Mr. Queenan Misses the Point

Normally I don't post things like this, but this interview really got under my skin.

Film writer Joe Queenan recently appeared on CBC Radio's Q with Jian Ghomeshi (radio gentleman and silky-voiced mancrush) to talk about "superhero saturation" in Hollywood films. You can listen to the interview here.

Have you listened to it? Good. So, here's my thoughts.

I found Mr. Queenan's comments on the superhero genre to be reductively pale and belittling, especially his dismissal of guest speaker Steven Saidman's comments. "Everyone knows about the X-Men" is not a concrete argument, nor is "Cowboy movies are better because they don't have superpowers". Superhero films are not popular because of their quote "fascist" heroes, but because they are humbling. Just this summer, Iron Man 3 served as a deconstruction of the genre with Robert Downey Jr.'s character using his wits, not his supersuited powers, for a majority of the film -- and while I'll concede with Queenan that female roles in superhero films are commonly underwritten, this isn't a problem unique to the genre but is indicative of the film industry's reluctance to star leading ladies (with an exception being Scarlett Johannsen in Avengers, only the 3rd highest grossing film of all time).

It's clear that Mr. Queenan has little respect or understanding of the source material (wrongly stating Batman's appeal and sales figures when Superman has dominated the comics market between the 1940s and 1960s and is the best-selling comic series of all time) and whese stories reposition themes of duty (Avengers/Superman), cultural humility (Thor/Xmen), and social responsibility (Spider-man/Batman) Queenan's comment is true that "Captain America didnt beat Hitler, 19 year old boys did" -- Maybe so, but he forgets that Cap was in the boy's back-pockets every step of the way.

With that out of the way, what's yours? 

Having It All - BBC Documentary

The Victorian period was a crazy time. How crazy?

Being on a Victorian heritage kick lately. Here's some of the best documentaries kicking around Youtube on the British Empire.

And more.

Five Comic Collections Of Preposterous Size

“They have to be compensating for something” I thought.

These were my thoughts upon seeing Enormous, a new Image/Shadowline one-shot comic by writer Tim Daniel and artist Mehdi Cheggour. Released during the week of our lord, the San Diego Comic-Con, seeing this treasury edition was akin to seeing one of the tablets of the Ten Commandments hanging off the shelf. Far too large to carry comfortably, It was Herculean by standard comic sizes and a nightmare for the regular “grab-bag” shopper. At 64 pages and kindly oversized it was, If nothing else, a life raft in case the world’s water levels spiked north twenty meters.

Seen Above: The Unstoppable Force

Oversize editions have long been in vogue for comic-collectors and gift-buyers. Promising extras from scripts to scans these editions sometimes border on the insanely elephantine. 

A moratorium on spoilers. You're welcome.

The following graphic novels will make your shelves quake with fear and have you pausing to consider life insurance. By no means would you want to carry these around a convention floor, but damn, they sure look good.

#5) Absolute Editions

These giants travel in packs.

Still smaller than Moore's rage.

Batman. Sandman. Parker: Martini Edition. These titles, typically by DC Comics and its imprint Vertigo (although Image is now catching up) are presented in Absolute” hardcovers with snazzy slipcases and supplementary material to add to their austerity (and weight). These collections lord over most others with 8”x12” of mass-size glory, but some recent “creative” recolours have drawn the ire of comic-purists. 

#4) Jeff Smith’s Bone - 20th Anniversary Edition

I first read Bone the same way most kids did growing up: Scholastic book-orders or samplers in Disney Adventures from the grocery store. While I’m still waiting for that animated feature, Jeff Smith has recently published the 20th Anniversary Edition, or as I affectionally call it: “The Slab”.

30th edition: human bone.

The 1300-page epic is collected in a newly-coloured one volume edition with signed art limited at 2000 copies, a cover gallery, documentary DVD, and a 22k Gold-Plated Coin. While the extras are whopping and great, reading Bone in one binding can border on the near-absurd. Not intended so much for readers as collectors, the Bone 20th Anniversary Edition holds up as a gargantuan accomplishment, the series having had more than 13 printings and reigning in ten Eisner awards.

