Yesterday Carey gave you her thoughts on some of the DCnU #1 issues. Today it is my turn. I read a lot of the DC relaunch comics. I didn't realize how many until I had to do his post. I probably would have read more if it weren't for the fact that they cost money. I'm not completely new to the DCU, like Carey, but clearly this relaunch worked for me as if I were. I tried more titles than I probably would not have previously. I loved many of them, and plan to continue reading most of them.
Continue reading "If Only DC Made Edible Comics" »
As you all know, I'm pretty new to the DCU and I've used this relaunch to get involved in comics again for the first time in a while. I read trades that are already well under way, but this is the first time I've read floppies in years. So far, I'm really enjoying myself and feel like I have current stuff to talk about with Geektress and the CBQs for a change. You know, instead of what happened in X-Men back in 2003.
Continue reading "In the New DCU, Wonder Woman Means Business" »
The final script from Dwayne McDuffie is the adaptation of Mark Waid’s "JLA: Tower of Babel," being released as "Justice League: Doom" in 2012. Instead of stunt casting and making us put up with a Baldwin as Batman, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Michael Rosenbaum, Carl Lumbly and Susan Eisenberg will all reprise their original roles from the Justice League cartoon. Bumper Robinson joins the cast as Cyborg, and Nathan Fillion is apparently going to be Green Lantern even though we all prefer him as Steve Trevor.
Continue reading "Justice League: Doom Gets All-Star Cast" »
Cartoon Network will finally air new episodes of Young Justice this Friday, and, while I know opinion has been pretty divided on this series, I've missed it. From the official description (below), it seems like this episode is mostly about Red Arrow being an angry idiot. I assume that he will learn some sort of lesson, like how Superboy had to learn how not to be an angry jerk in the first half of the season. I am not opposed to this, though I do wonder why rage issues are such a prominent theme on this show. It also appears that they will be furthering one of the shows ongoing plots, since the League of Shadows has already appeared once.
Red Arrow’s battle to prevent the League of Shadows from inciting a war pits him against the world’s most dangerous assassins — and allies him with someone more dangerous still. Too bad Aqualad couldn’t convince him to ask the Team for help….
Continue reading "Young Justice Returns" »
For quite a while, Laura has been fascinated by the idea that Batman, having nothing better to do, would hook up his friend Barbara Gordon with his friend Clark Kent. Batman, in addition to solving the world's mysteries, has also unlocked the key to matching people up. Ever since the idea of Superman and Batgirl as a couple was brought up, I've been more fascinated by that than just The Dark Knight's SuperheroMatch.com.
I decided to take this intrigue one step further, and do some actual research.
Continue reading "Matchmaker Batman: Does It Work?" »
Francene hurt her hand and it is now all bandaged up and preventing her from typing, so she sent me these links telepathically. Once you're done enjoying them, maybe drop her a tweet and tell her you love her.
Continue reading "Linkin' Around" »
Grant Morrison is one of those writers you love to hate or hate to love. He can also see into the fifth dimension, which is how I keep him straight from all the other sassy, bald comics writers out there like Bendis (Powers guy who hates cats), Brad Meltzer (guy with the terrible television show), and BK Vaughan (guy who wrote the best episodes of Lost). Oh yeah, and Mark Millar is “the one with hair.”
Continue reading "Supergods: Tripping Comic Book Balls with Grant Morrison" »
I am a woman with few strongly held beliefs: Monkeys make everything funnier; a good skirt can be infinitely more comfortable than a pair of pants; and Superman should be messed with as little as possible. I'm also not the kind of comic book fan to get all worked up by rumor and speculation. (I used to be, but it didn't do anyone any good, me least of all.) I like to keep a nice wait-and-see attitude, enjoying what I am currently reading, and worrying about whether I will enjoy what comes next when it actually sees print. Can you see how these things come in conflict when it comes to the announced reboot of the DC Universe? Wonder Woman is already wearing pants, Superman is clearly being messed with, and there's not a monkey in sight to make me smile.
Continue reading "DCU Reboot Is Pants!" »
I love comic books, but hoo boy is it a trip being part of the comic book community, y'all. Some times it's a lot of fun, going to conventions and discussing Smallville and drinking. A lot of the time, though, there is drama. VRY SRS MELLOWDRAMAZ. Things can get out of hand very quickly, and over very little.
