LITG: Update from C2E2

Life in the Gutter

Hey, all.  We’re at the end of the second day of C2E2 in Chicago, and so far the show has been great.  Personally, this is only the second con I’ve ever attended, the Wizard show last August in Chicago being the first.

I’ve been trying desperately not to act like a total fan girl this weekend.  Maybe I should just let it happen, but I want to be respectful to these people.  I won’t follow my favorite writer or artist into the restroom to get an autograph, and I certainly won’t hassle them with questions about my favorite characters as they try to grab a bite to eat at the pretzel stand.  Am I freaking out internally that I’m in the same room with some of my favorite people in comics?  Oh, definitely.

This weekend has also given me the chance to finally meet Sean and Jim in person.  I also met Ian from the Comic Timing podcast today.  I find it slightly hilarious (don’t ask why–I don’t know that I can explain it) that we all recognize each other by our voices.  I had absolutely no idea who this dude was until he started talking.  Then, it was “Hey, Ian.”

If you want to know what I thought about the Brightest Day panel, you’ll have to listen to the podcast.  But until then, here’s some of my highlights from the day, some of which I’m still trying to digest.

  • Franco (of Tiny Titans) colored a Superman in crayon for me today.  And then I found a Superman carrying Lois that he did that I had to have, so now I have some cool Superman art in crayon.  I honestly have no idea why that excites me so much, but it does.  I think they’re going to be framed and put in my classroom.
  • I told Gail Simone’s husband that I didn’t like him…many times.  I have no reason for doing this, honestly.  I really should be more careful and know who people are before I tell them I don’t like them.  (In my defense though, I think it was pretty clear that we were joking.)
  • I had a huge moment today when Jamal Igle told me he knew me through the podcast and my column.  Mr. Igle, I have thoroughly enjoyed your Supergirl and I wish you would stay on that book forever.  Can I request that?  You and Sterling Gates on Supergirl forever and ever?
  • Oh, and there might be the small, minor detail of getting Geoff Johns to autograph Flash #1 and Brightest Day #0 as well.

I’m sure I’ll have much more to talk about in the coming days.  But let me just pimp out my new campaign one more time:

GAIL SIMONE TO PEN AN EPISODE OF SMALLVILLE FOR SEASON 10.

That is all.

BATWOMAN ONGOING!!! YAY!

Biting the Bullet, , ,

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/14/its-official-batwoman-ongoing-series/

When the news that Greg Rucka was leaving DC was announced, I was very sad. Greg is an extemely talented writer and I will miss his take on the DCU characters. I was also very worried for Batwoman. This character has been very well developed and it would be a shame to have her moment lost. I am thrilled that J.H. Williams will be taking over the book with a cowriter.

Batwoman is a fresh and exciting character with her own spin on the Batman world. I couldn’t be happier that plans of an ongoing are still in place.

Episode 202: Blackest Night Wrap Up w/ Brightest Day Speculation

Episodes, , , ,

Episode 202: Blackest Night Wrap Up: Myron Rumsey of the Blog of OA joins us as we talk about the epic ending to this series. What are we most excited about in the future? What did our listeners think? How did this event stack up and why?

Show Notes:

0:00 Show opening, http://www.heroinitiative.org, http://www.DCBService.com, http://www.Instocktrades.com,  our ongoing contest (Ragingcontest@gmail.com), senseiofwhatnot@gmail.com, http://www.geturgeekonradio.com, show voicemail line 1-440-388-4434 or drnorge on Skype,and more.  

4:05 Blackest Night # 8, some Flash Secret Files (very brief) and Brightest Day Speculation

1:29:20 Listener emails and voicemails about Blackest Night

2:06:05 Show Closing

We’ll be back in a few days our next episode.  Check Ragingbullets.com and the forum for regular updates.

Continue reading Episode 202: Blackest Night Wrap Up w/ Brightest Day Speculation →

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On writers moving on

Life in the Gutter

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. Within the last month or so, DC has announced that writers on three major books are leaving said book. In one case, the writer left DC altogether. From a fan’s perspective, it might be easy to conclude that things will go downhill from here on out, or that now is a good time to either drop or pick up the book, depending on how you felt about the writer’s run on the book.

Personally, I wish these writers all the best of luck with their upcoming projects.  And I have some great comic book memories of their time on their respective books.

Gail Simone: Wonder Woman

For the longest time, I just didn’t get Wonder Woman.  I had nothing against her as a character; I simply just didn’t feel like I understood her.  Gail Simone’s run changed all that for me.  Gail’s Diana is the definitive version for me right now (and I’ve gone back and read some of the earlier stuff, too).  Maybe I’m a little biased because she’s the first long-term writer of the character that I have experience reading, but oh well.  Gail’s interpretation of Diana has me genuinely loving this character right now and really getting a strong idea of who she is as a person.

And who is Diana as a person?  One of the things I love is that I feel Gail has given her a vulnerability that makes her more accessible.  My idea of Wonder Woman in the past was always that she was this crazy Amazon princess woman who knew how to fight extremely well.  But through all of the adventures Gail has taken Diana on througout her run on the series, I feel like the character is more fleshed out than she was even when the series was relaunched.  Sure, Diana knows how to handle angry gods, but how does she handle a monster like Genocide?  Or even the prospect of love, marriage, and possibly children?

Continue reading On writers moving on →

Paul Cornell on Action Comics and why this could be great.

Biting the Bullet, , , ,

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.

202 up tomorrow night: Major recordings today and big week coming

Show news

We have some very cool recording opportunities this weekend so I am releasing a new show on Monday. (Very slim chance on this evening if our recordings end early enough but Monday night is for sure.)

We are interviewing artist Jamal Igle on his recent Supergirl work.

Our Blackest Night wrap up will be recorded as well.

We also have JLA/Avengers part 1 recorded and will be recording part 2 next week.

There are big plans for C2E2 (April 16-18) with lots of comic chat, interviews, a review of the film Hero Tomorrow and much much more.

I’ll be posting more concrete details as we finish recording and editing gets moving.

Sean

P.S. If you don’t own Hero Tomorrow, it’s a fantastic indie film. I will be posting more details this week but check out the web site.

http://www.herotomorrow.com/

Batman and Robin cover process @ the Source

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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

Biting the Bullet, ,

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.