotional. She’s confident, emotionally independent and very outspoken; however, her temper is short and might lose sight of what’s important in order to make a stand. Even though his views are always fair, she engages easily and she can be quite opinionated, which put her at odds with the likes of Guy. She has little tolerance for shenanigans as well, especially when it comes to men objectifying her because of her notorious sex appeal –she doesn’t flirt or dress for men, but she also refuses to hide her beauty. She’s normally cranky, but she can be quite generous and kind. When it comes to her work, PG has a great determination that makes her diligent, quick and effective.
Crimson Fox: We’re talking about two women, but in general, their behavior seems the same. They like to remain a mystery to their teammates, so they are barely socialize and come across as “a” cold peer. They inform themselves about any situation and become all business right away; pretty much like Batman, only without barking orders. This is how they manage to hide the fact that they are two people sharing the same superhero identity. Like Batman, they seem too self-aware and even melancholic, but their determination and dedication to an agenda against injustice makes them overachieving perfectionist forces.
Beefeater: Is a conceited, arrogant, phony, obnoxious, rude, inconsiderate, stubborn, pretentious and absolutely sarcastic jerk. He can’t help but show a neurotic behavior whenever he interacts; normally characterized by his excessive complaining and attention to unimportant details. His constant engaging prevents him from inspiring any real authority despite his confidence; people rather please him in hopes to get him to shot up or go away. I know, I’m basically describing Basil, but it’s the same, anyway.
Continuing with the profiling here are the members of the Justice League
International. Giffen and DeMatteis did an excellent job demonstrating the uniqueness
of their personalities, still, it's always fun to review them. Tell me what you think about them.
Maxwell Lord: The true Maxwell is an opportunistic sleazeball
with a great heart. He would manipulate and push so that his will is done; fortunately,
he always has the greater good and the best interest of his friends in mind. He
sounds like a used car salesman, the difference is that he always delivers what
he promises. He's the incarnation of the "Like a boss" meme; he works hard and he lives hard, always surounded by luxury. He's all charm, and yet, unlike the stereotypical sanguinean type,
he gets the job done without disappointments. He has a thing for power and
control, but his main reasons are his egocentrism and certain paternalist
feelings he has towards the JLI. As the boss, he's always has his eyes on the
ball and knows how to take charge without engaging (at least when it matters).
The Martian Manhunter: The leader of the oddest incarnation of the JLI also
serves as its father figure; while he seems to have a peer relationship with Batman and
Maxwell, he thinks of the rest as "the children". He knows human nature better
than humans so he’s very accepting and avoids engaging in nonsense and even
most of the social situations of the team. His attitude and personality often
places him as the straight man among the shenanigans of his team. As a leader
he's calm, insightful and patient and knows exactly what to say to lead this
weird wild crowd, always with his eyes on the ball.
Blue Beetle: Ted is creative, optimistic, enthusiastic,
adventurous, witty and a bit juvenile. He has a great, easy going temper, which
is why he's normally in great mood. His friends would say that he's hyperactive
and often too smart for his own good. He took the Blue Beetle mantle from his teacher, but
the truth is that he's a superhero out of his optimism and sense of adventure.
Like Ralph, he's a true example of emotional intelligence.
Fire: Bea is loud, fiery, flirty, fun loving and very hot tempered (a lot like Sofia Vergara or Eva Longoria). She's very street wise, has a quick wit, which helps her charm her way to get what she wants; however, she has no trouble calling things by their name.
In some stories, she has a Bart-Simpsonesque, devil-may-care attitude. She's a nudist who has worked in showbiz for men, yet she showed a smart taste in men (liking Oberon, hating Guy) and was quite protective of Ice's love life. Her deal in that sense seems to be that she uses her sensuality and charisma to get stuff but is very careful when it comes to feelings. Despite her hedonistic exterior she shows good, caring values when it comes to people. This is more evident with good kind people, like Ted, Ice, Mary or the Dibnys. By contrast she's tough on jerks (even if they are still her friends) and really tough on villains.
Booster Gold: He's basically a phony superhero that is perpetually
redeeming himself. For some reason, his goals as a superhero are fame and
fortune. He's shallow, shameless and often desperate; however, he always pulls
through. He's not much of a thinker, which makes him the perfect bottom of the
jokes (making him the perfect odd couple for Blue Beetle); however he has his
heart in the right place and has an amazing deal of determination, which are
the reasons that qualify him as a member.
