Powers Casting

First of all, if you're not reading Powers by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, you should be.  It is a super fun series about a couple of detectives investigating crimes associated with superheroes.  Obviously there's more to it than that, but I won't ruin it for you.

Recently it was optioned by FX and we've been waiting not so patiently for the casting announcements about who is going to play Deena Pilgrim and Christian Walker and I'm honestly a bit baffled by the choices.

"Maggots, you're eating maggots Michael."

That's right folks, Jason Patric is Walker.  The age doesn't bother me so much, Walker is a character outside of time really, but the bulk of the character is concerning.  When Jason Patric bulks up he loses his chin.  I can't be the only one who has noticed this.  There were rumors floating around that Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, Super 8) was a front runner and I was on board for that.  I'll say this for Jason Patric though, he is very pretty.

Deena Pilgrim, kick ass hero to women folk everywhere, is not being played by Katee Sackhoff and that is a crime in my humble opinion.  She is being played by Lucy Punch and if you're an anglophile like I am, you have probably seen her pop up in a variety of places.  I don't mind her as an actress, although she has a tendency to go overboard with the kooky expressions, but as Deena Pilgrim?  Can she carry off the ultra sarcastic, sexy character that we know and love?

The Issue of Storage

I’m sure this is an issue that every comic collector deals with.  I love my house, but it’s small and the storage space is limited.  Living in Texas, the garage is out of the question because it isn’t air conditioned.  Paul and I are both a little obsessive about organization, I do a happy dance whenever we need new dividers.  We are the kind of people who clean out the closets multiple times throughout the year, so we have a pretty nifty system but with the upcoming DC renumbering shift we’re a little concerned.  Right now we have four boxes in the living room that house all the current ongoing series we are reading.  Then in the guest room closet, we have boxes for series that have ended or have been abandoned.  The tops are numbered so they can be easily rotated between boxes as we move comics from the living room to the closet.  We have a separate box for duplicates, which we actually have quite a few of for various reasons.  (Marlowe insisted on being involved in the picture taking.)

 

So here is my problem, once the renumbering happens we will have three boxes to add to the closet and that will most likely be full capacity, and our collection is smaller than most.  We’re throwing around ideas of how to handle it, but I want to open it up and I’m curious about how other people deal with this issue.  Do you use a drawer system, build fancy contraptions, or use an off-site space, i.e. your parents house?

DC Relaunch: The End of the Line

The last two days have brought such disappointing news that I really didn’t even care to comment, but I started this train ride, so I’m seeing it through to the end.  Here we go:

Stormwatch by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda.  This is a Wildstorm group that is now going to include Martian Manhunter.  Meh.

Blackhawks by Mike Costa and Ken Lashley.  You know what I thought when I initially saw this, “Good, something for Zinda.”  But no!  DCU: The Source describes this as “an elite group of mercenaries made up of brave men from around the world”.  Well, there went that.  I hope the “brave men” have a good time, but I’m out unless Zinda is in the mix.  She’s a riot, and she kicks some serious butt!

Men of War by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick.  This is about the grandson of Sgt Rock and the Easy Company.  I came a bit late to the comics party, so my knowledge of this is nil.

All-Star Western by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Moritat.  I’m not the biggest Jonah Hex fan, but this has potential to be fun and I’m really glad that Jimmy Palmiotti still has a place in the DCU.

   

Deathstroke by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett, and Art Thibert.  I thought I would be more excited about this than I am.  But maybe that’s because Deathstroke got a book when Power Girl and Secret Six were both canceled.  Who am I kidding, I’ll still read it.

Grifter by Nathan Edmondson, CAFU, and BIT.  Another Wildstorm character that I don’t know…why couldn't CAFU be put on one of my books is what I want to know?

Omac by Dan Didio, Keith Giffen, and Scott Koblish.  I have no interest in this at all.

  

Suicide Squad by Adam Glass and Marco Rudy.  The team is Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and King Shark.  That is an awesome group, but the cover gives me pause because everyone is redesigned in a way I find a bit offensive.  King Shark is a hammerhead, I can deal with that, but Deadshot is wearing some pretty severe armor which I think is unnecessary.  His indifference to his own survival is his charm.  Harley though, holy sexpot Batman. 

Blue Beetle by Tony Bedard and Ig Guara.  This was expected, but still exciting. 