For instance, a few weeks ago a friend of mine blogged that he found it kind of disgusting that PR people and talk show handlers are obviously forcing young actresses to "play up the geek angle" when they make appearances to plug their superhero-related movies. Somehow this got interpreted across the Twitterverse as "ZOMG THAT DUDE SAID GIRLS CAN'T LIKE COMICS!!1!!".
So, last night, when DC announced their new publicity stunt, the whole geek world exploded. While half of my friends were debating whether Hangover 2 or Bridesmaids was better, the other half was consumed with mad confusion.
Continue reading "DC Announces Re-Launch, Evil Twin, Secret Child" »
A few weeks ago I went a little off the rails talking about why people shouldn't be concerned with how Wonder Woman is dressed, they should be more concerned with how she's being written. Plus, there are plenty of other superheroes in the comic book world that we can pick on (or praise) for their fashion choices, instead.
While they can't all be Katy Keene or Millie the Model and change their look every issue, the following group of nominees (some of whom YOU suggested via Twitter and Facebook) top the list of who should find a stylist, and who should keep on keepin' on:
Continue reading "Best / Worst Dressed Superheroes" »
We live-blogged the DC Icons panel at C2E2! I typed until my laptop battery died.
Action Comics #900 finishes the Lex Luthor story and starts Doomsday. It's a 50 page story and Paul Cornell said it was "terrifying" to write. Plus, totally independently, he and Chris Roberson both brought back Superman's thought bubbles.
Bill Willingham does an awesome job of embarrassing Dan Didio by insisting on serving him water and bringing beverages to the rest of the panel. They still refuse to talk about what the bet was that Willingham lost (in order to have to be Didio's Butler for a day), but the gag is very entertaining.
Continue reading "DC Icons Panel: Challenging the Power of Butling" »
Laura: So, I turned on Smallville late, because while I couldn't bring myself to watch a full episode without Chloe or Oliver, I did commit to watching this final season, and I'm going to do it. Anyway, Conner Kent is on Red K and choking Lois and she's telling him that Clark on Red K never did anything like that. CLARK WOULD CHOKE PEOPLE NOT ON RED K!!!! I'm sorry, I just had to vent frustration about what an asshole Clark is. Feel free to ignore.
Continue reading "Vicariously Liveblogging Smallville Via Facebook" »
I'm very excited to announce the addition of my friend Francene to Geektress. She's a mom to two adorable kids who may or may not actually be anthropomorphic Cabbage Patch Dolls, lives in the Dallas Texas area, and (much to Dania's delight) is "a fellow Whovian." When she's not posting at FilmDrunk or the Sharon Stone Twitter, she's finding hilarious things to put on her Tumblr. So we thought we'd ask her if she wants to be our official Link Roundup Geektress. She said yes! A thousand times yes!
So, when I get a chance to actually teach her how to use the site, she'll be posting this herself. Until then, she found the funny and I'm regurgitating it here.
Continue reading "Site News and Friday Roundup" »
If you're a fan of DC's direct-to-DVD animated movies, you've noticed that there is a puzzling and wide variety of actors used in each ensemble cast. Sometimes a more familiar set of voices is used (actors from the original Batman, Superman, and Justice League animated television series often reprise their roles), and sometimes... Billy Baldwin. At New York Comic Con we got a chance to ask Bruce Timm what was up with that:
When we bring Kevin [Conroy] and Tim [Daly] in to do voices, our publicity people weigh in and say "We love Kevin and Tim but we need some stunt casting to get publicity and media exposure." So we always like to look at some of the major supporting characters as parts that we can stunt cast with higher profile actors. I would have been perfectly happy to use Nicole Tom and Michael Ironside. At the same time, I was delighted to work with Summer Glau and Andre Braugher.
For the upcoming All-Star Superman movie (out tomorrow), voiceover director Andrea Romano has rounded up an intriguing lineup of stars: James Denton, Christina Hendricks, Anthony LaPaglia, Ed Asner as Perry White, Frances Conroy, and Linda Cardellini. There's also veterans Michael Gough and John DiMaggio. So she answered a few questions about what it's like to "stunt cast" for certain selections from Warner Home Video.
