I've thought about it and I spend a lot of time coming down on Marvel and DC Comics, so I want to talk about one of my favorite things they have ever done. Marvel's Ultimate line.
I started reading the Ultimates the first month it came out while I was working at a small comic shop and I immediately was hooked. The whole notion of restarting popular characters for modern day was great for someone who didn't know that much about most comic history t that point. It also gave writers a incredible freedom to recreate and imagine characters while still tying them to what made them interesting. I have never purchased a Captain America comic book, but I loved reading him in Mark Millar's 'Ultimates' and now 'Ultimate Comics presents Avengers.
The real goal for this idea was, of course, to bring in new readers. This is an argument I've had with my friends and acquaintances at my own local shop several time. The core idea was to have comics without so much back history to learn so new readers would feel it was more accessible. Now we are about a decade from when the first Ultimate title (Ultimate Spider-Man) was put out. Does this mean it's no longer relevant? I don't think so. It still brought in the readers who jumped on board with these titles, and I'm willing to bet a lot of the people who started with these books probably still appreciate that they are still around.
Of course it's not fair to mention the success of these books without saying who I think is responsible. The re-invention of characters has been thoroughly entertaining. I still credit Brian Michael Bendis with really bringing this offshoot Universe to life. Other authors (Warren Ellis and Robert Kirkman just to name a couple) came on and did fantastic jobs, but I always associate Bendis as the starting point.
Lately the Ultimate line has fallen on some hard times. Ultimate X-men and Fantastic Four have been put behind us. I have no idea why Jeff Loeb keeps getting more series since Ultimatum and Ultimates were so terrible.
I have renewed hope with Mark Millar putting out and Ultimate Avengers book. Warren Ellis impressed yet again with his 3 issue series about the Ultimate Armour Wars. Finally Brian Michael Bendis has even begun incorporating more X-Men and Fantastic characters in his Ultimate Comics presents Spider-Man comics.
As I look at the coming Batman Beyond mini series coming from DC, I decided to reflect on the role cartoons have played in guiding kids to popular comic characters and teams. Those who are old enough to remember Fox Kids afternoon lineup will know exactly what I mean.
Being a more recent comic fan I look back at the early 1990's as a sort of golden age for comic book cartoon shows. With things like animated X-Men, Spiderman's animated adventures, Batman the Animated Series and Superman animated again right on his heels.
These are all pretty big name characters with 30+ years of history for each one. Yet each one was shown to a new generation. The stories were well written and highly entertaining (more so early on, but we'll come back to that). Many of these stories were of course based on the more classic stories, but many of them also changed or improved things for the t.v. show. I don't think anything stands out more that the Batman the Animated series episode 'Heart of Ice' retelling the creation of Mr. Freeze.
The shows did have a few short comings as well. The use of ultra high tech looking laser weapons instead of guns in the marvel based shows by everyone was a little off putting. Gotham city being a place where you can find virtual reality technology but the police drive cars from the 50's and use zeppelins instead of helicopters.
Beyond all this, what truly made the shows great was the way they remained faithful to the source material. The X-Men cartoon may have had a different lineup than what originally started in the comics, but it was still about a group fighting for the dream of acceptance. It presented characters to us until they were familiar. Then the next time we went by a comic shop or a book store and saw more adventures with these characters we all enjoyed. If you were very lucky there was even a comic shop guy willing to give you the 'real' story behind each character and which rack to buy it off.
I've always been a little afraid of reading the X-Men. It's mainly due to the huge amount of history involved with them. The X-men have been around in some form since1963 and like most comics from that point they have a huge amount of back story, and rightfully they should. The X-men story just seems so much more complicated because of the rotating cast.
The X-men roster has been re-organized, re-started from scratch, shuffled and divided so many times even wikipedia can't keep up with them. People have switched sides from good mutants to bad with a surprising regularity. I have no idea who Gambit or Angel/ Arch Angel are really working for right now.
I'm the sort of person who really likes to know as much of a back story as possible for the books I read. With a lot of characters its incredibly easy to sum up a character's history and major motivations. Batman and his supporting cast can each have their major points explained pretty easily. I once asked an X-men fan to tell me what the whole story with Cyclops and Jean Grey exactly was, and he felt I wouldn't be able to understand it without a complicated chart.
I've read some of the stories, I was really impressed when I borrowed Joss Whedon's run. I even collected Warren Ellis' run because I've always been entertained by what he does. The main draw of these stories for me so far has been that they haven't largely addressed the teams complicated past.
Marvel does have a type of solution to this problem. There are the X-men Essential books available. Now you can even subscribe to their online service. Unfortunately both of these are a little costly when you look at the number of Essentials you would need to buy, or the amount of time you would spend online reading each individual issue. From my understanding Marvel hasn't put ever comic they've ever written online, so that's not even a good way to go about it.
