Comic-Con 2011 Courtesy flikr/netzkobold

Twitter was full of information. I’ve collected the most interesting and informative bits from all around. Reading through the releases and panels, don’t forget to ask yourself have comic books and movies become synonymous? And is it just me or is the industry booming?

The Scene:

Day one of the panel proved to be busy, with crowds and parking pandemonium, according to one source. Many comic book publishers announced they were going digital including Marvel, IDW and DC. As the event pushed on, the convention center became packed – Tweeters set the scene:

@IsMeToo ..#SDCC Exhibit Hall / Artist Alley, etc. WAY to crowded & grown men/women pushing through little kids to get any kind of swag

DangerShoes Jeff Elwell .. After all the walking, standing in lines, fighting through crowds, dealing with snarky waiters… I’m seriously missing #SDCC. Was amazing!

mousewords Christine Taylor.. Un-awesome: slightly sprained ankle, knee, neck. Awesome: did NOT faceplant on concrete. Related: Crowds are merciless. #sdcc

Image Comics booth SDCC '11 Courtesy flickr/popculturegeek.com

But most agree it was worth it:

ThomasMcNamara ThomasMcNamara.. Great time at #SDCC Yes it is crowded but so what? Lots of fun so can deal with the crowds.

The Wrap?

Robert Rodriguez gave fans more than just a taste of what was to come. In fact, he told audiences exactly what to expect from confirmed movies like Sin City 2, Machete 2 (it’s going to take place in space) and Rodriguez has partnered with legendary artist Frank Frazetta’s estate to create a museum. He also announced Frazetta’s work will be the basis of a film franchise starting with a remake of 1983’s Fire and Ice.

The Avengers movie poster was released early in the festivities as well and by the end of Captain America’s opening weekend those posters were already in theaters. You can download the poster for your desktop here. Adding to the excitement, some character illustrations, including Hawkeye and Black Widow, were also released for the film.

Giving music fans something to look forward too, Tom Morello announced he was going to be creating a comic book called Orchid for Dark Horse, that book will be out on shelves in October. A special cover will be released for the first issue by street artist and OBEY giant Shepard Fairey.

DC promptly announced Clark Kent’s relationship with Lois Lane was O.V.E.R. Comic-Con 2011 reveals she’ll have a new lover.

Thursday afternoon was all about Robert Kirkman, not The Walking Dead, but his comic label Skybound Entertainment, a growing segment of Image Comics. Kirkman noted new projects like “Super Dinosaur” and Spencer and Shawn Martinborough’s “Thief of Thieves”, which according to Comic Book Resources is supposed to feel like a writer’s room of a television show. “It’s going to be me plotting the series with a bunch of different writers,” Kirkman said while at the panel. Brian K. Vaughn’s (Y:The Last Man, Runaways, Ex Machina) return to Image was also announced on Saturday, at Kirkman Talks a Creator-Owned Panel. Just for fun, watch The Walking Dead season 2 trailer here, it’s almost five minutes of fun!

Everyone loves Batman and with the movie slated for release in 2012, the DC Comics Batman Panel was a necessary stop. Thursday afternoon held all the secrets of Bruce Wayne’s perils as Mike Marts (group editor), Rachel Gluckstern (editor), Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, Gail Simone, Judd Winick, Kyle Higgins, Scott Lobdell, Peter Tomasi and Gregg Hurwitz (writers) and Chris Burnham and David Finch (artists). Covering the panel Comic Book Resources reports Catwoman is going to be back and sexier than ever. Listen to DC’s official podcast of the panel here.

Not only will the following announcement appeal to the kid in you, but also the rock star in you. IDW announced an Archie meets KISS series. What’s cooler than that?

Hugh Jackman just showed up. No joke, he decided to surprise fans and talked Wolverine vs. the Silver Samurai. 310 To Yuma director James Mangold replaced Daren Arronofsky and The Wolverine is set to start filming in October. Jackman was there to promote his upcoming movie Reel Steel.

The return of Sarah Michelle Gellar to Comic-Con hit Twitter hard. While not comic book related, she mentions Buffy, just a few times in the CW’s panel for their new show Ringer. Making comparisons between the characters and shocked the shows producers hired her a body double, Buffy fans rejoiced as SMG made her first Comic-Con appearance in almost a decade.

Joss Whedon also hit comic-con to talk about Buffy, The Avengers and more. The whole Dark Horse panel can be found on youtube or at buffyfest.com. Here Whedon confirmed to fans his brother Jed, has already written songs for a Dr. Horrible sequel. As for Buffy, Whedon wants to explore Ripper, the back story of a young Rupert Giles. Rub some salt in that wound won’t ya? He also announced Buffy Season 9 will focus on a more simple life for the slayer – one where she’s not leading an army of girls. He also admits the scale of season 8 became “an albatross’. He also touched on The Avengers film. “It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be,” Whedon said, later joking “the only problem I’ve had with ‘The Avengers’ is: Where is the 14-year-old girl with superpowers?”

