Hey all,
My neice’s b-day was today and I got a late start on editing the show. I am almost done and will finish it by tomorrow afternoon. This is giving me time to add in a little extra content as well. I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!
Sean
Long-time readers of this column know that I’m a huge fan of Smallville. In fact, I could probably write a column every week if it was Smallville related. But, I don’t think the general reader on this site would want to read my comments week-in and week-out. I’ve read comments all over the Internet blasting the show for killing the character of Superman by drawing out Clark’s journey for so long, so I know my feelings of love aren’t necessarily shared.
Like many people, I have searched out other people on the Internet who share the love, just like I sought out Raging Bullets because I read DC comics. More specifically, I sought out people who love Lois and Clark. And because this is Smallville, most of the conversation is about the building of their relationship and how Lois fits into his world and is instrumental toward him becoming Superman.
Continue reading LITG: The dangers of being a fan By Mandy Stegall
I have toyed around with the idea of an app for the show. I find that I love apps on my various devices and have been wondering if there was listener interest. An app would cost, $1.99 I believe. That is the minimum Apple allows you to charge. I would also look into an Android app option. Our goal isn’t to make money off it which is why we’d only charge the minimum. Honestly, I would offer it for free if I could.
If you think an app is something you would like, vote above and let me know. It’s not a guarantee we will offer one but certainly significant listener interest would push me to look at providing one. I am all for anything that is convenient for our audience.
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2011/02/18/flashpoint-friday-a-call-for-questions/
I love panels at conventions. Whether they discuss past work or upcoming material it is always great to get creator and company viewpoints on where the DCU is headed. The source listed a “call for questions” about Flashpoint and I figured I would post the link here. I am not always good at coming up with that creative question that may lead to hints but I adore reading answers to those posed by others. If you have that cool question about Flashpoint, now is the time to participate!
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2011/02/18/flashpoint-friday-three-answers-from-geoff-johns/
Another cool Flashpoint teaser has his the Source blog! I really like that new readers can jump on this event without any prior knowledge but those of us who read classics like Shade the Changing Man are going to feel a cool connection. I am a fan of events including everyone.
One of my good friends was new to the Green Lantern Universe during Blackest Night. We had many fun discussions about Green Lantern history and the overall DCU. This wasn’t because he needed it to enjoy the story. It was because the story sparked that interest. If you have friends who are interested in alternate universe or time twisting stories, Flashpoint might be that cool jump on mini series. Fringe and Dr. Who fans for example are a ready made audience to try out some of this. If you are excited for Flashpoint, let a friend borrow the first issue and have some fun discussing the event.
I am floored by this. We are almost at 5 years for the podcast and it’s really cool to see comics podcasts in general getting some notice. This really made my whole day!
This week’s show will focus on Superman 708, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 4, Generation Lost 19, Flash 9, Birds of Prey 9, and Brightest Day 19. We’ll also be chatting about some of the recently announced cancellations.
I have to admit the new announcements and focus of the series are starting to get me more excited. I really want this series to deliver the way Smallville has or even to surpass it, if possible. I think this series could be a great way for people to remember that superhero storytelling can be varied and diverse. I hope they stick to the core values of what makes Wonder Woman work.
http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/Confirmed__DC_Cancels_Seven_Ongoing_Titles
Thanks to Rafael Sanz for pointing out the Ifanboy article above.
This is really sad because I think these are 7 really strong and diverse titles.
Doom Patrol – This is a title that only got better over time. The opportunity to see how the Chief messed with the heads of his team and that they eventually broke away from that really connected me to this group. As Giffen started to really spotlight the characters, I really started to love this twisted little title. Matthew Clark has been fantastic on art. It brought in some of the coolness of the Morrison run while bringing in all of the nutty history of the Doom Patrol. This book made sense of it all and made you see how these characters work in a modern setting. Negative Man was my personal favorite character in this book. Although the issues involving the betrayal of Elasti Girl by Steve Dayton and the Chief were really stellar.
JSA All Stars – Freddie E. Williams II is a long time friend of the show and amazing artist. I love the Vertigo and Shadowpact work of Matthew Sturgis. This team has been really interesting to follow. It started off with Magog and Power Girl breaking off into a strike force. This team was having a tough time adjusting to Magog. As a reader, this book and Magog’s solo title seemed to mirror each other in the development of the character. Seeing the rest of the JSA react to Magog in a way that I was feeling added a sense of realism to the book. When he eventually was booted from the team, they grew together as a family and we saw the return of favorites like Atom Smasher and Sand. It also led to the intro of cool character Anna Fortune who has a rich connection to Dr. Fate. As the team came together and grew closer, so did my connection to the title.
Continue reading DC Cancels Seven Ongoing Titles: Shout out to Ifanboy
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2011/02/15/supergirl-vs-social-networking/
Supergirl is a series that became VERY important to me under the tenure of Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle. I think it is one of the better Superman universe books being published. It’s easy to get worried when a new creative team takes over. How will they handle the character? Will it maintain the momentum of the previous run? Will this feel like a continued progression of the character? These are all questions that I worry about whenever there is a change to a book.
It’s too soon to say but so far I am happy with the start of the run of James Peaty and Bernard Chang. The book looks good and they seem to have a handle on the personality of Kara. Kara is a character who developed from being a bratty and almost unlikable character trying to distance herself from Superman to a character who has become VERY accessible and enjoyable to read. We’ve seen her really turn into a hero and take pride in trying to use her powers and intelligence to make a difference in the world. I really like how her Kryptonian upbringing gives her a skill set slightly different than Clark’s because she actually spent more time in the culture than he did.
If you haven’t been reading Supergirl, I recommend picking up trades of the work of Gates and Igle to really get a flavor for how cool this character can be. I also recommend issue 60 to check out the start of the new team’s run. Nick Spencer does the cowriting on that issue. I am loving his work on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents so that caught my eye immediately. Supergirl is a book worth checking out. I hope the new team continues to build on the terrific foundation that came before.