Ice: She's sweet and caring; her borderline naive innocence
contrasts with Bea's sharp eye. She's utterly honest, transparent and, despite
certain shyness, she always shows her true emotions. However, she's not a bad
judge of character as much as she prefers not to judge, often seeing the
goodness behind rough exteriors like Guy's or even Bea's. Her sense of fun is
very child-like and playful, which makes her able to enjoy the simple things in
life.
Ralph: In JLI he became less of a Nick Charles
superhero and more of a funny, paternalistic uncle; going to extremes he never
went to get people to laugh. His behavior is more sanguine than ever, as if
he decided to take the back seat and relax in this team. His usual wit is still
there, but he starts relying on slapstick for humor. At the end of the day
people always listen to him and Wally even seeks his approbation. And it
figures, hiding behind a class clown surface he's indirectly mentoring and encouraging
the new Flash, Power Girl, Mary Marvel and even his wife, who became a member
of the team as well. Despite being acknowledged as the most experienced member of the European branch, he prefers being a good team member to being the leader, so he always respected Captain Atom's position as the leader.
Sue: She's the proof that sometimes spoiling
works. Despite having everything and being able to get whatever she whims, she
cares a lot about people. That's called vision of abundance. Her mood is usually great, she is very plucky, extroverted, chatty, witty and easy going; however, at times she can be high maintenance or show quite a temper, if the situation justifies it. Like Ralph, she is
only able to see opportunities and she makes things happen with even less
effort. She's a natural problem solver and her main weapons are charisma, charm
a quick wit and tons of confidence. As much as she trusts and admires her husband as a superhero, she usually fears for him and the rest of the team when they are on the field, which is the reason she likes to get involved. Before JLI she used to me mostly a
carefree, spoiled wife on an eternal honeymoon adventure, but then, a permanent
duty as monitor led her to become a technology wiz dedicated to her new team
and family, which she eventually lead as bureau chief.
Guy: Arrogant, overly confident, chauvinistic,
short tempered, annoying, obtuse and immature: the embodiment of the American
spirit gone wrong. He is only a hero because he believes in saving the day, and
he's too stubborn not to get things done. He's too much of an action man to
think things through. His m. o. seems to be all about bullying the bullies; the
problem is that he normally a dick to the good guys, even if he's ultimately
harmless and always gets losing. Ice is the only person that gets him to
rethink his ways.
L-Ron: Despite being more intelligent than his
bosses, he was created to be a servant, so he uses tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top
flattery (and often just sarcasm) as a form release. L-Ron seems to be doomed
to be an eternal witness to really bad ideas that he can’t prevent from being
executed, in fact he normally has to help making them happen. However, little
by little, he has moved to a position in which he can contribute to better
causes. He will always be a servant, but he'll at least try to serve where it
counts.
Power Girl: Kara’s super strength is not only physical
but emotional. She’s confident, emotionally independent and very outspoken;
however, her temper is short and might lose sight of what’s important in order
to make a stand. Even though his views are always fair, she engages easily and she can be quite opinionated, which put
her at odds with the likes of Guy. She has little tolerance for shenanigans as
well, especially when it comes to men objectifying her because of her notorious
sex appeal –she doesn’t flirt or dress
for men, but she also refuses to hide her beauty. She’s normally cranky, but
she can be quite generous and kind. When it comes to her work, PG has a great
determination that makes her diligent, quick and effective.
Rocket Red: Dmitri is a big jolly man, optimistic and
enthusiastic about everything. The type of person that rarely has anything
negative to say. Always with a smile on his face, he enjoys about everything,
and is loudly outspoken about it. He sees enough of everything for everyone,
which is why he has a very generous philosophy and nature. When it comes to
serious matters he’s very insightful and truly helpful to his friends. He has a
very balanced life and has a loving family waiting for him after work.
Crimson Fox: We’re talking about two women, but in general, their behavior seems the same. They like to remain a mystery to their teammates, so they are barely socialize and come across as “a” cold peer. They inform themselves about any situation and become all business right away; pretty much like Batman, only without barking orders. This is how they manage to hide the fact that they are two people sharing the same superhero identity. Like Batman, they seem too self-aware and even melancholic, but their determination and dedication to an agenda against injustice makes them overachieving perfectionist forces.
