I feel kind of silly making this article since it was supposed to be done months ago. There are several things that kept me from finishing it, but I’m going to take the easy way out. All the time I usually use to write these What If articles was really used to pretend I was writing for Lost. I love writing Sam the Butcher’s dialogue the most.

Starting it off, here’s a series of sig images I made for the Batman’s Shameful Secret sub-forum at Something Awful. I guess they worked.

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This is inspired in part by Kalinara’s post here.

Five Reasons Why I Blog:

One: The only way to become a better writer is to write.
I write for a living, so it’s important that I stay in practice. Having a comics blog lets me talk about something that I love. I’ve been trying to move 4l to a daily blog, but sometimes that’s hard. That’s the dream, though.

Two: I am a hopeless narcissist.
I like when people pay attention to me, and having a blog gives me a chance to see what other people feel about my opinions and/or writing. I love getting comments and responding to them.

Three: Blogs and the blogospherohedron have a wide variety of opinions.
This is partially related to Two. Getting comments is an easy way to see these other opinions, but the best way by far is to read other blogs. I’ve got 108 feeds in NetNewsWire and at least 60-70 of them are comics related feeds. I read all the big blogs, as far as I know, and a bunch of the smaller ones. There are a lot I don’t comment on (I hate that Blogspot doesn’t have comment feeds), but I do read them. You get to meet cool people.

Four: I like being able to sit down and organize my thoughts on comics.
I do a lot of thinking. Putting words on virtual paper forces me to organize those thoughts in such a way that they are both palatable and understandable to people who are not me. Writing them down makes them real and concrete.

Five: I just love comics, man.

“I just wanted to talk about the comics, see? All those shitty, amazing comics…”
–Wally Sage, Flex Mentallo #1

Watch this space.

I’ve mentioned before that I tend to think of Grant Morrison as a relentless optimist. It’s an admirable trait and it makes his comics kind of a joy to read. The heroes, while not flawless, are heroes still, even when they don’t want to be or do not believe themselves to be.

I’m in the middle of rereading New X-Men. it’s been a while, so it all seems pretty new. I just finished the first hardcover and a couple pages jumped out at me. Well, a lot of pages did, but these are the two I want to talk about. Both are from New X-Men 122.

This is almost self-explanatory and a perfect encapsulation of Morrison’s optimism. The last time the X-Men fought Cassandra Nova, she laid waste to the team. It was only a last minute save by Emma Frost that took her down. Even then, Cassandra won. She jumped into Charles Xavier’s body and switched minds with him. She’s now in the body of the most powerful telepath on the planet. Shortly before Cassandra left Earth to take control of the Shi’ar Empire, she reduced Beast to a wreck and had him beaten nearly to death. Even while she’s been gone, her plans have been in motion. She’s poisoned the X-Men with nano-sentinels and booby-trapped her own body with a number of degenerative diseases.

In short, she’s completely played the entire team and she’s coming back to finish them off. Hank in particular is shaken up by all this because Cassandra tore him down to his basic elements. Jean’s response works to both reinforce Hank and to remind him that the X-Men don’t lose. It’s not even an option. It isn’t on the menu. For every negative that Hank brings up, Jean has an overwhelming positive. Can’t play the guitar? You can learn the drums! You’re afraid? You’re a hero to a kid who needs one. Blocked on creating something? It doesn’t matter. Keep trying. That is hope, and hope will triumph.

Another thing Morrison is big on is being true to yourself. The Invisibles dealt with this quite a bit, with King Mob trying to figure out who he is, Dane embracing the Jack Frost identity, Lord Fanny period, and the climax of Boy’s story arc. He’s got this whole thing about being radiant and true before you face down your big bad. This page is another perfect moment in time.

The Phoenix entity has a long comics history. It’s reached cliche status now, and it usually signals that something terrible is going to happen. Jean Grey could unmake the universe one day due to it… until now. She’s embraced her wings, strange eyes, and brilliant mind. It’s a new era. Hiding who you are in an attempt to fit in is the wrong way to go about things. Repression is wrong.