#3) Hellboy (Library Edition)

For Mike Mignola and his team at Dark Horse Comics the word “Library” comes to mind when describing their oversize formats (while for others it drums up stale smells and kooky-eyed librarians). 

The big red hand of doom.

Clocking in at 9”x12” each volume contains two trade paperbacks worth of comics and has extensive sketch pages as back-up matter. Since the series began in 1993 it has been a cult hit and you have to admit, nowhere will you find this same sort of quality production on a comic with felt covers and gold-stamping -- and face it, a bookmark-string is classy.

#2) Wednesday Comics (DC Anthology)

It smelled strange and confused a lot of people, but the 14”x20” broadsheet format Wednesday Comics was a success because of its creative teams and oversize formatting. Released in the size of an old Sunday newspaper, the weekly twelve-issue series featured fifteen stories by big names in comics; Azzarello, Gibbons, Sook, Arcudi, Busiek, Gaiman, Allread, Pope, Simonson, Palmiotti, Conner, and the Kuberts. Opening the cover, one can’t help but be overwhelmed by the rich colours at play and not long after--

On the tops of many top 10 lists... And shelves.

--its over and you have nowhere to put the damn thing. 

#1) Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

What’s better than big? Old and Big. First printed in newspaper format between 1905-1910, Little Nemo clocks in at 16”x21” and stands as a comic classic by creator Winsor McCay. Most people will be familiar with Nemo from its 1992 US-release animated film and its equally large financial flop of making back less than half of its budget.

He's big in Japan.

Nemo is a staple in comic history, being referenced in modern classics by Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman and having served as an influence for a whole new generation of comic-lovers with its influence seen in Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. It might be hard to find the book in print but realistically at this size it shouldn’t be too hard to see.

Follow @CanuckGoose for more quacks and tweets by Colyn deGraaff

5 "RISES" That Aren't The Dark Knight

Whether The Dark Knight Rises lives up to its hype will be seen in the twilight-hours of Friday morning as audiences flock online after sold-out midnight showings nationwide. To accommodate demand, some places have taken the added step of a handful of 3:45-4am showtimes. Safe to say, if you were looking for a spoiler-free Bat-weekend, this might be the time to flick off the wi-fi and put down your devices.

This isn’t the first time the comic-book community has gotten tangled up in a title with a “Rise” surrounding it. Notoriously, the last big comic property to hit the big screen with a similar title was Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (okay, it isn’t that similar). Still, we all know how well that release went (it didn’t).

There are still some notable “RISES” to be seen in comics. For those looking for something to read until they can get tickets to the sold-out end-of-the-trilogy, the following “RISES” comics are notable for having demonstrated excellence while others... Well, all legends end, right?

#5 I, Vampire: Rise of the Vampires

I Vampire comes dangerously close to cheating on this list. The first major event in the DCNU fan-favorite, Rise of the Vampires, takes place in a Gotham overrun by vampire progenitor Cain, stoppable only by the efforts of vampire hero Andrew Bennett and the newly formed Justice League Dark.

The Five-Finger salute of the Justice League Dark.

The series has found a cult following and was the 78th best selling comic in September of 2011 (by units). Initially a reboot of a 24 issue series created by writer J.M. Dematteis, I Vampire has found its place comfortably between True Blood and Dracula in the post-Twilight market. Sometimes pulpy, and unabashedly fun, the JLD parts of Rise of the Vampires were admittedly clunky (Xanadu meets a blue Buddha and Shade finally exits the book in a metafictional fashion) but regardless the crossover was held up by the sharp stylings of Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino. Sure, there are other more terrifying books (like Scott Snyder’s American Vampire) but with the amount decapitations going ‘round, it was a good time to see fangs bared and the rising potential of the underground hit series

#4 Terminator: Rise of the Machines (Dark Horse Comics)

In 1990, Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to the successful Terminator franchise with one vision: machines are inevitably going to rise up and beat the shit out of us one day. Basing their miniseries on the inevitability of this “Judgment Day” the Terminator comics promised to showcase the post-apocalyptic world hinted at in the flash-forwards of James Cameron’s successful films. Promising the gloom-and-terror of a war-torn future with no budget but the artist’s imagination, it was a pretty good time to be a Terminator fan even if looking back the technology was a little dated.