Catherine Cobert: A diligent and independent career woman capable
of great achievements. She’s such a straight man, she doesn’t even engage with
the nonsense of her team. Even though she is really dedicated and hardworking,
with her calm attitude and big picture sight she makes it seem as if her great
achievements came with little effort. Her great perception and sensibility
allows her to be as persuasive as Maxwell (which is probably why she e
eventually wet from being his great discovery to his boss). It’s also clear
that she’s very confident, and it also shows when she flits. While it’s clear
that she liked Captain Atom from day one (and that it was mutual), she rather
worked on him with friendship and teases without spoiling the tension.
Batman: A consumed pro with no time for nonsense. His
perfectionism feels sharper than ever and he has a heaver reliance on fear as a
weapon. He's playing on a really advanced level that few in the JLI can follow
and only J'Onn does. It would appear as if his respect only went to his equals
(J'Onn, Ralph, Fate, Canary) but he actually believes in all of them, so he
serves as an outsider who always knows
what to do and what to say (his mind seems to go at light speed), so he arrives
late, barks instructions and out he goes. He barely takes a few seconds to
correct Guy's attitude problem. Tough love. His field instructions have a
surgeon’s precision; however, after renouncing the leadership he decided to
respect the authority of the new field commanders. And yet, the team can't help
but feel as if he was the one pulling the strings (and he might be).
Other notorious members
Some members didn't really stayed that long but sitll became characteristic members of the Bwahaha era anyway.
Beefeater: Is a conceited, arrogant, phony, obnoxious, rude,
inconsiderate, stubborn, pretentious and absolutely sarcastic jerk. He can’t
help but show a neurotic behavior whenever he interacts; normally characterized
by his excessive complaining and attention to unimportant details. His constant
engaging prevents him from inspiring any real authority despite his confidence;
people rather please him in hopes to get him to shot up or go away. I know, I’m
basically describing Basil, but it’s the same, anyway.
Coming soon within this post: Captain Atom, Oberon, Mr. Miracle, Flash, Metamorpho, G'Nort, and Animal Man.
For more character profiles, check out the following articles:
Know your Justice Leaguer! Understand the personality of the early members of the World's mightiest team.
The 20th episode of the 2nd season of MAD, first aired February 27, 2012 (sorry for being late, I somehow missed it) features a short titled "That's What Super Friends Are For", in which the most notorious all-time members of the Justice League (and then some) sing complaining about -- well, just check it out:
The creators went with the most classic members and their most classic look as well - which I guess lead them to include the Elongated Man, who was a member for 20 years and in 3 incarnations. All I can say is "kudos DC, Mad and WB! Way to celebrate what made you what you are!".
I like that Ralph was recognizable even in the part in which his body is not shown. All the song is full of fun references to DC history, so there's a lot to enjoy, specially for those who, like me, really enjoy DC and parodies.
Some oddities include some JSA members and Teen Titans that have never been part of the team, like Bart Allen and Dr. Mid-nite. However, their bits were pretty cool. Firestorm and the Atom are mysteriously missing. Oh, well, we can't have it all. It was great seing Ted and Ralph anyway.
DC Nation will feature some DC-related MAD shorts, so expect it to be reran.
Brazilian Deviantartist, Daniel "Morpheus", created this Justice League International picture to see what a movie with his ideal cast would look like. Here is his pitch:
"This is a poster that I've made with my cast for a Justice League International Movie.
To direct the movie no one better than Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). I always imagine this movie as a British comedy, with the perfect balance between comedy, drama and action.
I think the cast couldn't be better (how about that Mary Elizabeth Winstead?!! huminahuminahubba!!). I'm really sold on this idea. Very few actreses are charismatic and cute enough to play Sue, but only Zooey has what it takes. Lewis, on the other hand, has an odd face for Ralph, who should rather look like a young Dick van Dike; however, he has the built, the red hair and he can really pull clever. Winstead definitively has the body type (tall, curvy, great shoulders), but I'm not sure she can play a sassy, loud and spicy girl from Brazil. Tom Cruise as Maxwell Lord takes the prize. It's just brilliant; between his "show me the money" and this, Max definitively falls between Cruise's range.
I love how the picture integrates the most memorable members and elevates them as pop cult icons portrayed by contemporary celebrities. I just love that colorful reticule. Not to mention the impressive portrayals and their rendering.
