Some more linkblogging.
Around the DC Universe:
- Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Gotham Central and the New 52 at Grumpy Old Fan
- LEGO Batman 2 gameplay demo video from E3 – IGN
- Major Spoilers Question Of The Day (Wally west Edition): Which legacy hero should be in the big leagues?
- The ORIGINAL Zero Month, remembered at Westfield Comics (via Comics Worth Reading)
- 5 things the DCU can learn from Young Justice – Blue Yonder
State of the Comics Industry…
- Who benefits from DRM? (Not the consumer) – 4thletter
- Batwoman #0 and the ridiculousness of comics numbering Eye on Comics
- The Beat asks: Whatever happened to the superstar artist?
- Publisher’s Weekly interviews Mark Waid about Thrillbent and digital comics
- Interesting breakdown of comic book movies at Nat’s TV or Not TV: Those based on comics created before 1982 are mostly based on publisher-owned concepts. Those based on comics created after 1982 are mostly based on creator-owned concepts. (via The Beat)
- ComiCON-versation #8 Programming the comicon experience. – The Beat
And some more general comics links…
- Breaking the Wednesday habit – 4thLetter. (I had a similar experience when I started a job too far away to get to my regular comic shop during the week, and had to switch to the weekend crowd. I’m back to Wednesdays, but far too often I don’t have time to read until the weekend anyway.)
- 10 Most Iconic Comic Book Covers Of All Time – Brian Cronin
- The 6 Most Half-Assed Superhero Origins of All Time — Cracked.com
- A letter from Sheldon Mayer (cartoonist and editor of the Golden-Age Flash) at The Comics Journal
Batwoman #0: you’d think they would have come up with some better covers than all the ones that are going to feature shoe soles coming at your face. Frankly, I find that somewhere between disconcerting and offensive, more so than the #0 which is just plain irritating when you are wanting to buy a particular issue and the company you are dealing with ships you the wrong one. (Same with #1′s and so forth.)
“…”
Is DC planning on selling a line shoes? Is that the reason….the reintroduction of marketing placement? If so then the covers make sense because now you can get a close up of the tread strength.
Batman 2: I watched a variety of different game play videos (had to switch around because some of the narrators were plain annoying to listen to.) Am glad I returned my copy unopened. What a bummer that Flash only shows up at the tail end of the thing, was mute in the videos, and seemed to provide only one real asset to winning the game.
On the other hand the videos within the game were priceless. I’m hoping somebody compiles them together. Robin…my heart was going out to the poor kid; so eager to get his share of glory but finding it elusive. And Superman….pure boy scout. I love a Supes who is pure boy scout. Batman….oh, Bats, so jealous of Superman despite your movie and toy count. Don’t ever change. At least not this version of you.
Re: 5 things the DCU can learn from Young Justice – Blue Yonder
I will have to disagree with the writer of that article on Wally West. Partially what he proposes is a retread of the Wally stories from Baron’s run to Johns’ first run, which I would not care to read because I had already read it. Ever since DC saw fit to return Barry Allen to the land of the living, I began to see Wally as a character that grew into a Barry clone (with the reporter girlfriend/wife and the twins) whose characterization peaked when he finally became Barry’s equal. Moreover, the constant references to Barry made me more curious about HIM because I believe that Wally had stagnated. That is what I saw as the fundamental problem with Wally; he proved himself worthy to fill Barry’s yellow boots but they were still Barry’s and he was just the sidekick that “did good” by him I believe that crippled Wally in the long term.
The animated Wally from “Justice League/Unlimited” is another story. He was a stronger and more enjoyable character without Barry to cast a long shadow over his career. Plus, Michael Rosenbaum’s voice work really sold me on him.
And I’m going to disagree with you about Wally being stagnant and basically pointless, but if I get into it in detail I’m likely to spontaneously combust (being the emotional sort) and then Kelson will be left getting out the Easy Off and dealing with the mess.
I’m going to have to agree with Kyer here. Wally may have been many things, but he was hardly stagnant. His characterization has been all about change from COIE onward, and there are plenty of places DC could have taken him after Geoff Johns’ run that would have been new, logical progressions of the existing character, and still different from Barry.
Also, the writer at Blue Yonder doesn’t propose retreading the Baron-to-Johns run. He simply proposes bringing Wally back.
I am not adverse to amicably agreeing to disagree. Come to think of it I wanted to start a topic on Comic Bloc asking Wally fans to “sell” me back on the character because I had simply given up on him. The unceremonious way DC editorial shunted Wally off the board in Infinite Crisis is the event where I saw trouble coming. That is where the Flash lost momentum, as Kelson’s “Goodbye to the Flash Story” put it, and never seemed to regain it afterwards. Then came the abortive “Bart Allen as the Flash” run and Wally West’s return in the Lightning Saga. Neither of them “clicked” with me and as much as I hate to say it, Wally’s return to the DCU felt much more forced and awkward because the momentum was already gone and to believe that the franchise would regain it was little more than wishful thinking. Oddly enough, the only time the Flash seemed to have any momentum in the last five years was the Dastardly Death of the Rogues because I found it far more engaging than the Wild Wests despite the dissonance that came with Barry’s return.
Then Flashpoint, and subsequently the New 52, happened and I ask myself if I really care it Wally ever returns. Bringing him (and the old DCU) back would feel like more backtracking and even more trouble than it is worth.
On that note, the mention of Francis Manapul’s revelation that editorial will not let him use Wally makes me wonder. One of my friends suggested that Dan DiDio deliberately sabotaged Wally and his post-Infinite Crisis return to justify Barry Allen’s return. I am certainly willing to entertain the possibility after was happened for the past seven years.
Be prepared to get flamed if you open this topic on any forum maybe in particular Comic Bloc unless the mod has lightened up his restrictions on topics centering on Wally West. Bringing up The Conspiracy Theory is (erroneously) taken by many as an attack on Barry Allen and his being The Flash.
That said, I’ll freely confess that I’m one of the “conspiracy mongers” based on that things I’ve read and events I’ve experienced keep pointing me that way. It’s not an idea that I enjoy entertaining because the thought of people misusing power make my stomach churn (god, I hate politics); I just can’t shake it nor have I seen evidence to -disprove- it.
The main thing now is that there are fans as well as creative people who want Wally back; there are a plethora of ideas already voiced as to how to bring him back without disrupting Barry or the DCnU. (Wally’s marriage and kids are not expressively a detriment as the success of Animal Man has shown.) It’s possible that they are deliberately keeping Wally off the board right now because he will be part of some planned future event. On this I’ve decided that if he is not brought back or there are strong rumors of his being brought back by 2014 then the conspiracy theory was most likely correct. Please don’t bring up the argument that “(fill in the blank) loved Wally!” because that is no more easy to prove than my gut feelings. Suggest that if you wish to explore this topic more try the various comic forums, but yeah, be prepared for the keg to blow.