XCave8ing Rantz!!

Computer upgrades...C2D to C2Q

2009-12-05T18:16:00.000-05:00

(This is from 12.04.2009)

As some o' you might remember...I assembled my new/current desktop last year. Given the money constraints at the time I went with the e7200 2.53 ghz 3mb cache C2D processor...which although an excellent processor was the bottom of the (then) new 45nm C2Ds from Intel. I then went on to overclock the hell outta that proc. getting as high as 3.9 ghz. But at that speed I hadta bump up the voltage to 1.38...going up quite a bit in the last 100-150 mhz. For my regular/daily use I settled down at 3.58 ghz at 1.24v voltage.

Well, I recently (as in yesterday) got a new q9550 2.83 ghz 12mb cache C2Q processor. Now, before anyone starts harping on the i5s and i7s...please note that I have a socket 775 mb and at this point 'm not interested in starting from scratch (as in mb, ram, etc.). 'nyways, I got the cpu yesterday evening and after getting it running for a few minutes, restarted and bumped it up from the stock 2.83 ghz to 3.08 qhz...after which I ran the usual gamut of benchmark tests, both for short period testing and for the "rock solid" 24hr run. For the voltage I have left it at "auto" i.e. allowing the mb to set it for itself. For all the tests it passed with flying colours.

I have now bumped it up even further...not much, just to 3.11 ghz. Have run the short term tests and tonight will start with the 24hr run. If it works out, then will push it even higher until the voltage gives...and then push the voltage a bit higher. Even tho' I am not hoping to get all that close to the 3.58 ghz I had with my e7200 I would like it if I can cross the 3.2ghz mark...which, given the 2 extra cores and 9mb extra cache will make for real kick-in-the-pants upgrade.

Oh, and as for my old trusty warhorse e7200...'m holding onto that for my next project (which I hope to do sometime next spring/summer)...building myself a home file/backup/media server.

The BatmanWWArkham Archive moves to XCave.Net!!

2009-04-26T11:53:00.002-04:00

The BatmanWWArkham Archive, one of the oldest and most well known archive for Batman-Wonder Woman 'shippers has moved to XCave.Net.

It all started waaaaayy back over a year back when thanks to (yet another) screw-up the Geocities account of the archive became unavailable to the readers. Having had my own problematic time with Geocities I offered DC Lady (webmaster of the archive and of the yahoo group) space on XCave. However, by that time she had already fixed the problem.

'nyways, a couple of days back I got an email from DCL on whether the offer was still open...which it was. So, long story short, the BatmanWWArkham archive is now here. Check it out at batmanwwarkham.xcave.net. For now the files will be posted as they are. Slowly but surely I will be working on them and bringing them up-to-speed with the general look and feel of XCave. This will include cleaning up on old, dead links, streamlining the look, feel and navigation and updating status of old fics.

As I taking over the archive, I will also be adding to/managing it from now on. For starters I will be adding to it the BMWW fics that I already have uploaded in the FanFiction section.

Oh, and one last thing...DCL and me, we couldn't decide on a shorter, easier to remember name for the archive. BatmanWWArkham is kinda long. I welcome any and all suggestions for that.

Geoff Johns' writing of Power Girl!!

2009-02-22T10:05:00.002-05:00

Wrote this (latest version) in response to a post over at the Power Girl Appreciation Thread over at Newsarama. Since I've had to write it a couple of times before decided to "save" it here...for ease of access (for future use).

The post for which I responded this time...

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Come on now. Johns did the PG JSA: Classified introductory arc, made her a part of Infinite Crisis, made her the chairwoman and did the Earth-2 subplot as part of TKC, which wasn't that long ago. That's much more attention than he's gave to say, Hourman in the new JSA, who's sole character development is being married to Liberty Belle, with nothing else of note happening. The mystery of Wildcat Jr's appearance hasn't been explored at all since The Next Age introduced him, and so on.Johns could just be not delving too deeply into PG to allow the Solo Series Team some room to do their own thing as well.

- Posted by Stazz

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My Post...

Stazz...your point/argument would work...if...the current JSA series was the only instance of Johns' neglecting (or worse, Wangst-ing PeeGee).

Check the previous series. (As admitted) Geoff Johns isn't (to put it lightly) particular fond of her character. Fan outcry was the only reason she was brought onboard. Moreover, see the first arc after Goyer left the title (#52-53), and the Johns' driven PeeGee crying and whining brigade started.

(From: JSA #53)

It was the same tone that was used in the JSAC arc/mini...incl. the idiotic (retcon) "explanation" for the *Power-Window*.

(From JSA Classified #2)

For someone who is sooooo into teh "iconic/classic" stories/versions Johns completed pi$$ed all over PeeGee's individuality (see below)...for drumming up the PeeGee that whines & frets over just about anything "Super"(man).

(From: All-Star Comics #64)

This whining over Super...it isn't just limited to Kal-L, PeeGee's REAL cousin...but seems to extend to just any similar version, be it main DCU Supes or even that Kingdom Crap version. Just see issues 11-12-somewhere around that of the current JSA series.