That is a movie I'd like to see. I can even imagine the plot: The entire JLA but the Elongated Man gets lost in a battle against Despero and, after months of absence, Maxwell Lord recruits him for the new JLI, a project in which nobody has faith. Despite their limited competence, after accidentally saving Paris from a Bialyan attack (after the French had a misunderstanding with the Gadaffi-esque Rumaan Harjavti) little by little they gain the public trust. After gaining other battles (which will serve as opportunities for cameos by the Injustice League, Manga Khan, Starro and Mr. Nebula) and, with them, more popularity, they run into an a surviving Batman and the Martian Manhunter, who assign them a mission to rescue the rest of the real League. They accomplish their mission, but end up about to be blasted by Despero. However, the real JLA pulls a last minute deux ex machina. Finally, both leagues are restored, with Batman and the Martian as liaisons. How about that?
Anyway, there's more art where that came from. Daniel is a very gifted artist and is blessing us with a lot of samples of his art at his Deviantart page.
I found new fan art form favorite of this blog, Busterella, whose Dibny portraits always catch perfectly the true spirit of the couple. It's called "Superbuddies-Pokemon Rangers", check it out:
Top to bottom and left to right: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Sue and Ralph Dibny, Fire & Ice, Guy Gardner and Maxwell Lord.
It's the second pic I see from a Deviant artist combining elements of JLI / Super Buddies with Pokemon Rangers (which, I suppose, is a later incarnation of the Pokemon thing). However, there's no actual connection between the the two of them and I'm still trying to find out why is this a thing. According to Busterella, Pokemon crossovers with anything are common. She describes is as "Silly scribble-y crossover tomfoolery".
The other one is even more eclectic, it throws Aladdin and a character from Batman: The Brave and the Bold into the mix (what, no fire?).
Ice, the Dibnys, Guy and Captain America, Flash and his wife, Linda Parker, Aladdin and Jasmine, and the Music Meister.
Art by Clazziquai.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, Busterella has impressive pics done with digital media. She's crazy-talented when it comes to coloring (you hear that, DC?). For more of her fantastic art, go to her Deviantart profile: http://busterella.deviantart.com/ . She's a talent to watch!
What gets a 30 years old dude obsessed about comic books? At least enough to make him to blog about his favorite character. Well, that's complicated. My bet is that nerd psychology is a very complex topic; one that I'm sure I'm not professionally qualified to discuss. I could research it and post some references and quotes -- but I don't wanna. Instead, I'm going to give you my top reasons for sticking with comics.
It is not really ranked according to a measurable rationale. A lot of simplistic reasons might be ahead of great art just because they came at the right time in my life. I hope you enjoy reading about them:
20. The Venture Bros.
Pure fun for nostalgic adults, showing sad versions of characters from DC, Marvel, Hanna-Barbera, VH1 Classic, pulp fiction and sci-fi films gone hilariously and pathetically wrong. The Venture Bros. made me realize that super beings are not black and white they are probably just losers trying to feel relevant. The characters, normally failures and shadows of what they used to be, go trough their existential crisis surrounded by a surreal remix of everything I watched on TV while growing up. They also save the day now and then, but that's mostly incidental.
Created by Jason Publick, a Tick alumnus, The Venture Bros. is like The Simpsons for geeks; every line is not only loaded with sarcasm and jokes but also a condensed of vintage pop cult references from the 70s and 80s (yes, even more than Famiy Guy). With so many Venture cosplay already happening in comic conventions, I can't wait to see how are mainsteam comics going to react to to it. 19. Identity Crisis, Hush, Batman/Superman and 52
After Batman: No Man's Land I was bored with DC Comics for a while. Understanding Comics reinfused me with love for comics, but not for DC. Our Worlds at War was so cloying, I gave up. What was Batman going to do next, anyway? Gotham was running out of disasters. But then, out of nowhere, everybody started to talk about the murder of Sue Dibny, and how great the mystery was, so I had to see what the fuss was all about. So I read it, and I loved it. It was a pull back, making the satellite era cool and relevant again. The characters that were most commonly associated with DC were at the front center again. To me, it looked like the actual DC Comics Super Friends facing their own secrets, fears and flaws.