Marvel’s X-Men panel included writers, editors and artists working currently on the title. Comic Book Resources covered the panel and kept readers in the loop about upcoming developments. Director of Communications Arune Singh said Schism was “the end of the X-Men as you know them—that’s not hype,” also noting that “Generation Hope ties in, in a major, major way.” In October Wolverine and the X-Men will launch and Uncanny X-Men will get a new number one, clearly illustrating the divide to come.

Exciting news out of Comic-Con this year. Superhero movies are huge right now, comics are hot as television shows are created like The Walking Dead and the video game market is banking big on Batman. Maybe next year this reporter will get to do some on-scene work.

Who is your favourite death and resurrection in Comics?

[via Ed Campbell]

Alexa Tomaszewski (reporter for Comic Book Daily and contributor to the Daily Planet)

I’m gonna say it. Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, Jean Gray AND while I don’t know Hope.

So I guess I’m saying Phoenix force. And I truly believe the best is yet to come.

It’s just such a shame I’m trade waiting. *Wahhhh

Kevin Boyd (Director of the illustrious Joe Shuster Awards Committee)

Thanos and Adam Warlock — both their deaths and their resurrections were under Jim Starlin’s direction and made sense.

Scott VanderPloeg (Senior Editor, PITA to all CBD contributors)

Elektra: a great character in the Miller Daredevil mythos and a resurrection that made sense within the framework.

Ed Campbell (Blogger – Trust Me I Know What I’m Doing)

Currently my favourite death and eventual resurrection in comics is Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/Captain America.

His death was one of the few in comics that actually held steady through out the years, but his return to comics as the Winter Soldier was really well done.  Bucky is great as Captain America as well.  His is different than Steve Rogers so his Captain America has to be more resourceful, because he can’t rely on the super soldier serum.

Greg Hyland (Writer/illustrator of the cult classic Lethargic Lad as well as Lego Star Wars)

Because I can’t think of an immediate snarky answer, I’d have to say that every character that gets killed in Walking Dead is a favorite, because it catches me off guard. I always think “If they killed him/her, then NOBODY is really safe in this!” Adds to the overall tension in the story. And then because it’s a zombie-world, I guess they DO all get resurrected, to make this count in your question.
Also, I’d have to say I actually enjoyed the whole Death of Superman and Return of Superman when it happened. It actually seemed unique and fun, despite being a media circus and huge publicity stunt. I haven’t read those comics since they came out, so I have no idea if it still holds up as a good comic. But at the time, week to week, I liked it.

Chris Howard (From Egesta Comics, one of the masterminds behind the fan favourite webcomic series Dressed For Success)

I’ve gotta second Alexa’s. Jean’s story of death and rebirth was so huge, the whole story of Phoenix, her fall, death and re-birth was just so epic it’s it seeming scope. And I liked Rachel in the later reincarnation, after that I’m out, so I can’t comment on Hope.

Alexa: Hope’s got the fire in her eyes, and every now and again she busts out some phoenix force moves that make me wonder. Guess we’ll see. But I figure introducing a messiah baby is the slickest way of bringing the force back without literally beating a dead horse (sorry Jean). You’ll also note, should you pick up a Cable, or Generation Hope, Hope has red hair and green eyes.

Now, her powers might be linked closer to the people she’s around  – sort of in a rouge-esque kinda way. But I’m not sure yet.

Like I said, the best has yet to come.

Shelley Smarz (Comic Book Daily’s resident Comic Book Goddess)

I will second the Bucky/Winter Soldier/(new) Captain America death and resurrection love.

I think it goes without saying that I’m pretty much in the Jean/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix/Maddie/Hope death-resurrection camp.

HOWEVER, I absolutely hate that they completely ret-conned the Dark Phoenix Saga as not being Jean (who’d have thought I’d actually get pissy at a retcon?). I get WHY they had to do it if they wanted to keep her in the X-Men. But COME ON, folks. She’s a cosmic level superhero – much like Galactus, Silver Surfer (though not at their level), Korvac (though he did resurrect everyone), Living Tribunal, Celestials – and they have all wiped entire planets off the map. Even with the ret-con, she’s too powerful for the X-Men – what do you do with that? So, you have her holding back so Scott doesn’t feel inadequate and, while this doesn’t deviate from her first appearance (see also Angel), it’s completely unfair to the character because you still give her this awesome power…which she doesn’t use unless it’s used like some deus ex phoenix force. Which gets old, very quickly. In the end, you have no other choice but to keep killing Jean and bringing her back to life to make her interesting.