As for being the Chairperson of the JSA...that's even more of a jibe on Johns' part. Ever since PeeGee's become the JSA's CP her appearances/participation in the series has taken a drastic nose-dive. She's was not even present in the latest team-reshuffle. So much for being the Chairperson For all the outcry by the readers at Mcduffie's run on the JLA...at least he has Black Canary showing/acting as the "team leader".

Being part of Infinite Crisis...majority of that was spent being trussed up in the schlong-tower...after getting sucker-punched by one of "Geoff Johns' Top Wet Dream" characters, EmoBoy Prime.

Lastly, maybe I am forgetting now...but which costumed mature/adult female character has Geoff Johns written well...EVER.

From LITG (November 17th, 2008)

2008-11-17T19:08:00.002-05:00

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18852

"A familiar source known collectively as "New York comics industry employees talking in bars" tells me that the last issue of "Final Crisis" is further delayed as it is suffering from serious rewrites. It appears that DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio was unhappy with the way the story concluded and the implications for the DC Universe for a while and had ordered changes from a, naturally, rather unhappy Grant Morrison. Considering this is the way he wrote the pitch for the book.

As a result, creative teams working on a number of spinoff and affected books have also had to stop work while the “Final Crisis” ending is reworked.

Expect more lateness, more annoyance and less likelihood of Grant Morrison doing DCU work in the near future. "

There is a Newsarama thread regarding this...here...and somehow Geoff Johns' name too got included in the mix of (possible) DC departees.

Well, here're my views (a post in that thread) on this rumour...

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(IF) it does turn out to be true...

Morrison: YAY!! Not only will he off Batman (and away from the Bat-verse), it would also increase the chances of his DC 'changes' too getting flushed down the proverbial crapper. Oh, who am I kidding, those changes are gonna go sooner or later, Morrison's leaving (now) will only hasten them further.

Robinson: Even though 'm not gonna get that second JLA title, (it has everything to do with the characters in it and nothing with the writer), and 'm not pulling Superman anymore, (which, once again, has nothing to do with the writer, more to do with the 'event' and the writer of the other big Superman title) I will feel sorry/saddened by it...in the same way as I felt on Didio's Chuck Dixon fvckup!!

And if...it also leads to Geoff Johns' departure from DC...well, in that case the weekend (nearest) to when it does happen...I will drink enough to give myself a CELEBRATORY hangover!!

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POWER GIRL GETS ONGOING SERIES!!

2008-04-18T18:42:00.002-04:00

From Newsarama's coverage of NYCC2008...

LINK: http://www.newsarama.com/nycomiccon2008/DC/powergirl.html

NYCC '08 - POWER GIRL GETS ONGOING SERIES DIDIO (with video)

Going back, even before the JSA Classified arc by Geoff Johns and Amanda Conner in which she starred, DC fans have been clamoring for Power Girl to get her own series. That clamoring has only gotten louder as the character has been featured by Johns in Justice Society of America, and will be the focus of this summer’s JSA Annual which sees Power Girl traveling to Earth-2.

Well, it’s time for the clamoring to stop. A Power Girl series is coming, written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, with art by Amanda Conner. We spoke with the team about what’s to come for the Last Daughter of (Earth-2) Krypton.

Newsarama: Jimmy and Justin - first things first - how did you land the title? Was it something that you pitched to DC and had to sell them on, or was it a case where DC was looking to start the series and came knocking?

Justin Gray: Whenever Jimmy and I discussed what we’d like to work on we kept coming back to Power Girl. The problem was that she’d been solidified in JSA and some exciting plans were in place for her. During a meeting with Dan Didio we expressed an interest in writing Power Girl. Dan said he wanted a pitch, but that it would be a while before she would be available. He wasn’t kidding because that meeting took place last summer.

Jimmy Palmiotti: Having worked with Amanda Conner on the character last year, my interest has grown concerning Power Girl’s history and what was next for the character. Justin and I would often talk about “what if” scenarios if we were able to get a series going…and like Justin just said, a lot was going on with her in the DC Universe that we needed to keep track of. At the time, we were asked to develop a new book for another character that we felt was not suited for us at the time.

JG: The book in question wasn’t a good fit and we told Dan that during a meeting.

JP: That’s when we asked for a character we felt we could bring more to the table with…Power Girl.

NRAMA: Wait – so how long have you two been working on the series?

JG: We pitched Power Girl about a year ago. Since that time a lot has changed in the ever-changing DCU, so we’ve gone through several revisions and ideas leading up to the first arc.

JP: Art wise we have had to make a lot of decisions about how we saw the character being handled and had to find the right fit. She is a very expressive character and being able to just draw a sexy well built woman is good for a pin-up, but this is a multi-layered character trying to make her way in the world and we wanted the right artist to be able to express in their visuals not only the obvious, but the inner workings as well. The character demands respect.