Identity Crisis lead me to follow up with what seemed like a great DC bonanza of awesome stories in the same spirit: Batman/Superman, Hush, For Tomorrow and Formerly Known as the Justice League from before, and then with I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Countdown, The Dark Knight Strikes Back, All-Star Superman, All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, Infinite Crisis, 52, Dark Detective, Brad Meltzer and Dwayne McDuffie's Justuce League of America run, Paul Dini's 'tec run, Grant Morrison's Batman runand Final Crisis. (Note that at the same time they were airing Justice League Unlimited). DC was shuffling it's greatest properties with the greatest talent available: Meltzer, Lee, Morales, Miller, Morrison, Dini, McDuffie, Waid, Hughes, Giffen, DeMatteis, Cooke, Johns. Yes, a lot of bad things were happening to some of the best characters: Sue, the Elongated Man, Rocket Red, the Question, Blue Beetle II, Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter and the original Ventriloquist died; Wonder Woman and Batman did some questionable things and Captain Atom and Maxwell Lord became villains. However, at the time it seemed to me that they were just making things darker before dawn. The return of Supergirl and other silver age elements seemed to indicate that with Infinite Crisis or Final Crisis
they would reboot DC to make it a brighter place with a reset. That never happened (to his credit, VP Dan DiDio did try, but he was blocked by higher powers); it was done out of time, too little, too late, too half way with Flashpoint and "the new 52" and I ended angry and disappointed, but I had a nice run and that's hard to deny.
18. Supreme
I used to think that, unlike Batman, Superman never really got his quintessential story in comics (maybe they should just adapt the Mario Puzo script and be done with it); that he doesn't have a Year One or The Dark Knight Returns. However, in the mid 00s I had the pleasure of discovering that I was wrong. Well, kinda. We can always squint and pretend that the Supreme stories by Alan Moore are it.
It seems like, at least by the 90s, Moore was a bit sick of torturing heroes with realistic tragedies that challenge their vision of what's right and wrong, so instead of a grim Superman, he made a pastiche of all the previous portrayals of Superman there had been so far.
Supreme is basically like Byrne or Jurgens' Superman facing everything he did under the most notorious writers that came before, mainly Otto Binder. In the story, we get a new Supreme entering reality after a revision; he goes through all the aspects of his past as he fixes loose ends and fights returning villains (part of the fun is trying to identify the DC characters that the supporting characters are supposed to represent). This way, the entire run, along with Judgement Day and other isolated issues, are the ultimate tribute to the process of comic superhero revision.
17. The Tick
SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONN!!!
I wish I could say that I know the character through its comics, but I was actually among the wave of fans that met the character through the animated series, which was part of a hype of superheroes in other media. After the success of Batman: The Animated Series, X-men and comics events like the The Death of Superman, Knightfall, Maximum Carnage, there was an era in which superheroes took over Saturday morning cartoons, now with a more serious tone than the series of the syndicated era (Thundercats, He-man, etc.). And The Tick did the exact opposite, showing a metropolis overcrowded with guys in tights so tight that their butt cracks were actually visible, only they were all neurotic, delusional and utterly incompetent and impractical nutjobs. And among them, generic within their own diversity, the Tick, whose name and costume didn't even make sense, was king. He was a nice, overwhelming, bigger than life, blue block with a Quixote attitude and a really small brain concealed by a really small head.
This cartoon was the first to show me that even humor has a place within superhero comics. Ever since The Tick, I've always been a fan of comedy with superhumans, which is probably why I just fell in love with JLI.
16. Freakazoid!
I can't believe nobody turned this property into an actual comic book! What are you waiting, DC?!
I still remember watching that first episode in shock: It was half Batman: The Animated Series, half Animaniacs, a bit Spider-man, and all surreal. Three of my favorite FoxKids shows in one!
It was fairly obvious from day one, but, eventually, I learned that it was originally about Bruce Timm, the creator of Batman: The Animated Series, pitching a series about a superhero version of the Joker, which then became more like Spider-man (which is why they have an unused Archie-like cast in the early episodes), ended as another Tiny Toons or Animaniacs type of show after he bailed and was then turned into a Monty Python type of thing. The best of the humor was done by Paul Rugg (who voiced Freakazoid) and good friend of the blog, John P. McCann.
It had it all: comedy, action, parodies, a terribly great rogues gallery, excellent art and even Henry Kissinger. What else could a kid want in a show? Laugh with me. Laugh with me!
15. Tim Burton's Batman
The 1989 Batman film directed by Tim Burton caused an epidemic wave of batmania among my generation. I got it and I got it pretty bad. I still remember the first time I saw it. I was siting a hammock with my brother and my cousin. My aunt, a good hearted spoiler by nature, was afraid that it might be too shocking for the three buggers, which is the reason we had to wait for the Betamax (it's a real thing, look it up) to come out. Along with Superman, Batman Returns, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Wayne's World any Star Wars and Back to the Future, it has to be one of the movies I watched the most.