I cannot wait until they bring Nightcrawler back from the dead, though. That will be AWESOME. (Or, it should be. If it isn’t…..)

Alexa: NIGHTCRAWLER!!!!!!

I can’t wait. Better happen. Shel, you just gave me a new hope (that was an X reference by the way)

Shelley: You’re adorkable.

Jill Nagel (Our Correspondent from the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop)

I’m going to say Colossus.  When he died it had meaning. It had consequences.  When he was brought back in Astonishing X-men I was actually surprised (shock). It wasn’t so much the reason or the explanation of why he was brought back and um…not actually dead (both were fairly flimsy) but the emotion behind it. His interaction with Kitty and the panels leading up to the reveal were some of my favourite moments in recent (ish) X-books.

His craziness was okay, his stint as a villain pretty weird, his sacrifice anti-climatic, and his tenure as the Spectre was totally nonsensical. But his return in Rebirth wove all of these stories together in a completely logical and ass-kicking way. That (and the JSA) is why Geoff Johns is awesome……Peter.

Season 8 – The Kid in a Candy Store Effect

This season was longer than it should have been, and even still tried to do too much. Joss, my venerably supreme overlord of geekiness even acknowledged this in his afterword in the final issue’s conclusion. Joss was given the infinite budget this medium offers and he literally did everything he could have possibly done this season, except sensibly keep the story on track for the entire run. More than any other criticism I can think of for this season, I feel like Season Eight could have been told more concisely written than it was, something novelist and part-time comic book scribe Brad Meltzer even pointed out. This story did not need to be told over 40 issues and could have been trimmed down to a standard 22-25 issues, perhaps 30. This story took nearly three-and-a-half years to tell , and I felt like the story was long and exaggerated. Putting that into context, I was only following along in trade paperbacks until Last Gleaming; I began in Fall 2009. I can only imagine what it was like for fans following along since issue one.

I felt like there was a lot of filler and a lot of unnecessary plot.  Season Eight’s Fray story arc could have been told in two or three issues similarly to the plethora of one-shots. Instead it was given much of an entire arc unnecessarily since it wasn’t addressed again other than the obvious connection in the finale to Whedon’s previous Fray graphic novel from several years ago. I don’t think it was necessary to address it in season eight, and could have been better served to perhaps omit entirely from this season and transplant it to either season 9 outright, or write it as a mini-series between seasons eight and nine.

I also feel like it wasn’t necessary to have introduced absolutely EVERY character in Buffylore to this season. The Harmony/vampire celebrity subplot was pointless and served little purpose, while the initial subplot with Dawn’s metamorphoses added nothing to the story; both had a, “hey, wouldn’t it be funny if…?” tone to them. Both were ridiculous. What served even less purpose was the return of The Master, only to be killed within issues of his re-emergence. Why even bother? I especially feel that way when the entire tone of the comic is shifting back to a grounded focus, which the Master could have served a part of. Beyond those, the other strange revelation was Twilight’s identity. Having Angel be the “big bad” of the season made little sense without proper set-up, and made even less sense as the final arc continued on.

As for what was executed well, Whedon and company continued to write their characters as they had during the television series remaining true to the core of their characterizations. Xander was his usual, supplementary and loyal self as he always was around as Buffy’s closest confidant. Dawn continued to be the troublesome, pain-in-the-butt she was in the series while Willow continued her development as a Wicca. Faith played a continually supplementary yang to Buffy’s yin. Above all, Giles gave his life to stop Angel, doing what he felt needed to be done for the greater good because he knew Buffy couldn’t. His death was very much a shock, but not unexpected at the same time because it’s something we could have very easily seen in the series. As for Buffy, she was Buffy through and through.

Looking back, it’s obvious this could have been told much more concisely. The biggest problems with the series though were its lack of grounding in the realistic aspects that made the series at least somewhat believable. Season Eight didn’t have that, and when you hand even greater superpowers to Buffy almost for no apparent reason, you start to lose the magic of the series and the character as a whole. It’s hard to say Season Eight was disappointing, but at the same time it was underwhelming and underperformed upon first reading. I feel like at least part of this results from literally being able to do anything in a the comic book format, and then throwing all these really cool/funny/awesome/ridiculous and “why the hell not?” ideas into a bucket and pulling out the one’s you feel like doing because you can. That doesn’t make for great storytelling, and Joss has shown in the past that he’s at his best when he has less to work with.

Season 9 – Where we’re headed

One thing was clear at the end of Season Eight: Season Nine will be much more grounded and in tune with the television series’ vibe. It also happens that Buffy has now cut off the Slayer line and there won’t be another beyond those currently active. If you’re familiar with Fray, you’ll be aware that down the road the Slayers are all but gone from sight in the future, leaving a sole Slayer named Fray to fight off the vampire hordes. Season Eight’s conclusion sets up the future that’s alluded to in the original graphic novel and also during the Fray era story arc in Season Eight. Then there’s also Willow’s role in the story, which combined with her conversation with Buffy at the end of Last Gleaming leads me to believe she’ll be willing to travel down the road of darkness once more and use black magics to replace her severed ties to her former powers. The pieces definitely fit into place for all this to come to fruition.