It’s hinted here that Jean only lost control because she was afraid and ashamed of her powers. Scott suggests that she go back to strict self-control, but what he’s suggesting is really self-limiting. It’s hiding all the things that are you in an attempt to fit in and be safe.

There’s an old saying. “Scared money don’t make money.” If you’re too afraid to take a risk, you aren’t ever going to get anything. Jean has taken a risk and embraced who and what she is and look- she’s better for it. “Do I look like I’m losing control?” She is in complete control of everything now. Herself, her powers, and her confidence.

This is really good stuff that isn’t always immediately apparent. Quitely’s body language says a lot here, too. Scott is hesitant and unsure. Jean? She’s in charge.

When he’s on top of his game, Morrison is one of the best. These two single pages just show a couple of his more enjoyable quirks. Even the end of The Invisibles features a hug and a reminder that good things are coming. “is allnow love,” and so on. He’s all about letting your freak flag fly.

If you’re curious, Geoff Klock has quite an interesting look at the issue here, as part of his ongoing look at the whole of New X-Men. Worth a read. He talks about all the things I don’t in this post.

There’ll probably be more later. NXM is a personal favorite of Morrison’s works, in part because it works with so many characters that I loved and grew up with in new ways. I think that there is a lot to be said about the way that Jean stepped up in the Professor’s absence to play the nurturer and carry the dream, as well. Even though it was Cassandra who left her in charge, she truly is the team leader, at least during the first year of NXM. Interesting, in that it’s usually Cyclops who is in charge, but he’s got so many issues that he is only on-point when he’s in battle. He’s flawless in space, for example, but a bit of a milksop when it comes to relationships.

But, wow, Charles Xavier is only 42 years old?

With a heavy heart, I have to announce that the next installment of Deadshot’s Tophat and Other Beginnings is on hiatus. Nobody is more shocked and outraged about this turn of events than former Intercontinental Champion Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat.

I know, Nikita Koloff. I know. But I have a reason. A very good reason.

You may have noticed that I haven’t been writing too many updates lately. I’ve been using my free time to read through the latest Mick Foley autobiography, Hardcore Diaries. I loved his other two autobiographies, but this one left me sour. About as sour as Mick Foley comes across for most of this book. Interesting wrestling anecdotes take a backseat to stories of Mick meeting B-list celebrities, ragging on the President to the point that it gets real old, and telling countless stories about what a great humanitarian Foley is.

There’s something else I’ve been reading. Readers of the site might remember my acquisition of the first three issues of the Marvel WCW comic at the New York Comic Con. I decided that three issues wasn’t good enough. Not for me and not for you. Fortunately, I came across the entire run on eBay. Unfortunately, it means I own two copies of a comic issue featuring El Gigante. God help me.

I forced myself to read the series and it wasn’t easy. The Malibu Street Fighter comic wasn’t all that bad until the end. The Mortal Kombat comic was honestly pretty good in parts. Even Extreme Justice could keep my attention enough that I’d keep going on to see what could possibly be next. World Championship Wrestling, though, hurt. A lot. Once a friend got wind of what I was reading, he told me, “You could be doing literally anything else and it would be a better use of your time.”

But I can’t let you guys down. Deadshot’s Tophat can wait. I’m finishing up my last What If article (finally), but after that, it’s on. Me and the WCW comic. One-on-one. No holds barred. With hermanos barred from ringside.

Prepared to get Stingersized!

Have you guys read the new Marvel and DC solicits? I love comics, but those things are a bore and a half. It’s like they don’t even want you to read their books.

It’s cool, though. Here are the ones that are new and good and interesting. Jumping-on points only here, with one exception, perhaps. My pithy and vitally important commentary is in italics.

DC Comics is first since Marvel is better!

BATMAN #667
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by J.H. Williams III
The Batmen of All Nations reunite for a weekend of fine food and nostalgia, but an unexpected visitor has other plans for the gathering. Batman, Robin, and the rest of the Club of Heroes find themselves trapped and at the mercy of a dangerous madman on the Island of Mister Mayhew!
This is why I read Grant Morrison. Mad ideas that sound completely goofy. He’s Silver Age with a Modern Age sensibility. Plus, I hope the sweet Knight and Squire from JLA Classified 1-3 shows up.