Dark = cool. Although I still watched the wave of reruns of the 60s Batman show and Super Friends that came with the '89 batmania, anyway, but the lesson was pretty clear: the darker, the better. In the eyes of moviegoers, Burton's film lend credibility to superheroes. After it, both Batman and Superman had serious and acclaimed portrayals outside their original medium. Animation followed the example with Batman: The Animated Series and X-men, both of which inspires a lot of similar series. There were also the Batman film sequels and the similarly dark and serious (for the 90s) TV series of The Flash and Lois and Clark.
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
As a kid, it was the awesome cartoon about charming turtles that fight other animal mutants lead by a ninja and an alien; as an adult it became an awesome pastiche of vigilante, ninja and sci-fi genres with an over the top B-movie type of title. Reading the original comics, wonderfully redone in the 2003 cartoon, feels like a roller coaster of never ending weird adventures; an aspect that the 80s cartoon never quite capture. Batman, Spider-man and most superheroes tend to fight the same villains in the same settings all the time, the the turtles went from ninjas on rooftops, to robots in the sewers, anthropomorphic triceratops in outer space and demons in medieval times. It doesn't get more surreal than that, which is why I love that the TMNT keep returning since I first watch them as an 8 years old kid.
13. Daredevil and Batman: Year One
I don't now if they are more "realistic", but the serious tone that Frank Miller added to classic vigilantes certainly increased their coolness and the sense of danger that we get from their adventures. Pulp fiction goes greatly with vigilantes. The Batman that I got when I started reading comics in the early 90s was mostly an echo of Year One. I didn't read the real deal (Year One, The Dark Knight Returns) until the late 90s and I just read Daredevil throughout the last decade, which is why I don't rank this higher.
I'm not sure how to describe them, although Miller went over the top with DKR, these works made superheroes feel solid, grounded and badass; something that is really hard to get from other writers. Besides, without Miller, we wouldn't have so many great stuff: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Burton and Nolan Batman movies, the post-Crisis Batman, Batman: The Animated Series, and, I dare to say, the British invasion and Vertigo.
12. Angry comics of the early 90s.
After the first time they ran Batman: The Animated Series and X-men, somebody from my classroom showed up with the Knightfall and Death of Superman translated trades (none of us understood English back then). They were Batman and Superman, the guys from Super Friends but they were "serious stuff", the "official versions", not for kids anymore (ha, ha, ha, ha, ha); which was really cool and mind blowing for the pack of pre-teenagers taking turns to read it in the class room. Knightfall caught my eye a bit more, with the run against all the villain characters I knew from BTAS and the 60s show. Then there was Maximum Carnage, The Reign of the Supermen, Fatal Attractions, Emerald Twilight and a number of trading card series, describing cool, tragic and really violent events in the lives of DC and Marvel characters, most of them incredibly pumped with skin tight costumes with lots of utility belts and coats. Yes, most of those stories are better forgotten, but all in all, they are what introduced me to comics.
11. Batman
I have to be fair with Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Vincent Price and the rest of those guys. That show was my first impression of DC Comics and the only concept I had of Batman until I first watched the Burton film (when I was 8).
I know it seems really silly now, but to a 5 years old, it looked about as interesting as it gets. And we shouldn't be too harsh on it, if something was proven by Batman: the Brave and the Bold, is that every interpretation of Batman is equally valid. Batman wasn't that different from the comics or even other TV shows of the era and it was even done by some of the finest Hollywood talent of the late 60s!
I sustain that it was a great gateway to DC comics. Bizarre villains with flashy costumes, over the top fight scenes, mortal traps and lots of riddles, what else could a kid want from a live action TV show. I liked Hulk and Wonder Woman as well but, without the colorful antagonists, I used to fall asleep after the first 10 minutes. I for some reason really liked the later when I was 14, though...
10. X-men
The power of "As seen on TV".
18 years ago, this animated series introduced me to the world of comics. As I mentioned before, it came along with a wave of trading cards and comic events that got me hooked on DC and Marvel. Batman: The Animated Series reintroduced me to superheroes, but it was too alienated within its own gorgeous and timeless universe. X-men, on the other hand, benefited from adapting the vast and wonderful body of X-men stories from the books; consequently, it was more of a middle ground between TV animated series and comics. Its art, continuity, stories and even its season format was a lot like the X-men comics of the time, which is something that was never done before and, now that I think about it, was rarely done afterwards in another series. About every character I saw in that series had an almost identical story in the comics, so, once I fell in love with them, it made a great transition to comics, where I could get even more of that candy.