What will be interesting though is the integration of the Angel characters into the “Buffyverse”. Spike and Angel notwithstanding with their roles in Last Gleaming, I’ll be looking to see how each of them interact with the larger universe now that they’ll be under Dark Horse’s banner by the end of 2011. None of them have ever really shared a book or screen with the primary Buffy characters, so their integration is a question mark to say the least.

Season Nine as a whole though should be much better than Season Eight. It’s already been promised that the season will be much shorter than Season Eight, hopefully leading to clearer, more directed and purposeful plot development. If Joss and the team can fix the mistakes they made with Season Eight and follow through with a strong story, Season Nine should be everything Season Eight could have been. Ultimately if the credo for this season was the repercussions of change, hopefully it leads to a more direct, focused story in season nine.

Until next time,

Over and out.

Script Joss Whedon

Pencils George Jeanty

Inks Andy Owens

Colors Michelle Madsen

Letters Richard Starkings & Comicrafts’s Jimmy Betancourt

Full disclosure – big Buffy fan since I was 16. I actually watched the premiere episode when I was very young with my sister and it scared the pants off us both. While we both grew to love the television show, I have been following the comic series or ‘Season Eight’ since issue one, four years ago. I came in with no expectations, Joss changed everything at the end of season seven and anything was possible. Well, turns out, it most certainly was. So here we go.

Synopsis

Basically Angel is Twilight. The Scoobies and for lack of a term Team Slayer have been fighting Bad Big’s for what seems like ever. There have been a number of breakthroughs in past issues like utilizing werewolves, wrestling with magiks, fighting goddesses, and the appearance of Buffy as Super Woman.

Of course a Super Buffy and Super Angel come together, oh boy, do they come together. We’re talking a whole another level – rather universe. But being our hero Buffy goes back to save the world. The only problem is, Buffy just banged the Big Bad. Enter Spike.

What’s the Story

BTVS #36 start’s with what else, a prophecy revolving around Angel – although the only information we get about it is that it’s a “reward”. Enter a bleach blonde British vampire and his army of cockroaches.

Buffy tells Angel to go and fight the good fight and its right back into battle. Aboard his ship, Spike tells Buffy not to trust Angel. Then he tells her about the Seed of Wonder. Which we learn on the final page is being guarded by the Master.

In BTVS #37, Spike tells Buffy about the Seed of Wonder. In its most basic form its the source of all the magic in the world. It’s also in Sunnydale, keeping a cork in it, the Hellmouth that is. We also learn when Buffy and Angel had sex they created a new universe that Buffy subsequently abandoned. Cut to Xander promising Dawn they’re going to get an apartment when it’s all over.

Meanwhile, Angel and the Slayers are fighting for the world. The Scoobies upon realizing the seed is in Sunnydale they attempt to come up with a plan as Willow passes out cold.

Aluwyn, Willow’s goddess and secret love, tells Willow she has to stop Twilight from removing the seed and opening the gateway to hell. Or else they will have no other way to communicate with each other.

As Angel fights the good fight, the Scoobies arrive in Sunnydale only to find an army fighting some big, Big Bad’s overtop the Hellmouth. Buffy flies Spike underground where they confront the Master. Buffy promptly smashes his head in the ground. Angel on the other hand is being greeted by an unfriendly force.

BTVS #38 starts with Angel at battle with some sort of demon lion force who tells him to finish what he started as Twilight.

As the team finds their way underground Willow admits she knew the Master was watching the seed the whole time, to which Xander replies “And you didn’t tell anyone?”

Then Xander makes a Lord of the Rings reference calling the seed “his precious” and ten minutes later his girlfriend, Dawn, is being pushed into rubble by a demon army. As he carries her to safety Buffy tries to stake the Master and Willow stops her. Now, the Master is on the team. Willow suggests they use the seed’s magic to connect to “spiritual sex Eden” she and Angel created to “heal the earth, chase the demons out”.

The Master turns on the team and they realize the seed is like “Buffy Kryptonite”. Buffy and Giles discuss, yet again, the imminent need to slay Angel. After, it’s a quick pep talk and Buffy’s back to doing what she does best, slaying demons.

While Dawn is being patched up at army headquarters the General tells Xander not to protect the seed, because its power is tempting. Cut to Willow and the Master having an orgy of magic. Cut to Twilight,clearly evil, smashing Buffy into a wall.

In BTVS #39 Willow’s gone bad, Twilight’s back and everyone is at battle. Willow is so high on magic she joins in, supercharged.