ROBIN #163
Written by Adam Beechen
Art by Freddie E. Williams II
Cover by Patrick Gleason & Wayne Faucher
It’s Tim Drake’s first Father’s Day as Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, and he wants everything to be just right. Unfortunately, the justice-crazed supervillains known as The Jury pick that very day to go on a murder spree in Gotham City!
This is a great idea for a story. The “family” part of Bat-family doesn’t get looked at often enough. “The Jury,” though, conjures up images of a certain ’90s anti-Venom team.

BATMAN: HARLEY & IVY TP
Written by Paul Dini and Judd Winick
Art by Bruce Timm, Joe Chiodo and others
Cover by Timm
Paul Dini and Bruce Timm -two of the masterminds behind Batman: The Animated Series – join forces in this volume collecting the miniseries BATMAN: HARLEY AND IVY! Also included is the special: HARLEY AND IVY: LOVE ON THE LAM by Judd Winick and Joe Chiodo, plus a newly-colored story rom BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE VOL. 2!
It’s Harley Quinn, so shut up and buy it.
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SUPERGIRL #11
Written by New York Times Best-selling Author Vladimir Nabokov, with art by Joe Benitez, and cover by Ian Churchill, SUPERGIRL is being ushered into a new age! Written by the man who is skilled at both writing and writing about teenage girls, SUPERGIRL is going to hit the DCU in a big way! She’ll be a major player after Nabokov is done, and this leads directly into the slam-bang megaseries COUNTDOWN!
On sale October 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Kara, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Ka-ra Zor-El: the tip of the tongue taking a trip down the palate to tap on the teeth. Su. Per. Girl.

Sorry, if I didn’t do this, no matter how unfunny, I never would’ve been able to get it out of my head. I just bought the Annotated Lolita and I’m about to start reading it so it’s on my mind.

Anyway, there was an article in the Toronto Star about superheroes in decline and the dearth of black heroes. It’s a sentiment that I could’ve gotten behind if the article wasn’t a little… iffy.

Here’s some news! The author thought the same thing.

A feature story I wrote about the comic industry’s troubles with black superheroes appeared in The Toronto Star today, complete with some swell art and a clever illo (http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/193167.) I’m always happy to write about comics in a mainstream publication – it keeps my mind limber, and hopefully forces a wider audience to take the medium a bit more seriously. That said, sometimes things happen with big publications that bug me a bit.

First, they billed me as a “visual-arts” writer – not a biggie I suppose. But they also tweaked my lead and cut about 400 words of what i thought was very good exposition.

The sum effect was, i feel, that my story lost a bit of the personality and humour that I pride myself in.

Anyways, I’m going to post the original version of the piece below and any interested readers can decide for themselves which one they prefer….. maybe I’m just being a sensitive writer (poor baby!) So far, the feedback has been positive, including reaction from Reginald Hudlin, and several black cartoonists.

It does, in fact, read much better this way. It’s an interesting read, if a bit old hat at times, but worth reading to see if it shakes any new thoughts out of you.

One thing I came up with was that, in terms of pop culture, you’ll often see blacks at the forefront. Part of being other-ized is that the children of those who other-ed you (if I may mangle the English language a bit) tend to rebel in your direction. Rap was originally music created by and for poor black and latin kids. Nowadays, scads of white kids are down with Tupac and one of the best-selling rappers ever is white. Look at Richard Pryor for comedy, or The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Martin, and Family Matters for sitcoms. Trailblazing.

But, not in comics. Black characters tend to be relegated to the ghetto of “protest characters.” From the article:

The problem is black characters always have to be protest characters…They’re always arguing about something or they’re always angry, and it always has to do with race. So they’re fixed within one specific subject.

They’re already others, and this serves to other-ize them further. Black characters deal with Issues, usually Race-Related, fairly often. They’re mouthpieces, spokescharacters.