Continue reading "All Star Voice Casting" »
I love Superboy! Let me clarify. I love the Superboy on the Young Justice cartoon. I've always been indifferent towards the Superboy in the comics. He was introduced during "Reign of the Supermen," which was when I opted out of Superman comics in the '90s. (As a huge Spider-Man fan, I'd just had enough of clones and event comic storylines that never came to an end.) On top of that, he was crazy stupid looking, like a Backstreet Boy. Eventually he got an updated character design, but that only proved to be more irritating to me. Jeans and a t-shirt are not a superhero costume. I did thoroughly enjoy the run of Adventure Comics by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul, from a year or so ago, that featured him. That was mostly due to Manapul's gorgeous art and Krypto, who really should have his own comic.
Continue reading "Young Justice: Superboy" »
On February 22nd, All-Star Superman becomes available on DVD. It is based on the Grant Morrison / Frank Quietly miniseries of the same name. It stars James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Firefly) as Lois Lane and Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace, though I will always remember him as Barry the Blade in The Client) as Lex Luthor. There's a trailer and more pictures after the jump.
Bruce Timm was so kind as to have his birthday during our All-Star Superman week, so we talked to him about the film:
Tell us a little bit about the movie.
It was the toughest adaptation job we've done because, to me, a big part of the charm of the comic was the way it looked. I just love [Frank Quietly's] artwork. We knew going in that it would be difficult because he has a really different, almost a European kind of style. It doesn't look like typical American superhero comics. So it was tough. It took quite a lot of R&D before we came up with a design we felt reflected the comic but was still animate-able.
Continue reading "All-Star Superman: The Cartoonening" »
Last week when it was announced that British thespian Henry Cavill was going to be cast as Superman in the next Superman reboot, most of us went "Hunh? Who?" Then we Googled, and some of us became angry. He's got a beard! He's not cornfed Americana enough! So we've decided to put our responses down here on the blog, along with many, many, many photos of Cavill. Some with his shirt off.
Laura: The first time I ever saw Henry Cavill in a movie, I thought he looked like Superman. Well, maybe Superboy. It was The Count of Monte Cristo. He was still pretty young. The point is, there is something distinctly Curt Swan-esque about his face. And those bright blue eyes? Straight out of the pages of a comic book.
Continue reading "Maybe Sex Appeal Is A Superpower Now?" »
On January 21st, I went out to the Cornstock Theatre’s Winter Theatre Lab to see a play. As a Geektress, the title of the play intrigued me: Metropolis Has No Superman. But, I had to do some research because maybe this was just a clever metaphor for a person or a place without a savior. My MFA is in playwriting and I love the thee-ate-er, but I don’t do trite.
The author of Metropolis Has No Superman is one Mr. G. William Zorn (badass name but it should really be spelled with an X). Mr. Zorn is from East Peoria -- hey, cool! a play by a local playwright -- and he’s in the PhD program over at Western Michigan University. Wait a minute… that’s where I went to grad school.
This play is a big frigging deal. Zorn won the Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting at the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival in 2010, the same year Tina Fey won the grand poobah Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Damn.
Continue reading "Metropolis Has No Superman" »
Disney animator Robb Pratt decided to create his own traditionally-animated Superman super short and post it on Youtube. It takes elements of Superman throughout the ages, from the old Saturday matinee shorts
Continue reading "Awe-some Superman Classic" »
Warner Brothers has found their Superman in Henry Cavill, and once people got done arguing about whether or not it was OK for a Brit to play an alien raised in Kansas (only I seemed concerned with whether it was suitable for someone so sexy to play an icon of wholesomeness), people naturally turned to the next burning question. Who should play Lois Lane? Understandable. She's usually the second most important character in a Superman movie. Except now there is all sorts of talk that Lois Lane may not be the female lead in the Man of Steel, or that she might not even be in it at all.
I'm just going to ignore all that, because it's stupid. So we're just going to go ahead with the speculation. After what happened the last time, people are rightfully nervous. (Superman Returns had many problems, but I am certain I am not alone in my belief that Kate Bosworth was among its biggest.) Now, everyone is going to have different ideas about who should play Lois Lane, because, as with any character that has been around so long and been interpreted so many ways, everyone has different ideas about who Lois Lane is.
Continue reading "But What of Lois Lane?" »
"Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" came out on DVD this past Tuesday, and I have finally been able to purchase it and watch it. Like 2009's "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" this movie is based on a comic by Jeph Loeb, this time with art by Michael Turner instead of Ed McGuinnes. Like the previous movie it also features the voices of Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy, with Summer Glau as Supergirl and Andre Braugher as Darkseid. Bruce Timm and Lauren Montgomery, respectively, produced and directed it. Am I done with the credits now? I think so. Let's get on with the reviewing.