All things considered, that's the most cutting-edge rainbow CD I've ever seen.

The comics attracted a hit-list of creators. Writer James Robinson, artist Steve Pugh, Matt Wager (also on art duties), and inker Mike Perkins all ran with the killer-robot series at one point or another. Sadly, the franchise suffered a fatal error when it was dragged into the popular Alien Versus Predator vs Terminator miniseries in 2000 (part of the “vs.” line popular with Dark Horse at the time). This kiss-of-death assignment predated the 2003 film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines which served as the nail in the coffin for fans the franchise, driving it from credible science-fiction to self-referential fluff.

The license was opened to Dynamite Entertainment who put out Terminator 2: Infinity (2007) and Terminator 2 (2008), keenly staying away from the flop surrounding the third film and its subsequent comic tie-ins. Readers remained hopeful that things would improve, but after sexy Termanatrix and Terminator-Dogs, it was hard to see the computer intelligence Skynet as anything more than a wacky child putting makeup on its increasingly strange killing machines.

 Lukewarm receptions followed the comics and the lackluster efforts of IDW’sTerminator: Salvation comics didn’t help. The light on the horizon for the franchise was to come in 2010 with Terminator: 2029 and Terminator: 1984 written by Zack Whedon (yes, that Whedon). Nevertheless, fans seemed to have had their fill of naked-men punching through people and threw their issues in the time-capsule.

Hasta la vista, baby.

#3 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

The G.I. Joe franchise is one I’ve seldom heard discussed over the years, save for the contagious enthusiasm by the folks over at iFanboy. The buzz surrounding G.I. Joe comics typically evokes two responses: thrill for the slick writing of the spinoff Cobra, or nostalgic-tinged reverence of the cartoon. 

G.I. Joe has been in comics as far back as 1942, far before the hayday of the 1964 toy-line launch and 1985 cartoon. Most widely recognized in comicdom for its American patriotism and the early Marvel series between 1982 and 1994, Joe comics followed the exploits of its elite team of American soldiers fighting the evil (and we mean evil) terrorist cell Cobra. G.I. Joe comics have been targeted at both kids and adults and has showcased the talents of Warren Ellis (G.I. Joe: Resolute) and most recently Christos Gage and Mike Costa. We won’t try to fool anybody, though, it’s Larry Hama’s art and stories that people remember.

Lasers. The other "half the battle".

The franchise has weathered its fair share of controversy over the years. Struggling through the Vietnam sales-slump as people petitioned against American involvement, Joe bounced between publishers when Marvel let its license lapse in 1994. Vaulting between Dark Horse and Image before securing a place in 2009 with IDW (known for its other Hasbro property Transformers).

By this point things had gotten pretty silly for the franchise and attempts were being made to reel back the reins and make it a little more hard-edged, seen with the comics/fim G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. It wasn’t the big-budget film or tie-ins that would revitalize the series, but a mature take in 2009 by author Christos Gage and artist Mike Costa.

#2 Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal (DC Comics)

Perhaps it’s a running trend that DC loves to put “Rise” in their titles, but there was no way The Rise of Arsenal could escape this list -- not with its title and the following panel playing together with unharmonious subtlety.

Yeah, shut up, Jade.

Make no mistake, that’s not what the book is about, but it still leaves you just as unsatisfied. Following Roy Harper, otherwise known as Speedy, formerly known as Red Arrow, also known as Arsenal, Rise of Arsenal teeters on the mere classification of being called a “comic”, being something more akin to a power fantasy.

After years of bumbling around the DCU, writer J.T. Krul and artists Geraldo Borges and Marlo Alquiza focus on the one-armed Roy Harper’s ongoing struggle with drug addiction brought on by the recent loss of his daughter’s life. This wasn’t the first time Harper’s struggle with drugs had been used as a cautionary tale: in the pages of Green lantern vol. 2 #85-86 Roy was found getting high and losing his head. Highly progress for 1971 standards, right?

So naturally, when the Rise of Arsenal came out, the PRISM Awards saw this as an accurate portrayal of mental health/drug issues. Why so? Well because Harper takes heroin (again) and goes nuts, defending a cat corpse he thinks is his deceased daughter and beating men within an inch of their life with it.