9. The Dark Knight
I must have seen this one like 5 times in theaters. Batman (1989) was great, but it missed something. I love Michael Keaton's "I'm Batman" Batman, but it wasn't quite the Batman from comics (for starters, he killed). Batman Begins captured the best aspects of the contemporary Batman mythos, but didn't cause much of an impact. Now, TheDark Knight, hat it all. It captured the best aspects from the comics, it had the perfect Batman (well, save for the voice thing), caused a huge deal of an impact and on top of that, gave superhero movies a lot of recognition. Unlike Batman Begins, to me, this sequel not only lived up to Batman: Year One, it as actually better!
8. Bwahaha
I discovered it too late around 1995, but it was so awesome to see DC Comics characters acting almost as if they belonged to a sitcom or The Tick universe (both franchises were created about the same time), that I starting collecting whatever Justice League International (JLI) issue I could throughout the rest of the 90s. Formerly Known as the Justice League (2003) and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League (2005)became my favorite and I completed Justice League Europe eventuallyafter that.
Just like the DC-Vertigo characters make the DC Universe more exiting by having a really serious, surreal and eerie corner; the stories of Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis do the same by adding a silly side. While guys like Moore or Miller deconstructed the superhero genre by grounding its world to realism, the JLI team kinda deconstructed it with the funny aspects of reality: our daily life comic situations, incompetency, gossip, vanity, bureaucracy, etc.
Also noteworthy is that when the average hero of the late 80s was pessimistic, violent and snarky, the Justice League, despite their flaws, were kind and, deep down, idealistic. They might joke about it, but in the end, even their sleazeball manipulative boss had a heart of gold. Ralph, Sue, Max, Ted, Michael, Tora, Bea, Guy, J'onn, Karen and Dmitri are some of the best characters DC has ever seen and Giffen and DeMatteis are geniuses for this take. It doesn't matter qhe other writers did with them, I'll always go back to those stories. (By the way, their recent Booster Gold run and Justice League Retroactive:the 90s, rocked just as much).
7. The DC-Vertigo characters.
Pushed by the success of X-men and, mainly, Daredevil, DC Comics responded by hiring some serious writing talent from wherever they came. First Len Wein discovered Alan Moore, then they brought Frank Miller from Marvel (not a Brit, though), and later, after they lost both, they headhunted Jaime Delano, Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan and Grant Morrison. The body of work these people created, constitutes a dark and very sophisticated corner of the DC Universe.
When I was 20, it seemed to me that comics had nothing to offer. It was just Batman, Superman or Spider-man going over their rogues galleries over and over in adventures that every time seemed more dull to me. But then, I got a series of great tips that lead me to the works of Moore and the guys that followed in: Swamp Thing, Sandman, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, The Books of Magic, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, Hellblazer, Shade, etc. Along with the wave of new stories that followed Identity Crisis, these collections allowed me to keep enjoying DC Comics for many years.
6. The New Frontier
Good doesn't mean postmodern and dark. If the guys that can make great contemporary stories with superheroes are few, the ones that can make them also heroic and bright are even fewer. I'd say that Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie (R.I.P.), Alan Burnett, Bruce Timm, Alan Moore (after the 80s) and Darwyn Cooke are among the few storytellers that insist on the perpetuation of the modern (modern as in "before postmodern") and heroic portrayal that the DC superheroes originally had. Few of them work with the canon of DC Universe. There's Waid's The Silver Ageand Ross' Justice, but to me, Cooke's DC: The New Frontier is the flagship story. It was relevant, multi-layered and captured the true spirit of the DC superheroes.
I actually hoped that after Final Crisis the DC Universe would be rebooted to be more like The New Frontier or the Diniverse.
5. Scott McCloud
I'm telling you, this guy is the messiah of comics! Reading Understanding Comics opened my eyes to the full possibilities of the medium and made me a proud reader. Comics went from just being my guilty pleasure, to a form of art that I follow enthusiastically, "sequencial art". After years of being fed whatever DC and Marvel put on the shelves, I was finally able to appreciate the greatness of a number of writers and artists: Gaiman, Moore, Spiegelman, Miller, Moebius. And I still have a long way to go; DC has occupied way too much of my time.
Now, the day the mainstream industry realises that they need to do exactly what this guy described in Reinventing Comics, (oh, boy!) the medium will start reaching its potential. We need diversity!