I like these movies because I generally don't have much interest in reading a Jeph Loeb comic, but they lend themselves perfectly to the 70 minute animated movie adaptation since they are so heavy on action. Jeph Loeb knows from action movies. He wrote "Commando." However, to be blunt, I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies." I suspect this was at least partially because of my own biases, but there were several other factors as well. For example, I don't really get Kara's immediate obsession with skimpy clothing and high heels in the face of a destroyed planet and no memory, but then I also never understood why little girls always make themselves look like hookers when they play dress up, myself included. This movie does get major points for featuring Wonder Woman and Big Barda though.
Continue reading "Kara Has Two Daddies: A Review of "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse"" »
Superman / Batman: Apocalypse, based on “Superman / Batman: Supergirl” by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald, drops on DVD tomorrow, people. And, unlike Crisis on Two Earths which was the worst case of Wrong Sounding Muppets ever, Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly are back in the correct roles. Summer Glau plays Supergirl and I guess craziness happens in a volcano or something. At least that's what all the publicity stills lead me to believe. I didn't read the book.
Anyway, there is this awesome clip of Krypto growling at Supergirl because he knows she's really a Terminator:
Continue reading "Oh, Tim Daly, You're the Dreamiest Supes" »
Geektyrant.com, whom I read in my head as "Geekty Rant", has possible insider news about the new Superman movie.
According to their "inside the lot" sources, Christopher Nolan's brother, Jonathan, is the dude who is actually hired to direct the film:
This would be Jonathan Nolan's first directing gig. At the time I didn't think the WB would give a first time director the $150 - $200 million dollar budgeted movie. But if his big brother is there to guide him, and teach him the ways of the force then maybe the studio would let him do it. After all, they're all about keeping Christopher Nolan happy.
As you may remember, the last rumor was that Chris Columbus was directing the Man of Steel reboot, which of course filled everyone over the age of 15 with a certain amount of dread. I mean, sure, if you want a Superman movie with pacing that stops dead in its tracks for twenty minutes to explain exactly who this Superman fella is with details from every Superman comic book ever written, because your mildly informed audience will not be able to infer such things from plot, than sure, hire Chris Columbus. We all know how difficult is is to translate the written word on to the silver screen in the most literal way possible. It takes a certain lack of finesse.
In other news, Alfonso Cuarón's Wonder Woman movie... is still not a real thing. Haha, you just peed your pants a little, didn't you? I know I did. Christ on a cracker, why don't I run Hollywood.
More Superman news after the jump.
Continue reading "MORE SUPERMAN NEWS???? QUESTION MARK?" »
So, here's a free clip from Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is available today on DVD and Blu Ray and On Demand and Pay Per View and beamable directly to your subconscious.
Okay, maybe not the last one.
After the jump we have a few more clips, plus more photos from the film, and an interview with Tim Daly (the voice of Superman.) Apparently he does some sort of television show now. That's nice for him. What a nice young man.
Continue reading "Tim Daly Talks Superman, We Have Videos" »
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is available for purchase on DVD (and On Demand) tomorrow. We haven't seen it yet, so we can only infer from the following interview with The Voice Of Batman, Kevin Conroy, just how much sexual tension there is between Bats and Supes. (We hope it's A Lot.)
Click through to get more photos and an interview with Conroy from this year's San Diego Comic Con.
Continue reading "Kevin Conroy: Good Cop, Bat Cop?" »
I found an issue of World's Finest in the bargain bin of the local used bookstore. It was worth every penny. Issue #167, from June 1967, deals with what happens when DC writers smoke a lot of crack and get bored with the usual Bats/Supes slashiness. Alternate Universe! Boosh!
Continue reading "On the next Smallville, 1967..." »
Brenda: What is this "Superman has a kid" shit? Also, did no one else find it creepy that Superman was basically stalking Lois? Hey, dude, she moved on. Supereavesdropping on her family is just fucking weird. Weirdo.
Continue reading "Superman Returns, Creepier Than Ever" »
Brenda: In some ways I think maybe Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onnz are doing it off-screen. I mean, their nicknames are inverted versions of one another, anyway.
Continue reading "Superwood 2: Attack of the Cunning Linguists" »