I-- I don’t.. Wha?

#1) Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns (DC Comics)

It was in no way a response to Marvel Zombies -- they promised. Regardless of the similarities, the DC Comics crossover Blackest Night came onto the scene in 2009 with much fanfare. Emerging from the “war of light” in the pages of Green Lantern, Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns was a field-day for longtime DC fans who saw their favorite (or less-than favorite) heroes and villains returning as superpowered zombies intent on eating the living and making them feel really guilty over having let them die. Part of the Black Lantern Corps, these Black Lanterns were the harbingers of death and chaos.

Even Hawk was looking gnarly, which is an achievement.

With its roots in Green Lantern vol. 4 #25, writer Geoff Johns tied the horror-crossover into the longstanding Green Lantern oath. Turning the verse into a prophecy (regarded or disputed by multiple characters) the Blackest Night proved to be very real when characters started getting picked off left-right-and-center. 

The crossover weaved through the DCU proper and had some stand-out moments. Penciller Ivan Reis put everyone’s jaws on the floor for not only designing the Black Lantern versions of famous characters, but for cramming hundreds of figures (we mean hundreds) into the issues of Blackest Night with precision and detail. Learning to draw a single character can sometimes be a feat in itself, but Reis wowed everyone by stepping up and elevating himself to a modern-master level of comic artistry.

Fan reception was generally positive. While the crossover waned public-interest due to its length, high points still popped up in the crossover titles of Blackest Night (the consciousness of Green Arrow trapped in his undead body fighting Black Canary was a memorable issue for myself). While there was never any doubt that it was leading to a mass-resurrection of the characters to effectively reboot properties, it was still an exciting time to see the monstrous side of the DCU. 

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This article was also posted at ReadComicBooks.net.

Pick of the Week: REVIVAL by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton

For a book calling itself a “rural noir”, there’s a whole lot of spooky goings-ons in Tim Seeley and Mike Norton’s new series Revival. 

Published by Image Comics, the book’s tone straddles a line somewhere between the Hell on Earth vibe of B.P.R.D. with the small town charm of Fargo. It might be difficult at a first glance to tell what makes the series a noir, defining THAT term in itself being a study in persistent headscratching, but in the first issue readers are treated to a wendigo, the building biblical rapture, and two sisters with their curious backgrounds. There’s a fair amount of genre-blending concepts here (and creatures, most evident in the Zhorse, a half-horse, half-zebra) and on one hand the book is a mystery, and on the other a fantasy-horror. So, what is it exactly?

Out of the gate, it’s a little early to tell. Tim Seeley has done a remarkable job writing a plethora of mysteries to be picked upon and expanded during the series, ranging from the single-mom status of small-town deputy Dana and her sister Martha’s remarkable Revival. Seeley’s enthusiasm is apparent, sometimes bordering on excessive, as he throws every oddity he can muster at the reader in hopes that one sticks. This scattering of strangeness isn’t entirely necessary as there’s more than enough skill in Seeley’s dialogue to hold up the plot. What’s most curious is that beneath the eeriness is the promised exploration of Christian issues (typically made out as hysterical in these end-of-world situations). What does it mean to be trapped in the flesh for those who believe in a heavenly afterlife? 

Concepts for Revival #1 Variant by artist Craig Thompson.

This Christian-connection also serves to link to artist Craig Thompson who does a superbly muted and softly-haunting variant cover to start the series. Thompson, best known for his coming-of-age autobiographical graphic novel Blankets published in 2003, serves as a lovely analog to series artist Mike Norton whose dynamic style rarely rests in profile-shots. Norton’s art is at all-times spooky and falls into unsettling tilts in its angles while displaying some stellar panel-to-panel storytelling. Backgrounds are lovingly detailed and layouts play within the page without becoming clustered or dense.

Nothing good ever comes out of the woods anymore.

Despite the risk of trying too hard to throw out something interesting, Revival does a lot right in its first outing. There’s several good ideas at play, more than enough for Seeley and Norton to run with one in the confidence that their skills are strong enough to hook the reader. Hopefully like the title the pair will continue to come back month after month with more instalments in this creepy countryside series.

Story 4.5/5
Art 5/5