As Buffy battles her former lover, Xander watches on and out of the darkness Giles approaches with the Scythe. Xander warns Giles not to get between the two of them. Giles is convinced he can end this and takes a step into battle. Seconds later Twilight, Angel, grabs Giles by the neck and kills him. Heartbroken and in tears Buffy takes the Scythe and destroys the Seed of Wonder. The battle ends. Willow falls to the ground screaming for her goddess in tears. All magic ceases to exist and Willow cries to Kennedy “We lost! This is the end.”

Buffy falls to the ground, the scythe and her heart-broken.

BTVS #40, season finale, and the issue we were all waiting for. The world has changed again and now Buffy is back to…waitressing. Willow lost her powers and subsequently left Kennedy, who is leaving. Willow is a mess, in shock, obsessed her inability to create magic and suffering the loss of Aluwyn.

Dawn and Xander have their apartment, and Buffy crashes on the couch. After Giles funeral the Faith and Buffy learned he left everything to the former – “the money, the flat, the farm, the horses…” Buffy gets the leather-bound book of the Vampyre, because she’s the only slayer.

The reader gets a glimpse of Angel, a mess, underground and cuts back to Spike and Buffy at Dawn’s window where he tells her he understands her choices. Then our hero is alone, “every night.”

The book finishes with Buffy on the streets, where she belongs, doing what she does best. Slaying vampires.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Jo Chen, Andy Owens, Georges Jeanty, can the artists get any better for this project?

Chen has been doing covers for the series since the beginning. They are gorgeous. The way the first cover and the fortieth cover connect the entire run is incredible. I prefer his covers to the variants because she makes the characters look so real, and emotional. Chen’s covers, I can honestly say made season eight a standout on the shelves. They have movement, and heart.

Owen on the other hand makes the characters look cartoonish. This is fine, because Jeanty keeps continuity, and the characters generally look the same panel to panel and this is a feat considering the big cast of characters. The panels throughout the arc are imaginative, creative and filled with demonic beasts of all sizes, shapes and colors. Jeanty does beautiful close-ups of the characters faces during high points and does a tremendous job of capturing some of the emotions key players are feeling, especially in #39 when Willow falls to the ground in tears upon loosing her magic.

The visuals in this arc are at times outlandish and at others startlingly human. Also, for a bunch of guys, they do great fashion!

Final Thoughts

It’s been a long run to sum up in just a few issues, let alone one. I think most fans and casual readers would agree it was a fun time getting here. Leave it to Joss to give us a tragic end.

Giving Buffy superpowers changed the dynamic of the book. I think some of the writers felt that as well. Buffy really is best when she’s doing her thing – slaying nitty-gritty with her Scoobies. Buffy fans like our hero a little bit down and out. Unfortunately the comic book medium made this battle seem like the longest in Buffy’s history. I really wonder if they ever stopped a second to eat between all that fighting.

Bottom line, we all love Buffy because she’s a superhero, but she’s also just a girl.

Joss does an amazing job of spinning a web. He plans the beginning and the end and everything in between, even if it seems like we’re going really far off track. The series answers a lot of the questions we’ve been asking for a long time.

Now looks like fans are going to get a bit of a throw back.  I like the idea of Spike hanging around the window and Buffy slaying in the back alley. They writers also set up story arch’s for many of the major characters. No doubt Willow’s going to get her own spin-off series at some point. Angel’s going to be coming back from IDW so there’s a lot for fans to look forward too.

Finally, Giles’ death was heartbreaking. It was the last thing I saw coming. Joss really did “do it again”. I read in an interview he felt Anthony Stewart Head’s incarnation of Giles was not represented well in the comics. That the bookish-British type didn’t translate. Let just hope they work it into the next storyline with some grace, because his character is one that will be missed.

Today’s Question: “Which comic book property should be adapted to the Small Screen?”

Wade Mckee (Loud Mouthed Comic Store Employee, Booster Gold’s Number One Fan)

Gotham Central could easily be made into a television show. It’s a police procedural – in the vein of NYPD Blue or Homicide – with the added spin of having a few capes tossed in for good measure. Get Michelle Rodriguez as Renee Montoya and Omar Epps as Crispus Allen. Think of this as being The Wire of Superhero TV shows!

Alexa Tomaszewski (reporter for Comic Book Daily and contributor to the Daily Planet.)

Hate to go all girl on you but I say the love triangle.

There’s nothing more compelling than unrequited love. I mean Scott, Jean and Logan kept readers coming back for more issue after issue and Scott and Logan’s remorse over her death, I feel at least, made the impact harder.