Still, I have my own idea as to what would help people like me who want to like/ read more X-men but feel it would be too difficult. My own idea is to do a few issues as a limited series that tells the abridged history of each major x-men milestone and change that has happened. I realize a lot of that has happened on Wikipedia and so many other fansites, but it would be nice to have it come from the creators. Marvel can let us all know which stories are still in continuity, get the perspective of the artist and writer at the time putting in their notes as to why Beast turned blue, and whatever else is considered a major turning point. And if Marvel thinks this seems like a lot of work, imagine how we feel.
In the recent years DC comics has gone on and on several times about their 'Big Three'. Those three being Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. These three are touted as the cornerstones of the DC. There was even a recent weekly series (Trinity by Kurt Busiek) covering how absolutely essential they are to the fabric of the DC universe. The problem is that I just don't buy it. No matter how many times they say it, I do not see Wonder Woman being on the same level as Batman and Superman.
I'm willing to admit Wonder Woman is entertaining. I can even admit to buying the book during Amazon's Attack, and I continued to buy it. Princess Diane has a fascinating story and origin and I think she can make sense as a mythology/ magic hero next to Bruce Wayne as a technology hero and Clark Kent as a science hero. I can easily see the symbolism and the convenience of a female presence showing the opportunity to empower young female readers as well as male.
The biggest proof of these point is purely in the titles. At most given times Batman will have at least 4 titles (at this time 'Batman', 'Batman and Robin', 'Batman: Streets of Gotham', 'Batman Confidential' and "Detective Comics') along with any mini series (currently 'Batman: Widening Gyre'). Superman is generally in the same boat with ongoing (Currently, Superman, Action Comics) and limited ('Superman: New Krypton', 'New Krypton's Last Stand') series. Not to mention Superman's big event 'War of the Supermen' on the horizon. Wonder Woman has been featured in other books since her debut in 1941, she's had membership in the Justice Society of America (As a secretary to start) and in the current continuity is a founding member of the Justice League of America, but she hasn't had more than one ongoing title.
The reason for this is simple. Wonder Woman isn't as popular as the other two. This is reflected in comics and in the movies. Warner Brothers has understandably put a lot behind the supposed reboot that will come with a new Superman movie, and the recent press release with Christopher Nolan made every fanboys dreams of another Christian Bake Batman come true. Meanwhile the talks of a Wonder Woman remains in movie limbo.
Now this isn't to say Wonder Woman isn't a good read. Since taking over the title Gail Simone has taken us readers through all the roles Princess Diane holds in her life. New villains have been developed and even after being around for nearly 70 years it even feels like she's matured in that time. However that doesn't mean she earns a place at the top of the DC mountain more than the Flash or Green Lantern.
While it may be convenient to have Wonder Woman standing shoulder to shoulder with the worlds greatest detective and the big blue boy scout, its a lie.
I know, I know. We've been bad little boys haven't we. No updates in weeks. And there you sat, little Mike, little Jim, and little Michelle... waiting, watching for any signs from the Unshaven Comic guys... Where are they? You cried. Well, dry those eyes kiddos. We're back. And we got a boatload of an update! So, let's get on with it, shall we?
First off, Chasing Daylight? DONE. That's right. Penciled, Inked, Colored, Lettered, Edited, and (being) proof read folks. Count it. 21 pages of awesome chills and thrills... ready for your enjoyment. After a brief discussion of the times to come, Unshaven Comics has decided that Chasing Daylight will be our debut story (alongside 'The White', and a sneak peak of 'Iron Side') for Disposable Razors #1. No longer a "maxi-sized" comic as we'd originally planned... Disposable Razors will now be a set of 4 issues. 32 pages a pop. You'll be able to get issue 1 at C2E2, and then issue 2 at Wizard World Chicago 2010. Will it be at Stand-Up? You bet. But we'll discuss that at a later time.
So, what all have we been doing individually? Let's check the tally:
Matt finished up his work on Iron Side: Living Will. Some amazing action there folks. Walls breaking, super heros smacking each other through the streets... and a 2 page spread with some kick to it. And true to form Matt kicked butt by doing an amazingly trippy 2 page spread for 'The White' to debut in issue 1. And now? he's working on our secret new project.
Marc finished lettering and editing "Chasing Daylight" since last we spoke. He's also consolidated the files for Ironside to begin final color work there. But starting tomorrow, he'll be hard at work coloring that 2 pager for the White. It's gonna be a doosy.
Kyle's been hard at work too. You'll note he's contributing blogs up here from time to time... He's helping scan, stitch, and color flat Ironside. And he's also tailoring a new story. Will it debut in an issue of Disposable Razors...? Time will tell.
Well, that's all for now. Be on the lookout for more next week. Until then, keep those beards up kids!
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