We’ve heard this song before, I do believe.

Food for thought!

I am a complete sucker for good dialogue. The Brians Three (Azzarello, Vaughan, and Bendis) are some of the best guys out at making realistic and natural-sounding dialogue. In fact, I’d say that the big three are Garth Ennis, Azz, and Bendis, in that order.

Ennis has a few themes that he comes back to over and over. “Superheroes suck!” is one. He likes to write about superheroes being awful people, war, and camaraderie. He’s got an incredible ear for dialogue. His people sound like real people. They’re distinct. I wasn’t a huge fan of the overarching story of Preacher, in part because Jesse Custer was kind of a jerk, but the dialogue was so solid that I had to keep reading. Chronicles of Wormwood is one of the most horrible, awful, and offensive comics I’ve ever read. It’s about the Antichrist, Wormwood, only he’s decided to buck his dad’s will and just live out his life without bringing on Armageddon. He’s good friends with JC, another character who has decided to try something different from what his Father wants. He ended up getting brained by a member of the LAPD for his trouble and suffers from brain damage. Wormwood is cheating on his girlfriend with a reborn Joan of Arc, too. It’s pretty despicable, but at the same time… it’s really kind of enjoyable. Ennis’s skill with dialogue turns an interview between a journalist and Wormwood into an insight into the minds and thoughts of both characters. Wormwood isn’t really a bad guy, I mean after all the Antichrist stuff. He genuinely has no interest in furthering his father’s goals and has made it a point to kill anyone who tries to make him do so. He does a bad thing when the journalist gets on his nerves and actually feels bad about it. He goes to break off his relationship with Joan (which ends up backfiring) because of this guilt. Ennis gets characters, is what I’m trying to say. Beyond all the (deformity+face) = Name and potty humor, Ennis writes real people, thanks almost wholly to his dialogue.

Azzarello is the same way. Where Ennis is a more on-the-surface kind of writer, where characters are pretty close to what they say they are, Azz’s characters exist between the lines. What they say is important, yes, but how they say it and what they don’t say is just as important. Look at that up above. Loop, the black guy. What do you get from just those three panels? He’s cocky, rocking a devil-may-care attitude, and he’s clever. Risso’s art helps here quite a bit, too. His body language says almost as much as the dialogue does. Azz’s dialogue has rhythm. People dance around each other’s words and tend to finish each other’s sentences. You have to pay attention to Azz’s dialogue, because it isn’t necessarily plain-spoken. Calling it “layered” would be a start. Words are laced with double and triple meanings. Seemingly offhand bits of dialogue end up being vital. Azz makes you think, and then think again. That’s part of why I love his work so much.

Bendis, for all the played out jokes and catchphrases, is really good at dialogue. He didn’t become one of the top writers at Marvel for nothing. Bendis’s dialogue is stuttery and fairly stacatto. But, who doesn’t talk like that? We start and stop, deliver half-finished thoughts, and talk over each other. Bendis is crazy wordy, but he’s also true to life. His people may sound similar overall, but the stutter-step talky-talk is a great device. One that has possibly been overused, but when used properly, is always excellent.

Let me round this out with one last guy. Personally, I think that Stan Lee brought a lot to comics dialogue. The pre-Marvel books that I’ve read tended toward the bombastic and overwrought. Stan the Man gave characters flaws, and at the same time, gave them voices that stick with you. He’s the man for a reason. To this day, I love the dialogue in those old Marvel books.

I picked this up out of a funny panels thread over at Batman’s Shameful Secret.

We love you, Stan. Don’t ever change.

Excelsior!

Ares, God of War, is a pretty awesome guy. At least, he was in the last year and a half. The dude lit himself on fire and had Hercules throw him into the middle of an army of Japanese zombie demons while firing a gun on the way down.

If that doesn’t get you membership into the Avengers, nothing will. So I was jazzed when I found out he’d be in Bendis’ Mighty Avengers. I also dug the scene that leads up to his membership, where Iron Man and Ms. Marvel discuss their need for a Thor-type and a Wolverine-type. Ms. Marvel takes a second away from being a lying bitch to suggest a guy who borrows a little from both guys.

