, lists some items from Captain America’s history, and makes a very good point that Steve Rogers’ fate ultimately depends on his fans if he’s to make it back alright.

I found a that spoke about something I hadn’t really thought of before: how DC’s been using crossovers like Zero Hour as a launching pad for series that ultimately didn’t do well. As the first poster asks:

Here’s my question…do comic companies ‘push’ ongoing series too quickly instead of doing a couple mini-series before launching an ongoing?

As replied to in :

I think at least DC does. Look at the data from as far back as 10 years ago. Coming out of Zero Hour they tried to launch new on-goings without any kind of build-up beyond a scant mention in the mini. And save Starman all of them failed. Then they tried it again with series like Chase, Xero, Major Bummer, Young Heroes in Love, etc. and the same thing happened. The only “start from cold on-going” that took hold from that time period was Resurrection Man, and even that didn’t last all that long. Now they’ve started doing it again with series like Manhunter and Bloodhound.

You’d think DC would’ve learned from the success of the formula that Birds of Prey employed and applied that to all concepts. I’d think you’d be able to tell by the second or third one-shot if the concept was going to be commercially viable. I think at the very minimum there should be a mini-series done before jumping into the on-going.

And so, we may have here an explanation as to what DC’s mistakes are, that they’re launching series from off of overrated x-overs, rather than to promote them in a way similar to how BoP was through a couple specials and minis (I own the 4-part Manhunt mini from 1996. Got it for a great price 3 years ago). And of course, as Identity/Infinite Crisis showed, they were also doing these things at the expense of older characters without even giving them a respectable send-off.

Obviously, that’s something that’s got to change, because introducing new characters and series through a company-wide crossover can ultimately lead to contrived results that simply don’t wash. And one of the worst crossovers, from which some of the characters who may have appeared in ZH first showed up, was 1993’s Bloodlines, which seemed to exist only for the sake of senseless bloodshed, courtesy of aliens who could do things we’ve already seen done in movies like Aliens, Predator, and Terminator. I recall reading at least two of the annuals this took place in - the Flash and Detective Comics annuals, and they were some of the most disgusting, blood-spattered “stories” I’d ever experienced. Thank goodness I never read the New Titans annual from then. The newly introduced protagonists who appeared there, such as Anima, Argus, Gunfire and Hitman, faded from view almost entirely within two years.

Bloodlines is also a textbook example of how comics lost their minds in pointless bloodshed during the 1990s. Stories like that are something we don’t need either these days.

the Museum of Modern Art’s latest exhibition, “Comic Abstraction”, which’ll run until about June 11.

I thought I’d write now about the difference between the successes had with Marvel and DC movie adaptations being put into motion. As some may know, there’s already an , and it looks like there’s going to be another Fantastic Four movie as well. Those adaptations are getting off the ground.

But what of DC adaptations? Wonder Woman has been shelved for now, as has even the Flash, with both Joss Whedon and David Goyer leaving the positions offered. And on the former adaptation, : as Whedon :

“I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked,” Whedon wrote. “Hey, not that complicated. Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that’s never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. I don’t think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.”

And as the :

Obviously I thought he would have done a great job. Perhaps the guys at WB saw his script and decided he wasnt. Maybe WB didnt like it but the fans might have. Who knows?

And that’s saying something. Considering that there’s contempt for women in the film industry that’s doubtlessly existed long before it became a serious problem in the comics industry, one can only wonder if that was the reason why Whedon’s take was not accepted. But also, as the blogmaster says, it appears that the script being used now takes place in WW2 (any script being proposed for the Flash movie now may be the same thing). And while it’s always great to see nazis being smashed into the dust, that’s still too easy an excuse for not confronting the problems of today, with modern-day terrorism looming out there.

Of course I don’t know if that’s what Whedon’s own screenplay was going to feature, WW taking on modern-day terrorists similar to al Qaeda (the Kobra gang, maybe?). But at the same time, it’s possible that his script was so flatteringly splendid in whatever plot it had that in all their dumbed-down view of how to do filmmaking, they rejected it.

Which may not be a good omen for whatever movie they do turn out, if they do make it. Of course, we probably will have to reserve full judgement for when it comes out, yet, I get the feeling that any impression it could have will be far from what a Whedon-scripted movie might’ve.