 

Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales, yes please!  And you know what else, I am not bothered by the jeans. 

Superman by George Perez and Jesus Merino.  This cover doesn’t ring my bells, hopefully the content will be more interesting.

Supergirl by Michael Green, Mike Johnson, and Mahmud Asrar.  Goody two shoes, that’s what I see and I am not diggin’ it.  Supergirl is supposed to be gritty, she’s conflicted and flawed and that’s her appeal. 

Superboy by Scott Lobdell, R. B. Silva and Rob Lean.  Scott Lobdell got three books in the relaunch.  That’s pretty intense, and I’m curious to see how Conner stands in this new world. 

   

So that’s it.  Apparently, there will be further announcements about projects beginning after September, but Secret Six has officially been canceled.  Power Girl, Huntress, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown, no word about what happens to them.  Dustin Nguyen and Jock aren’t part of any of the announcements and that is unfortunate, but word is Dustin Nguyen has an upcoming project after September.  I’m disappointed in many of the new books, maybe I wouldn’t be if I had read any of the Wildstorm books, but I haven’t.

Teeny Bopper Time

Five titles were announced today that mainly deal with the younger DC teams.  Today was a good day for my pocket book because of the five series I will most likely only be buying two.  Realistically with 52 titles, I have to draw the line somewhere and I don’t read Legion of Superheroes.  I have nothing against it, it’s just not one of my books.  I guess now it’s not two of my books.

Legion Lost and Legion of Superheroes have joined the party.  While I won’t be reading them, the people who do are very lucky to be getting Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods on Legion Lost. 

 

Teen Titans is back and is being reworked as a vehicle for Tim Drake, who is still Red Robin in a slightly different costume.  He will be joined by Wonder Girl, who now has a completely different backstory, Kid Flash, Superboy, and some characters I don’t recognize.  The creative team on this will be Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund.  This is the same artistic team in charge of the recent JLA: Rise of Eclipso, and hot damn that was beautiful and so is the new Teen Titans cover.  It’s a grittier, sexier group and I’m diggin’ it.

Static Shock has me so completely torn, I’m going to need to ponder before I make any decisions about putting this on my subs list.  This series has been talked about for awhile now, so the announcement wasn’t a shock (no pun intended).  I’m pretty indifferent to Static Shock as a character so I was going to give it a miss and then DC had to go and make John Rozum the writer.  John Rozum is currently writing Xombi which is brillliant and I’m gung ho to support him, but Scott McDaniel is not one of my favorite artists and he’s the second part of this team.  It’s a conundrum, it really is.

 

Hawk and Dove by Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld.  I was pleasantly surprised that Hawk and Dove got their own book.  Hawk I can take or leave, but I’m a big fan of Dove.  I really enjoyed her recent appearances in Brightest Day and Birds of Prey…heavy sigh of sadness.  Anyway, yes, I will definitely be reading this.

DC on the Dark Side: 8 New Titles

DC announced eight new titles today that will be debuting in September and I’m intrigued.  Despite some upsetting news, I have to admit that this week has been really fun.  I’m very lucky to have a chill boss who didn’t mind when Paul called me in the middle of a payroll meeting this morning to ask if I’d seen the news yet.  I even took a few minutes to whisper into the phone conspiratorially that I had and that we would talk about it later.  So thank you DC for spicing up my work week. 

Anyway, the new titles are a mish mash of Wildstorm converts, characters from way back when, and some new team-ups.

Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder and Yannick Paquette.  Scott Snyder is just blowing up recently and I’m stoked about it.  His work on Detective was stellar and Yannick Paquette’s art is always amazing.  Paul is way more pro-Swamp Thing than I am, but with this team, my curiosity is certainly piqued.

Justice League Dark by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin.  In my head this is the greatest comic since sliced bread.  I’m actually twitterpated at the idea of this and if done right it’s going to be worthy of a snoopy dance.  The team includes John Constantine, Deadman, Madame Xanadu, Shade the Changing Man, what looks to be the new Spectre and while she hasn’t been announced yet, I’m really hoping Zatanna is in the mix. Fan freakin’ tastic! 

 

Animal Man by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman and Dan Green.  There are two things about this announcement that elevated it from indifference to super excited.  The first is that Jeff Lemire is writing it and I love everything he does and the second is the cover.  It is creepy delicious awesome!  It’s got the Vertigo vibe written all over it. 