The love triangle is often complicated in comics by the hard decisions our hero’s are sometimes forced make for the greater good. Angel left Buffy and after her death Buff, to the delight of Blondie Bear fans everywhere, found something in Spike. Now, both men are back. Which character has Buffy’s best interest at heart? Who is she ultimately going to align herself with, et cetera, et cetera. It’s damn good reading.

The love triangle can be further complicated by the sense of duty our characters have. Great power comes with great responsibility, Peter Parker in love with Mary Jane and finally happy together gave everything up, including M.J. to save Aunt May. That my friends is one messy love triangle.

Now if you wanna talk dangerous liaisons lets talk Emma, Scott and Namor. that’s gonna blow up, and I’ll buy every issue till it does.

Now, if we could translate all this drama onto the small screen and cut all the phony daytime soaps out of the mix, I might never leave the house…..Hey, is that a Buffy re-run on TV?

Scott VanderPloeg (writer of CBD’s Bound Together column; his ramblings can be found blogged at eBabble.)

Powers.  Television audiences seem to love police dramas and Powers delivers: the superhero / super-villian angle gives it enough spin to be a fresh take.

David Diep (News Editor, Part time Comic Shoppe Employee, All Time Sexual Dynamo)

I’m gonna have to say that Fables has the makings of a fantastic tv series. You have a bunch of instantly recognizable characters and there’s so much potential in them that you could be writing episodes for the series forever even if the regular comic series branches off into different directions. I think anyone aren’t familiar with comics would tune in just to see things they don’t expect from their idea of regular fairy tales, like Prince Charming turning a womanizing bastard who bagged all the princesses or Gepetto as a bloodthirsty dictator. Fables contains as much drama as a soap opera, so it’s a perfect fit!

Shelley Smarz (Comic Book Daily’s resident Comic Book Goddess)

I’d like to see Chew on the small screen. It’s got everything: humour, social commentary, intrigue, (and now) romance. It’s TV gold (but only on HBO where they can get away with naughty language).

Chris Howard (From Egesta Comics, one of the masterminds behind the fan favourite webcomic series Dressed For Success)

I could see Runaways being made into an ongoing series. It’s got the ensemble cast, they are teens, they’ve got the demographic spread, and what teen wouldn’t enjoy a show where the heroes kill their parents? But seriously, it’s reality based enough, they don’t wear ‘costumes’ or such and it would fill the gap left by Heroes. Plus you have the ability to test run other Marvel characters like Cloak and Dagger.

Heh, cosplay.

That’s it for this week. Feel free to sound off in the comments below!

Given my love of the tv series and current comic series, my reaction of “Urgh!” is probably pretty predictable at this point.

While Whedon does not own Buffy outright and other people were involved, especially for the film, Whedon is certainly the man who was the driving force behind the phenomenon.

The question to ask is, when does one person become, for lack of a better term, the keeper of the character?

In the world of comics we are faced with endless revisions and reboots and new writers and artists on an almost monthly basis. But where do we draw the line on “Nope, shouldn’t be touched by anyone but that guy”? I think 90% of comic readers would agree that the only people who should ever mess with Watchmen would be Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons; like wise the only writer to do anything solid with the characters from Planetary should be Warren Ellis.

But what if the case is a split? That happens to be the case in terms of this new Buffy film. The producers of the original film have their stake in the franchise, maybe they do have something to say. If John Cassaday wanted to do a Planetary story, doesn’t he have the right to? Even Whedon seems to say something similar in his response to the news, in what is one of the best responses to anything ever to E!.

Kristin, I’m glad you asked for my thoughts on the announcement of Buffy the cinema film. This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.

Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, “Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER.” Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, “I’ll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!” Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can’t wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I’m making a Batman movie. Because there’s a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

He makes a lot of interesting points on both sides of the argument. And Buffy isn’t the only example to look at in these kinds of terms.

Take The Kingdom for instance. The Kingdom was a sequel to DC’s mega hit Kingdom Come. Kingdom come was written by Mark Waid, painted by Alex Ross. While in a lot of ways Kingdom Come was Ross’s child (the idea and a lot of the concepts, plot, etc), Waid was most certainly the father of the baby if he wasn’t the mother Ross was. While The Kingdom was nearly as well received or reviewed as Kingdom Come, it did have a couple decent moments, most notably the Offspring one-shot.

Similarly, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman characters have been written by people other than Gaiman. The results have been mixed but Mike Carey’s Lucifer is an example of a spin-off that was very well done. Then again, Carey wasn’t writing Dream or Death. Although, Paul Cornell recently did a decent job of writing Death…

But I guess on a whole, maybe we as comic book fans, are used to the idea of new takes on the same characters. I’m a huge fan of Frank Miller’s Daredevil run but to say that after that run, no one else should write Daredevil would be insane. DD had some lean years but along came Bendis with a run Miller would have never written but was definitely mining the same territory.