I saw a lot of potential in this bit. Now you have to pay for it.

– Fun with Ares: Take One

– Fun with Ares: Take Two

– Fun with Ares: Take Three

– Fun with Ares: Take Four

– Fun with Ares: Take Five

– Fun with Ares: Take Six

– Fun with Ares: Take Seven

– Fun with Ares: Take Eight

Myth Conceptions – Black History of Comics

Pretty good group interview with Kevin Grevioux of Underworld and New Warriors fame, Mike Sales of Type Illy Press (a company I’ve been meaning to check out for a fair few months now), Andrew West, and Adrian Wilkins. It’s must reading, as all of these fellows make good points. Here’s a bit I particularly enjoyed:

“Of course there can be a separation when it comes to Black characters,” explains Grevioux. “Being black does not encompass all of who I am. It’s a large part of me, but by no means all. It’s the same thing with fictional characters as well. At least it should be.”

“That said, I definitely have a strong sense of responsibility and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Grevioux continues. “Look at how poorly Jews were treated in the early days of America , yet two talented Jewish kids recreated the story of Moses and created one of the biggest cultural icons in the history of the world in Superman. Two Jewish kids possibly recreating the concept of the Judges in the Old Testament, who fought those who committed evil against the nation of Israel , created another cultural icon in Captain America who fought Nazi’s. That’s great stuff, and it goes to show that you can use your culture, whatever it is, and tell great stories. So once again, race is nothing that people should be afraid of.”

“But I think people have to understand to that we as blacks, can oft times bear the burden of responsibility just by virtue of our skin color, adds Grevioux. “No matter how you slice it, we are born political. There are racial assumptions, both good and bad, that people automatically think. And when it comes to industry and commerce, it can mean either suicide or salvation in terms of sales. And in comics, just a black man on the cover of a book can evoke a political response before the pages are even opened. We need to work to change that.”

It puts me in mind of Priest’s The Crew being decried as another ghetto book, unworthy of sale, acclaim, or even attention. This is all despite the fact that The Crew was really a very good book and both Priest and Joe Bennett brought their A-game to it. Even the covers were brilliant.

A book about a black character is inherently political and an “issue” book. It almost always comes up in titles starring black characters. Monica Rambeau had her “No More Hate” issue back in the day, Black Panther spent some time fighting the Klan in the late ’70s (early ’80s?), Luke Cage is really kind of obvious, and so on. Storm and Bishop managed to avoid it, to my knowledge at least. But, it often comes up and we get A Very Special Issue Of Blossom or whatever out of it. If it doesn’t come up in the title itself, it’ll come up in fan reaction to that title. Sometimes, it’ll come up both ways.

It’s kind of like this. “Black” books tend to attract a different level of critique, or maybe a different form, than other books do. I’ve seen people complain that Black Panther, Luke Cage, Blade, Brother Voodoo, and Monica Rambeau (what the crap is her code name now?) have nothing whatsoever in common besides being black, and all black people don’t know each other, so what are they doing teaming up in post-Katrina New Orleans?

In other words, “What are all these black people doing hanging around each other?”

Flip the question. What did Hank Pym, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and the Wasp have in common, pre-Avengers? Think on that for a minute.

A man in that link up above makes a good point, which is that if you want to fix something, fix it yourself. Write the comics. You must be the change you wish to see in the world, so do like Cheryl Lynn says and make the comics. I plan to, eventually, but I’m not quite at that skill level I want to be just yet. Eventually, though, I will. I’ve got a voice. I’ve got a point of view. You can make a realistic comic featuring blacks without being preachy. Milestone did it. No reason why no one else can’t, right?

The new Tales of the Unexpected hit this week and featured a grisly Spectre story (I see where it is going now and it is interesting!) and a new installment of Dr. 13.

The Architects are finally revealed and the answer is so flipping obvious! Good show, Azzarello. Best issue yet.

edit: I also love the end to Spider-Man: Reign.