My latest reason is hearing that our latest in the long line of governors-turned-criminals, Rod Blagojevich, was signing autographs and posing for pictures with “fans” at Chicago Comic-Con on Saturday.  Really?

It’s bad enough that when I meet new people and tell them that I’m from Illinois (though I’m NOT from Chicago–far from it, actually), they automatically mention Helmet Head.  But what is this guy doing at a comic book convention?  Is he replacing Alfred E. Newman?

More bad press for comics

I saw this article earlier this week and it made me angry.  Long story short, this lady did a study and found that movie superheroes, like Iron Man, are bad role models for young boys.

I have many problems with Sharon Lamb’s study.  First of all, why is Iron Man the only “movie superhero” she mentions?  By doing so, she makes it sound like she has a personal problem with the character.  I also want to know how much this woman actually knows about comic books, because this article (and the original report, which really only talks about the superhero issue for a couple paragraphs) make it sound like movies based on comic books are the only exposure she has to the superheroes of today that she says are bad role models.

But because this is a DC Comics blog, let’s put this in perspective a bit.  I don’t expect Dr. Sharon Lamb to ever read this, but if it ever happens, I’d like to give her examples of superheroes that would be good role models for all teenagers, not just the boys.

Let’s look at Barbara Gordon, for example.  The first Batgirl was shot by the Joker and left paralyzed.  She very easily could have sat in her wheelchair and become a shadow of her former self, but I’ve heard comic writers contend that she’s more interesting as Oracle than she ever was as Batgirl.  Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she reinvented herself, becoming the “operator” for the DCU and being the poster child for the power of knowledge.

And what about those characters who use their brains to help people?  Ray Palmer’s scientific discoveries allow him to help people as The Atom, Ralph Dibney used his detective skills and concentrated Gingold and became The Elongated Man, and Michael Holt, who overcame personal tragedy to use his intelligence as Mr. Terrific.
I purposely stayed away from the Trinity, simply because I think those are the characters many people would immediately go to when trying to convince others that comic book characters can be good role models.  (Yes, I think Batman can be argued.  As calculating as he can be, he never gives up and has learned to push through pain.)  And, the ones I listed aren’t necessarily the ones who get the most publicity.

What other DC characters are good role models for young readers?   Share your thoughts in the comments.

For some reason, I just visited the Raging Bullets website for only the second time since I returned from the University of Missouri two weeks ago.  It’s been that kind of month, people.  But, I had an awesome time working as a reporter for a couple weeks in Columbia, Missouri and the surrounding areas.

Having just checked out the site, I see that Sean and Jim are having a discussion on the show about pull lists and it got me thinking about how I decide what’s on mine.  Ultimately, it comes down to three criteria.

1) Character

Of course, I want to read my favorite characters, so all the Super-books are a must.  These will always be on my pull list, no matter what’s happening in them right now. Take Action Comics, for example.  I’m still not completely sold on the whole Lex Luthor storyline, but I know that somehow it’s all going to tie back to Superman.  And now that there’s going to be a Jimmy Olsen co-feature, I have more of a reason to stick with it.

I went crazy a while back and started getting all of the Bat-books, but recently I’ve pulled back on them.  I dropped Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens, even though they were enjoyable enough.  But ultimately, I find that books like Batgirl and Red Robin along with the main Batman title are giving me enough of the family to get me by.

And sometimes, I pick up a book because I want to know more about the character, which is exactly what happened with Green Lantern.  Yeah, I know it had to do with Blackest Night, but I definitely understood what was going on in that book better because I was reading the main title and had an understanding of the world he lives in.

Anything with the Question/Renee Montoya character is an automatic for me.  Her co-feature in Detective Comics was an added bonus to Batwoman.  And, I’m beginning to like the Atom/Ray Palmer character more and more as well.  I know I’m forgetting some.

2)Writer

Geoff Johns, Gail Simone, James Robinson, and Greg Rucka are just four writers who could attach their names to the most obscure character in the DCU and have me eating out of their hands.  They all have a track record of writing stories that keep me interested and even make me question everything that came before it.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard any of these writers apologize for creating a story arc that angered fans, and that makes me respect them even more.  Admittedly, I’m probably one of a handful of fans that enjoyed Robinson’s Cry for Justice, but I’ve never heard him apologize for writing it (though he may have apologized for angering fans) and that’s what I love.  Robinson will also be the guy who wrote Superman for a year without actually writing the title character, but he made me care for the characters in the book anyway.

I try to make it a habit not to complain about the writing, but do everything I can to praise it.  And the best way I know to praise an author’s work is to continue buying it and supporting it.

3)Curiosity

That’s right, curiosity.  I’m curious.  What’s the real story on Booster Gold?  Let me pick up a few issues and find out.  What’s the deal with this new book called Secret Six that everyone’s raving about? (Okay, I admit that I didn’t read it right away, even though Gail Simone writes it.  I’m a horrible person, I know.)  I’ll pick up a few back issues and see why everyone’s so giddy.  Vigilante? R.E.B.E.L.S.?

I didn’t stick with all those books.  Vigilante didn’t keep my attention, and Brainiac 2 in R.E.B.E.L.S. really got on my nerves.  Other people had plenty of good things to say about those books; they just didn’t work for me.