4. Maus
Right after reading Understanding Comics, around 2001, I decided to get on the right path and read a monthly dose of decent comics, and this was on top of my first stack. McCloud couldn't be righter, Maus is pretty much the piece of storytelling that proves that comics can be great. In somebody else's words it is "at one and the same time a novel, a documentary, a memoir, and a comic book." It's the Godfather of comics; few or no movies are as tuching or compelling as this humble story of a Jewish survior of the holocaust, written and narrated by his own son during the last days of his life. Once I started, I wasn't able to drop the book and I think I made averybody in my family read it, ha, ha.
At the same time, it's a homage to the possibilities of comics and its redemption. Its style is quite cartoony (they are all cute animals), which makes a high contrast with the harshnes and realism of the narration. Incidentally, this way it becomes the utter proof that comics and cartoons can be an effective vehicle for trascendency.
My weird obsession with this couple doesn't go that far back. Formerly Known as the Justice League and Identity Crisis made me notice the non Plastic Man guy that was always hanging with the league in the big events of the early 90s. I was like "yeah, I remember that guy". I didn't even knew his real name before that - Spanish translations he was known as el Hombre Elástico (Elastic Man). The DeMatteis / Giffen / Maguire made me like the Dibnys and [ïronically] Brad Meltzer made me care about them. Once I realized that the Elongated Man got his powers from a fictional fruit that grows in my native Yucatan, I got really interested and, after reading Showcase Presents: the Elongated Man, it was decided: the Dibnys became my favorite characters. Handled directly by Julius Schwartz, John Broome, Carmine Infantino, Gardner Fox and then Len Wein, they were rooted at the heart of the silver age. As eclectic, eccentric and hedonistic as they are, they are the best examples of emotinal intelligence DC has to offer, which is something I deeply admire. They are honest, goodhearted, creative, generous and, unlike most of the average DC characters, they are not just reactive to to the drama, they are proactive, love what they do and live a plenty life.
See what I mean?
1. Batman: The Animated Series and the DC Animated Universe
(a.k.a. BTAS and the DCAU)
Can you believe that Bruce Timm was once rejected from DC comics? Yet, somehow, he managed to revolutionize aimation in a series that marries the Batman tradition with a sophisticated retro but fresh style. As far as I'm concerned, Bruce Timm, along with Paul Dini, Eric Radomski, Alan Burnett, Stan Berkowitz, Glen Murakami, Andrea Romano, Darwyn Cooke, Dwayne McDuffie and many others, created an universe that is actually better and more elegant than the regular DC Universe. Superhero cartoons were never taken seriously until this series came. The content of BTAS is not just for kids, but for all ages.
As I said before, Batman: The Animated Series, made me rediscover the DC characters and was my main reason to start collecting the comics; however, I never loved them as much. After the third episode I saw I was officially obessed. For over ten years I only drew imitating the style of Bruce Timm. I made tons of turnarounds trying to adapt classic DC characters to his style. A lot of people still do the same, and even DC decided to change characters like Metallo, Supergirl or the Parasite to look like Timm's designs. I only read comics because they were the best next thing after reruns.
One of the greatest things about the BTAS universe, is that it kept coming back with different angles. First it was Batman: The Animated Series, then, with more Robin it became The Adventures of Batman and Robin, the next series; Superman: The Animated Series, repeated the original formula with a new main character, The New Batman Adventures had Batman leading a team of Gotham Knights (Robin II, Nightwing and Batgirl); Batman Beyond deal with their distant future and Batman's legacy, The Zeta Project expanded that futuristic universe; Static Shock, a series about a teenage hero dealing with juvenile gangs,became linked to this DC animated Universe (DCAU), and finally, they did Justice League, which became Justice League Unlimited and tied all the events and characters of the previous series.
There were also four movies: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-zero, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker; and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.
Justice League Unlimited was like going out with a bang. It featured a really large cast that included almost all the DC characters I wanted to see, a lot that I'd have never expected and a bunch that I didn't even know. It was like a child fantasy come true. Like Super Friends, but with better art, better writing and a hundred times more characters.
One of the coolest aspects of the DCAU is that it actually had epilogues, unlike the reguar DC universe, it told the full story of a lot of its protagonists: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Lex Luthor, Darkseid, the Joker, Harley Quinn, Superman, Grodd, John Stewart and Amanda Waller.
All this work was produced in 14 years, and all that time I kept returning and being further introduced to the characters of DC. BTAS could have been a fad, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Ghostbusters before it, but it kepts returning with series lived up to the established quality, so, the DCAU kept me hooked, loving the wonderful world of DC.
