I know we are mainly a DC focused podcast but I do like to shout out projects and media outside DC that I enjoy from time to time. Athena Voltaire is one of those projects. Fans of classic pulp adventure with modern storytelling flair will love this book. Indy Jones? Lara Croft? They have nothing on Athena Voltaire. Support this project.
Category Archives: Columns
Paul Cornell on Action Comics and why this could be great.
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/12/paul-cornell-steps-in-as-new-action-comics-writer/
Paul Cornell on Action. Wow, I did not see that coming. I’ve mentioned on the show for quite some time that besides my love for comics, I am a huge Dr. Who fan. Paul is the creator of Bernice Summerfield who was first a companion to Dr. Who in the Virgin New Adventures novels. These books were just fantastic and gave fans Dr. Who that was compelling when there was no series to follow. Paul’s growth as a novelist throughout that series was so fun to follow. His work at Marvel has been pretty darn good, with Wisdom being a favorite of mine.
Now I get the chance to see him take on Superman. He was one of a series of creative writers who pushed the envelope of Dr. Who in novels and I look forward to see him play around with Clark’s world. I think the key to his Dr. Who books was that he really understood the core values of the character. As comic fans, we want a writer who knows that is an important step to keeping us on board. I really think this could wind up being a great run.
C2E2 Convention!
Raging Bullets will be at C2E2 all weekend. We are at table 1462 and look forward to seeing you.
Batman and Robin cover process @ the Source
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/08/batman-redrawn-part-2-batman-and-robin-3-6/
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/07/batman-redrawn-part-1-with-grant-morrison-and-frank-quitely/
I am not an artist but adore seeing to various stages at creating comic book art work. The amount of care and detail that goes into each step is amazing to me. The cover work of Batman and Robin has been showcased in a series of posts this week over at DC’s Source Blog. I am loving that they are doing this so wanted to draw your attention there.
The other cool part of this series is that it is Showcasing the inspiration from Batman’s past that these covers are drawing from. Just fantastic.
Batman and Robin Preview
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/06/batman-vs-robin-continues/
This is exactly what I think is so great about the Batman books at the moment. High adventure with deep mysteries at the core that have been built over time. Why is Batman the world’s greatest detective? His world needs him to be that way. His world has put him in a position where that skill set is needed. I love that. The road to RIP with filled with this and I am glad to see that all of that matters and is part of a carefully laid out plan. It makes me more excited and invested in my monthly reading. That is so satisfying.
LITG: Is it just me…
…or did Justice Society of America #37 venture into the world of the once talked about Justice League movie “Supermax”? To be honest, I wasn’t excited about this story arc. In fact, I was so unexcited that I had to mentally remind myself about the last issue when I cracked this one open.
But, the most interesting part of the issue comes along when Mr. Terrific sneaks out of his “cell” and meets up with the other captured heroes, including Superman, Batman, Blue Beetle, and Green Arrow. Hearing Bruce talk about being the next one of them set to be executed made this story sound a little more real. It was also very weird to see Supes sporting an eye patch.
In case anyone isn’t familiar, “SuperMax” was one of the many Justice League movie scripts that has been floating around the last five years or so. The set-up was the Green Arrow and other members of the Justice League have been captured and must find their way out of a Super-Maximum security facility. Sound familiar? Change a few details and it looks like “SuperMax” has been repackaged as a comic book story instead of a movie screenplay. Who knows? In this new age of comic books finding their way onto the big screen, this might be what this story needs to finally find it’s way into being a movie worth making.
By the way, now that I’m able to post my column on the website instead of sending it to Norge, I’m going to start doing shorter snippets like this (hopefully). This idea from from JSA came along today and had already formed in my head, so I figured I would post it now instead of waiting until I’ve had a chance to re-read all the other books I received this week. So, that’s all for now, but more will be coming shortly.
Poll: Blackest Night 8
Note: This poll is spoiler filled and will be up for a week. Which event from the end of issue 8 excited you the most? Choose as many as you like or add your own.
Neal Adams on Batman!!!
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/02/its-official-neal-adams-on-batman-odyssey/
I grew up loving Neal Adams and can’t recommend enough the Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams 3 volume set. It features Neal Adams complete Batman work, including covers and special artifacts recolored and remastered. It is just a gorgeous collection.
I am so stoked to see him working on a 12 issue Batman series. This has been rumored and in the worked for some time but to have an official announcement has me really excited. July can’t come soon enough. If you are new to comics and have never seen this creator’s visual work, you are in for a treat. This takes me back to my childhood. Just awesome news!!!
Life in the Gutter: Changing it up!
By Mandy Stegall
As promised, I’m not making anyone wait another month for a column. Two weeks is much more manageable, I think.
I hate to say it, but I’m kind of suffering from Batman burn-out right now. I was faced with a budget issue recently to make room for the new Flash series coming out next month in addition to the Zatanna ongoing that I would like to try, so I had to think long and hard about a couple books that I’m just not enjoying as much right now. Those books happened to be Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens. It was a tough choice to make, but when it comes down to it, those are the two books that I’m enjoying the least right now.
And it’s not like I don’t have countless other ways to get a Batman fix. I love Batman and Robin, and Red Robin and Batgirl are probably two of my favorite titles right now. In fact, I absolutely loved the crossover with those two titles earlier in the month. It was so nice to see Tim and Stephanie readjusting to their roles in Gotham as well as how they relate to each other, both personally and professionally. I can see them being friends, at the very least, and maybe re-examining their romance down the road. For the time being though, I think Tim’s headed toward a relationship with Tam Fox.
J.T. Krul and Some Beautiful Green Arrow art.
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/03/18/after-the-fall-green-arrow-rises-again/
I’ve always been a Green Arrow fan. My exposure to him as a kid had been with the Justice League, but The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell was my first real introduction to him as a solo character.
I like that, similar to Batman, he is self made. He trained to become this archer that can stand on his own with metahumans. A huge difference is his sense of politics in a world that clearly needs someone to be a different voice. He isn’t afraid to stand up for the little guy. I also like the sometimes emotion gets the better of him. He makes mistakes and he isn’t always right. Yet, he picks himself up and keeps trying. There is a humanity to him that I identify with.
Spoiler Alerts to Cry for Justice 7:
Continue reading J.T. Krul and Some Beautiful Green Arrow art.