Picking a pull list is tough. I’ve been constant the last few months, but I know that I’m going to have to consider some changes in the coming months.  Batman, Inc., Superboy, and Batwoman are all coming down the pipeline in the near future, and my budget is about maxed out, so I know  I’ll have to think about dropping some books.  It won’t be fun, especially since I’m enjoying so much of what I’m reading right now.

I thought it would be fun to get your thoughts on this for the show. There are usually favorites in everyone’s pull list but also those special titles that you feel are “under the radar”.

Voicemails are welcome on this if you prefer.

http://www.thecomicforums.com/forum2/index.php?showtopic=171726

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/07/29/have-a-peek-at-the-dcuo-trailer-to-end-the-week/

Granted this isn’t gameplay but gives you an idea of the overarching story that kicks off the MMO. I am so excited for this.

Here’s a great article from Martin Gray with some love for the podcast.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/07/21/wonder-of-wonders-paradise-highlands-wonder-woman-thoughts-from-scotland/

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It’s no secret that I adore Hawkman. Mike sent me this really cool link.

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/07/15/hawkman-history-lbfa-comics/

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I have always loved it when DC does a new teaser.

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/07/bd_poster.jpg

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…the DC blog “The Source” gave me a good few reasons to be excited.

Before we get started, a couple things:

• The information I’m going to talk about literally came out less than an hour before I typed this.  Now, it could be old news by the time you actually see it on the website, but I wanted to make sure to cover my bases.
• I’m leaving on Sunday for the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia for two weeks, which means that I won’t be back until the end of the month.  I’ve already scoped out that there’s an LCS in Columbia, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll have time to read anything, let alone write about it.  From what I’ve heard, I’m going to be plenty doing the student/reporter thing for the next two weeks.

Okay, here’s your last warning.  New stuff coming…

Superman #701 came out today, and while I haven’t read the whole book yet (my shipment from DCB doesn’t get here until Thursdays), I did read the preview that’s posted all over the Internet right now.

Thoughts?

I love it, and if this is the kind of story JMS is going to be telling, then I’m going to be a very happy Superman camper for the foreseeable future.  Can he fly? Yes.  Does he want to? No.   And really, that’s pretty cool.

It makes total sense to me that after a year off Earth, Superman would feel distanced from humanity and feel it necessary to really get in touch with it again.  New Krypton gave him a chance to experience his Kryptonian heritage and know more about where he came from, but it also put him at odds with Earth and its people on numerous occasions.  I think that, more than anything, the New Krypton storyline and everything that came along with it solidified what I think Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent knew all along:  He might be from Krypton, but Earth is his home.

And the new artist for J.T. Krul’s Teen Titans team is…

Nicola Scott, baby.

That cover for #88, the one that opens Krul’s run with the Titans?  Amazing.  I’m excited for this, and not just because of the creative team.  If the team members on the cover are any indication, this is going to signal the return of the more “classic” team: Superboy, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, Raven, Kid Flash, and…Ravager.  Okay, so I’m curious how she makes her way back into the fold and what happens to other current Titans, like Static, Aqua Girl, Bombshell.  It sounds like Blue Beetle is off with the Generation Lost crew.  I suppose we have a few months to find out what becomes of them.

The blog post on The Source had some words from Krul about Scott being added to the team.  We all know she’s awesome, so I’ll save you the whole paragraph.  It’s these couple of lines that really got me excited, though.

“Oh, and wait until you see her take on Damian. That’s right, I said         it. What would Teen Titans be without a Robin.”

Lord help us, Damian is going to be a Teen Titan.  Krul’s right, of course.  What would the Teen Titans be without a Robin?  What’s going to be fun is seeing how this Robin differs from the other Robins that have been on the team.  I have no doubt that the other members are going to be in need of some serious therapy in the near future.

I know everyone can guess at least one female character I’m going to discuss this week.  And I promise, we’ll get to that.  But for now, excuse me while I take a short break to do the Dance of Joy.

Still here?  Good.  I guess I should probably explain that, huh?

I have to confess that Superman isn’t exactly my favorite character.  It’s Lois Lane.

I had ambitions of being a reporter once.  (Okay, so maybe I still think about it sometimes.)  It was my thing in college.  I learned about journalism terms like writing leads (and burying them), the inverted pyramid, and the importance of sources.  Sometimes I even slip into reporter mode when I’m writing this blog.

Every so often, we hear about reporters “protecting their sources.”  It seems to me the ultimate protection of a source–and no, I don’t care that it’s only a comic book–is Lois Lane’s knowledge that Clark Kent is Superman.  Talk about sitting on the story of a century!

But hey, I could go on forever about the character development of Lois Lane.  The one piece of information that has bugged me over the last couple of months though, is when Paul Cornell announced that Lois would be featured in his Action Comics run as Lex Luthor’s girlfriend.

WHAT?!?!

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I know, I know.  It’s been late April since I posted anything on the website.  For that, my deepest apologies.  The explanation is a long, long story but involves hospitals, state-mandated Response to Intervention training for school, a late out for our school, and a killer time getting the Senior Issue of our school newspaper to printer before the seniors actually left school.  All in all, it’s been a crazy couple of months.

I quickly came to the realization that it would be impossible for me to completely recap everything that has happened in the last couple months comic-wise.  But, here I am trying to get caught up on Raging Bullets episodes and just finally getting around to listening to 207 on the Smallville season finale, and I’m internally cracking up at all the things that have come to light since the episode aired.

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