Larry Hama will always be the ultimate G.I. Joe writer but if he had been the only one to write the characters I would never have gotten Max Brooks’s wonderful Hearts and Minds series.

So should Buffy continue on film without Whedon? Honestly, no. While the producers may have had the money and connections to make the character “alive”, Josh was the one who breathed life in her.

…wow that was a bit of a ramble wasn’t it?

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Alex Maleev

Letters: Chris Eliopoulis

Covers: Alex Maleev and Michael Avon Oeming

Publisher: Marvel Icon

What’s your breaking point? Really, sit back for a moment. Think about it. What would push you beyond the point where you sit comfortably in your chair? At what point do you simply say, enough? Welcome to the world of Scarlet.

Synopsis

With a snap, ggkk! and a fump we’re introduced to Scarlet’s world. Welcome to a world of birth, shitting, fighting, kissing, disappointments, friendships, jobs, relationships, infidelity, fights, sex, “experimentation”, rejection, drinking, good grades, bad grades, profound realizations, true love, happiness,  heartbreak, murdered boyfriends, and corrupt police officers. Does that sound mostly familiar? This is the story of Scarlet, a young woman finding out the hard way that the world is a messy, conflicted wonder. The only question beyond the “why?”, in her words, is “what am I going to do about it?”

This is the story of someone whose life was destroyed by violence and corruption, and how she chose to fight back.

What’s the Story?

A couple biking in a park; the cutest couple in the world meeting friends. They hopped off their bikes as though they were getting ice cream, suddenly having a marriage ceremony in the middle of a Portland park. They were happy, in love. That’s worth fighting for, that’s what we have to fight for in Scarlet’s eyes. Everyone should have the possibility of that. Everyone. Shouldn’t they?

Scarlet’s observations are interrupted by the cops, who’ve been looking for someone with her description since she killed the corrupt police officer responsible for killing her boyfriend. They all give chase, ensuing throughout the crowded streets. Eventually escaping, she runs to the home of her boyfriend’s best friend. Brandon and Scarlet re-aquaint, and Scarlet shows him what she’s been up to. Ultimately surprised, Brandon is lost for words until Scarlet asks him to help her. He can only reply with, “What comes next?”

That’s answered quickly, as we find officer Dunes dead on the street. He was the one responsible for the murder of her boyfriend. Officers arrive on the scene, quickly followed by the police chief who we find out is the uncle of Dunes. A voice comes onto their communication devices, and speaks directly to the chief. From an unknown location, Scarlet admits to murdering the officer for two reasons: revenge, and because the blatant abuse of power by society’s authorities will no longer be tolerated. She makes it clear though that this message isn’t for him, rather, for everyone else who’s listening. Everyone who’s watching. A gunshot blasts out as another officer falls to the ground, while we leave our heroine for another issue; standing high atop a building, sniper rifle in hand.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

I’ve always had this strange fascination with Maleev’s artwork. On one hand, there are times when its abstract colouring throws you off a bit, because it’s unusual. It’s very dark, while the colouring seems almost too grainy. It feels like it shouldn’t work, but it does. His characters are as emotive as ever, and you’re clearly able to distinguish between “sad Scarlet”, “contemplative Scarlet”, and “happy Scarlet”. Simplistic observations aside, the point is Maleev’s art pays very close attention to character detail, and that’s always been a strong point with his work.

What I’ve never really gotten though were his backgrounds. They aren’t spectacular, and they don’t really stand out. They often fade or blur in this issue as the scenes pull away from the characters. They’re almost indistinguishable really, removing most detail from the background and placing emphasis at the fore where the characters are. That’s the genius behind it really. This book is very much character driven, and to place that much emphasis on the highly detailed characters adds to the overall story and really adds to its communication.

My mysterious affinity for Maleev’s art continues.

Final Thoughts

I’ve held off on writing a Scarlet review specifically because I wanted to see how it developed over the first few issues. Initially I was pretty impressed with the first issue, but wasn’t comfortable heaping so much praise onto a new book and a new character so soon. With three solid issues under its belt though, I can honestly say this is one of my favourite books on the stands right now.

Scarlet’s world is brutal and heartbreaking, yet beautiful. What’s interesting about this book is how the story is told. Her story is communicated almost entirely as a soliloquy. She’s telling you, the reader, her story. It doesn’t feel as though Bendis is writing to you, rather than his character is talking to you. That’s all too uncommon, and the level of engagement between the reader and the character is high here.

Only three issues in, the story is methodically paced to establish a contextual gleam into Scarlet’s life. If you’re expecting an action packed story, this will not be the book for you. It’s very character driven, similar to a Joss Whedon creation. It will not blow you away unless you’ve invested yourself in the characters and their story. It’s essential to understand the journey, and for that, the story needs a solid foundational understanding. Without that there’s no context, much less a point.