Demon Knights by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves, and Oclair Albert.  This gets a “meh” from me and a “Hell Yeah!” from Paul who loves all things Paul Cornell.  It’s set in the Middle Ages, which could be cool but for now it’s going to be a wait and see.

 

Frankenstein, Agent of Shade by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli.  Again, we love Jeff Lemire.  Paul is more excited about this than I am and I am ashamed to admit it’s because he has actually read Seven Soldiers and I have not.  I should probably get on that…

Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Fernando Dagnino.  My first and only experience with this character was in Supergirl #28.  I’ll give it a shot, but I make no promises.

 

I, Vampire by Josh Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino.  Usually I’m all about the vampires.  Let me clarify that and say, well-written vampires bring me joy, but I’m a little surprised to see DC going this route.  The title doesn’t thrill me but the cover is gorgeous and based on that alone I will pick it up.   

Voodoo by Ron Marz and Sami Basri.  I really enjoyed Sami Basri’s work on Power Girl (please don’t let Kara bite the dust!).  This is a Wildstorm transplant about a woman who is an alien/human hybrid, and I can see the potential there. 

 

My final word on these titles is this, if these books are being published instead of titles that are near and dear to me (Secret Six, Xombi, Zatanna) they have some big shoes to fill and my expectations are high. 

Bat News…With Laughter and Tears

Wow, I am so full of conflicting emotions right now.  Major Bat news was announced today, and I will get to all of them but I really have to talk about Batgirl before I talk about anything else.  It was announced today that Gail Simone will be writing Barbara Gordon as Batgirl.  I have a big issue with rewriting the history of Babs in this way.  The evolution of Babs as a character was very touching and while it may sound cheesy, Babs as Oracle was a role model.  She represented so much goodness in the importance of knowledge and overcoming ones limitations to achieve great things.  Now all of that is gone, but I had a gut wrenching reaction in learning that Gail is going to be writing it, because it’s Gail.  She has great respect and knowledge of this character and she’s one of my absolute favorite comic writers so I trust her.  In a recent article that Gail Simone wrote for Comic Alliance, she said that people would be heartbroken with some of the announcements, and I have to say that I am.  I’m actually a bit embarrassed by how fierce my emotional reaction is to this news.  The age change really confuses me, because Babs being younger means that Dick will be younger, but Damian is staying the same age, so where does Tim fit in now?  As for Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, I will whole heartedly say, they got screwed and it sucks.

 

So I’ve already alluded to this, but Dick Grayson is back as Nightwing and he will be in Gotham.  I’m okay with this, I had a feeling it was coming and it’s not a big leap.  They got a really good creative team in Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows, so I’m happy to see where this one goes.

Since this is a Bat news post, I should probably talk about Batman…it’s Bruce Wayne, surprise!  The Batman books really aren’t changing much, besides the fact that it will be Bruce all the time now.  Batman and Robin is in the brilliant hands of Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleeson.  I’m going to miss the dynamic between Dick and Damian, this is going to be a very different book now that Bruce is in the mix.  Alfred is going to be a super necessary component in keeping Damian in line because let’s just say it, Bruce has a tendency to be rather neglectful. 

Batman and Detective are switching writers.  Scott Snyder will be taking over Batman and Tony Daniel will be doing Detective.  They have both been doing excellent work lately on the Bat books, so I don’t have any concerns about the upcoming storylines.   Batman: The Dark Knight is also sticking around, written by David Finch with art by Jay Fabok.  I’m actually kind of surprised that this book made the cut.  It’s a  good read, but do we really need four Bruce books?

 

Batwoman is a definite, thank goodness, and Judd Winick is writing a new series called Batwing, which is going to be about the Batman of Africa.

More good news first and then I’m returning to some serious heartbreak.  Jason Todd gets his own series!!!  In The Red Hood and the Outlaws Jason Todd will be joined by Roy as Arsenal and Starfire.  Titans bites the dust!  This has rockin’ potential to be a great romp.  What would make it better in my eyes is if it were being written by Judd Winick, but he’s going to be a bit busy, because he is writing Catwoman.  That’s right my friends, Judd is taking over Selina Kyle, there is some justice left in the world! So that’s the happy news…

 

Birds of Prey is another source of heartbreak for me right now.  First of all, Gail isn’t writing it but that’s not a shock because it’s a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GROUP.  The only original left is Dinah and she looks…well I’m just going to say it, she looks wrong.  Huntress and Zinda are gone…THEY’RE GONE!  Instead, Dinah is joined by Katana, who I usually love, but who looks like a freakin’ robot.  Rose/Thorn…I don’t even know who this chick is, and someone who looks suspiciously like Poison Ivy.  Have I mentioned how much I hate Poison Ivy?  Black Canary is the only bird I see in this group.  Flabbergasted, I’m just flabbergasted, and more than a little pissed.