It really wasn’t even being kept a secret. The Punisher, Frank Castle, , and not only am I not impressed, I really don’t like that outfit he’s wearing either.

I have no idea if Frank is actually going to be using deadly force in the role of the Star-Spangled Avenger (and I’m sure there’s plenty of conservatives out there who’d agree that killing is not a path superheroes should truly have to explore), but in any case, I’m not wasting my time on this clearly deliberate and forced move. Nor am I impressed with this :

The creative team behind Punisher War Journal have been praised for bringing Frank back to the mainstream Marvel Universe in nothing but thoroughly entertaining stories. Writer Matt Fraction, the writer quickly making a name for himself with Punisher War Journal and co-writing the smash-hit The Immortal Iron Fist with Ed Brubaker, and Ariel Olivetti, the bourgeoning artistic talent who was recently named one of the Young Guns Reloaded, have put the Punisher back in the spotlight and super-villains back into the Punisher’s crosshairs.

Fraction made a name for himself? I really didn’t care when I heard that the Punisher was being brought back into focus in the MCU. In recent years, he’s either been turned unrecognizable from what he was like in the past, or, he’s been exploited for anti-war propaganda (as in Garth Ennis’ MAX title), or, he’s been put in contrived and forced situations like what came during Civil War, apparently because they seem to find the idea of a character who’s been killing left and right donning the gear of one who doesn’t so appealing. But I don’t approve.

And I’m not wasting my time on this latest publicity stunt either. In fact, something tells me it’s not going to get exactly the same kind of media attention that Steve’s “death” received a couple weeks ago, maybe because they don’t want anyone to ponder the idea of a death-dealing protagonist in the role of crimefighter who’s not known for using deadly force at every turn.

Marshall Rogers, one of the most notable artists for Batman on Detective Comics in the Bronze Age, . It’s very sad that he died so young. He was one of comicdom’s best artists, and he’ll be very missed.

:

Um…what, exactly, was the point of this mini-series? Twelve issues of wheel-spinning: fights that didn’t go anywhere, relationships that didn’t go anywhere either, a death of yet another female close to the main character (leading to nothing but cheap angst), and plot developments with the Monitors and the Sinestro yellow rings that went unresolved — but hey, kids, buy the next GL mini-series and maybe then you’ll find out what’s going on!

The continuing poor characterization of Kyle Rayner is alarming. Goodbye, Ron Marz, it’s past your bedtime by now.

I think I’ll wisely continue to boycott the Flash, as it’s being depicted now, too.

Now Supergirl #15 has come out, , I think that to encourage the female audience to join up with the series has been exposed as an offense. Power Boy turns out to be a minion of Darkseid’s from Apokolips, and is the kind of antagonist who keeps around a personal shrine for the girl with whom he’s developed a psycho-obsession. But what’s really telling is how now, Berganza’s DC Nation has been rendered even more offensive than it looked at first glance. I had guessed from reading the end part that this would probably be the result, but all the same, it does look like a story just as embarrassing as the one where Kara is pitted against Cassie Cain. It’s offensive because: how exactly is the female audience supposed to find the “mimbo” endearing when he turns out to be a villain with sick obsessions?

And there you have it, Berganza’s imbecile item really was an insult to the femme audience because Power Boy was a villain. If he had just given promotion to Mark Sable, who’s supposed to be co-writing the 16th issue, then maybe he’d have gotten somewhere, instead, he’s just slapped all who read it in the face, and lost respect as an editor. So, the call for his replacement clearly wasn’t unwarranted. In fact, it appears that he has been, with (link via ). So if Berganza’s been taken off the book, he deserves it.

He owes an apology in his own voice, but it’s unlikely for now that he’ll ever actually give one.

I think that Gail Simone may have scored some credibility in bringing back a onetime female character who’d been killed off in the mid-90s, in Birds of Prey #104. .

If so, and if Ice is back not only to remain alive, but also to have the possiblity of development realized, then both she and DC have done something good by bringing back one of their female cast members for a change.

However, there’s still more damage that needs to be mended, or, more female characters who need to be brought back and un-vilified. I don’t suppose maybe they’re willing to deal with that already?

presents fifteen of the most unintentionally side-splitting comic book panels to be found. (Hat tip: and .)