We learn through Scarlet’s dialogue what brought her to the point where she’s faced with killing a police officer out of desperation. There are layers to this story, in Scarlet’s words. Context is everything both here and in life, so you can’t really jump into someone’s story without understanding what brought them from “point A” to “point q”.

What we do understand are two things. First, life is beautiful and there’s plenty worth smiling about and being content with. Secondly, the world is a colossal mess, and more, we don’t really know or ask “why?”. Perhaps we don’t even answer that question. As the first issue points to, that’s not really even enough; it acts more as easing towards feeling better about the mere attempt to understand “why?”.

The book asks a very simple, universally applicable question in response: What are you going to do about it? What’s more is that this story embraces the repercussions of the decisions we make. It may end poorly, it may end well. In the end, the choice is what matters. Her world is ultimately violent, cruel, and corrupt; her boyfriend was killed by a crooked officer with a drug addiction, who then shot her. He nearly killed her in fact. I suppose the question then is, when faced with those circumstances, what would you do?

I’ve been hard on Bendis lately, being rather discontented with his Avengers work. I’ve felt it lacking and uninteresting for the better part of the last two years. With Scarlet though, we see Bendis return to his Daredevil form. Along with his old partner, together they turn in a great piece of work. Scarlet cuts to the heart of our own psychology and asks what would you do in her situation? How would you react? It’s a deep, engaging story which I would suggest reading the first issue of at the very least.

So apparently my beloved Buffy comic that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago is being turned into a motion comic. For those who haven’t seen one yet, these are downloadable comics with voice overs and movement.

Kind of like those old 60′s era Marvel cartoons but slightly better.

The storyline being motioned (I guess that would be the correct term) is No Future for You a story line that involves Faith going undercover with a slayer who has turned to the dark side.

But this one has some Buffy fans up in arms over the fact a casting list has gone out for voice overs and apparently they are looking for someone to fill Eliza Dushku’s shoes as the roll of Faith. “Why isn’t she doing her voice?” “This is a travesty! There is only one Faith and that is Dushku!” “Does this mean they’ll recast the other main characters as well?” etc, etc.

And to that I say a big resounding…..

meh.

Let me explain.

I dislike motion comics, it’s trying to be the best of both worlds and it doesn’t work for me. It’s not a cartoon but it makes the comic book annoying because panels move and have voices. My theory is either be a cartoon or be a comic book, straddling the line just makes you a gimmick.
That not withstanding if I were to download the motion comic, would I want the real actors doing the voice overs? Ideally yes. Would I expect it? No.

The reason for that is pretty simple.

Money.

If you go over the casting notes the one thing that everyone should have noticed is that the casting call is non-union.

There are a couple plausible reasons for this but more then likely it is to keep the voice over inexpensive thus keeping the price of the motion comic cheap for download.

I am not an expert on Ms. Dushku’s career but I’m willing to bet she a union member. Which means as a union member she is guaranteed a certain pay level. Probably decent enough that it completely ruled out een asking her to take part in this.

I’d also hazard a guess that the other main Buffy cast will be replaced as well.

And if it isn’t the money it could be one of a dozen things. Up until recently Ms. Dushku had a television series that she starred in and also served as a producer. She is also in a relationship so I imagine she probably likes to try and have a little bit of a life in her off hours.
Does this effect the product?

A little but if these fans stopped to think about it, how many other things are in their collections where the voice overs aren’t done by the originators of the roles? Think of 98% of the Star Wars cartoons and video games out there for instance. And while the Buffy video games have featured many cast members reprising their roles but Buffy was replaced in both the X-Box games as was Anya and Willow in the second.
So I guess what I’m saying is if you were going to give the motion comic a chance, I’d do it anyways.

But really I’d suggest going out and buying the comics because the voice over cast in your head will probably sound better.

Brent Chittenden is a Canadian based freelance writer and one of the Two Assholes Talking About Nerd Stuff that can be found at www.nerdholes.blogspot.com.  When he’s not doing that he roams the country side looking for leprechauns.

First cover.

Issue 32.

Out in February.

Georges Jeanty drawing.

And Joss’s reaction is about right.

How many DC character’s names will he manage to cram into the background? At least it’ll seem quasi-normal that everyone refers to themselves by their first names.

Big question though: how much of this will take place around a table filled with headshots?

All jokes aside, I’m a big fan of Brad Meltzer’s and I’m really looking forward to his run. What about you?

First cover.

Issue 32.

Out in February.

Georges Jeanty drawing.

And Joss’s reaction is about right.

How many DC character’s names will he manage to cram into the background? At least it’ll seem quasi-normal that everyone refers to themselves by their first names.

Big question though: how much of this will take place around a table filled with headshots?

All jokes aside, I’m a big fan of Brad Meltzer’s and I’m really looking forward to his run. What about you?