   

Happy Green Lantern News

DC announced the Green Lantern books that will start in September and it is good news on all fronts.

Geoff Johns is sticking with Green Lantern, of course. 

Green Lantern Corps is back, written by Peter Tomasi.  The big change here is that Guy Gardner and John Stewart are taking the lead on this one because Kyle is getting a new series.  Kyle will be leading The New Guardians, a team made up of all the ring colors, written by Tony Bedard. 

And finally, the Red Lantern series!  This good news softened the blow of the end of Emerald Warriors, and even better was finding out that Peter Milligan, Ed Benes and Rob Hunter are the creative team behind it.  Ed Benes drawing Dax-Starr!!!  Happy days. 

My lanterns are safe and in wonderful hands, now we wait for Bat news.

10 Titles Announced!

I’m a bit behind getting this up, but DC announced 10 of the new titles today, and it’s mainly good, if not great news.

Aquaman by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis.  This was already announced but now it’s definite and I will be reading it.  Geoff Johns has been very passionate about this project for quite awhile and Ivan Reis always does such beautiful work.

Captain Atom by JT Krul and Freddie Williams II.   This is most likely a miss for me. 

DC Universe Presents.  This is going to be arcs from various superheroes, but they are starting with Deadman so we’re reading it. 

Firestorm by Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver, and Yildiray Cinar.  Yay Gail!  We’re still waiting to hear what else she’s working on, but I’m excited to see her take on this series.

The Flash by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.  I’m really excited to see Francis Manapul take the reigns on this series.  His art on the previous Flash was gorgeous and I’m looking forward to where he takes the Flash family.

Green Arrow by JT Krul and Dan Jurgens.  I’m disappointed with this.  JT Krul and I completely disagree on the Green Arrow journey.  I think he’s a good writer, I would just like to see the story go in a different direction and I think Mia and Connor are pivotal characters.  Good or bad though, I’m a sucker for Green Arrow and I’m not going to stop reading it.  I’ll just keep sighing heavily.

Hawkman by Tony Daniel and Philip Tan.  The previous rumor had been that James Robinson would be writing this series and while I like him, I was lukewarm about that idea.  With Tony Daniel though, I’m there with bells on.

Justice League International by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti.  The solicit cover for this is filling me with warm fuzzies for a variety of reasons.  First though, let me say I was a little sad that Judd Winick isn’t writing it, but Dan Jurgens is great so no worries there.  Let’s look at this line up though: Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Vixen, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, August General in Iron, a mysterious woman in black (could be Donna, could be Gypsy, time will tell), and Batman.  Now if Batman is also in JLA, does this mean that the Batman in JLI is Dick?  Fingers crossed people!

Mister Terrific by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson.  I’ll pick up the first issue and check it out, I honestly have no opinion either way on this one.

Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.  This is a jump and down with joy kind of team.  Super stoked!

 

Rumor Explosion!

Day 1 after DC announcement is fraught with craziness.  Bleeding Cool is reporting some things that honestly make me want to curl up and cry, so right now I’m choosing to wait until DC comments before I truly believe anything.  Stephanie Brown is my Batgirl, so DC, if you’re listening, don’t screw this up.

Dick Grayson back to being Nightwing?  This really wouldn’t surprise me, but it leaves Damian hanging in a bad situation.  I’ve said it before, a Bruce/Damian team up is a bad idea, not to mention it leaves Tim out in the cold.  The last few months of Red Robin haven’t been up to par with the beginning of the series, but I still look forward to it every month.

Birds of Prey without Gail Simone…why? 

I did have some happy thoughts today though about the reboot.  Titans…be gone!  Let’s get Roy back from the dark side.  One rumor I really hope is true is Fabian Nicieza writing Teen Titans, he would be perfect.  Am I the only one who wants the Teen Titans to go save Red Devil?  I’m still holding out for a Red Lantern series and right now, anything is possible.