JG: We wanted some humor but we didn’t want the book to be driven by humor.

JP: And that’s where Amanda is a fantastic fit for the character. She loves Power Girl and her facial expressions really give the reader something to relate to past the dialogue and what’s going on.

JG: Absolutely, there’s a tremendous comfort level in writing for Amanda because not only will she find a better way to visually communicate an idea or moment, but she’ll do it in a pure and brilliant way that neither of us thought of. This is definitely a case of the three of us working like a band, with each member bringing something different to the project. Once you add Paul Mounts to the mix I think people are going to be very happy with the final product.

NRAMA: You went into it a little, but what's the attraction to Power Girl for both of you? What makes her and her world interesting enough to say yes to when the offer was on the table?

JG: One thing we missed after working on Hawkman was the opportunity to write a big, loud, superhero book that focused on a single character rather than a team like the Freedom Fighters. That said Power Girl comes with some distinct challenges. One of those challenges is the double-edged sword of her physical appearance, which is easy to interpret in a negative when it comes to attracting female readers. The other challenge is to show the clear distinction between Power Girl and the other Kryptonian titles. The philosophy behind this book is dead simple. Power Girl combines larger than life superhero adventures when she’s in costume and quiet emotional resonance when she’s Karen Starr, CEO of Starrware. Starrware also plays a major role in the series in exciting ways. More than just an outlet for her secret identity, Starrware has undergone a change of focus as a result of events in Power Girl’s life prior to the series launch.

JP: For me, starting a book from the ground up, building the world around her from practically scratch and giving Power Girl her own rogues gallery is something I live for in this business. We have a very exciting opportunity to get in there and give this character a whole world and cast of characters she hasn’t had the opportunity to have before this and with the fans blessing, continue to build on this and really make this character one of DC’s top books.

JG: But we need to say that starting from the ground up doesn’t mean we’re ignoring or re-imagining anything. What it means is we’re in a position to add new dimensions to Power Girl’s mythology. There are a number of things that haven’t been covered and PG doesn’t have a personal rogues gallery so there are some exciting opportunities to create them.

JP: It’s endless fun for us and hopefully something the audience will get totally absorbed in.

NRAMA: Power Girl's been seeing a lot of action, both story-wise and internally/psychologically lately in JSA. When does this series pick up with her, and where's her head at, so to speak?

JG: At this point we can’t answer the question directly because it would be uncool to spoil anything that hasn’t been released yet. We’re much more interested in where she’s going as a character as opposed to where she’s been. There’s a concerted effort to put her past behind her and embrace new challenges.

JP: Issue #1 will be a first issue and not a total continuation of other stories…sort of. we are concise of everything presented to the character before the release , but making a clear effort to make the book stand on its own and give the new readers a chance to get to know Kara and who she really is. That said, we are looking at this as a classic character launch that establishes more than explains.

NRAMA: Along those lines, what makes Power Girl, Power Girl? What, in your eyes, are her defining qualities?
JG: Obvious jokes aside, Power Girl is the consummate super heroine, brave, strong, fearless and compassionate.

JP: A powerhouse with a soft side and a foreigner in a familiar land.

JG: It will be great to move away from the multiverse angle and concentrate on who she is, what she wants and what she expects from herself.

NRAMA: Power Girl had her arc in JSA Classified, which went a long way in defining her, but that was part of a larger series that went on to focus on other characters. Likewise, she's a fan favorite supporting character in JSA. How do you go about working her success as a backup singer into making her a lead singer?

JG: Personally I see her as being selfless, which is why she hasn’t stepped forward as a lead singer until now. It isn’t important for her to stand out when she’s part of a team, but here in this book that’s exactly what she’ll do. People want a comfortable preconception about what they're reading and this is just that, a straight up superhero book as big and explosive as we can make it with Power Girl as the star. It's been 70 years of superhero comics and people are comfortable with the roles, even though every angle has been explored, they'll still read endless variations on superheroes and villains, right?

The idea here is the DCU, this whole Earth people have been reading about for seventy years is on constant overload. Aliens, super villains, rogue technologies, these are the things Power Girl has to deal with every day. On the flip side of that we have her alter ego, Karen Starr. Most characters in comics have ordinary lives that they escape from by putting on a costume. Power Girl uses Karen Starr as an escape from the overload of being a super heroine, which is the opposite of nearly every other superhero.

JP: All that and the fact that, like all background singers, this will be her moment to move into the spotlight and shine.

NRAMA: Obviously, and as you briefly mentioned, with Power Girl, there's the cheesecake factor that's been a part of her character since it was created. Geoff and others have taken steps to work her appearance and costume into her character, but what view of it do you two have of it?

JG: This book isn’t going to be our platform for some kind of new age feminist commentary; it is a superhero comic book, an escapist fantasy starring a buxom blonde bombshell who can kick your ass into outer space. Some people are going to find fault with it just because of the costume and the bra size of the heroine and those people can bitch about it on the Google machine if they like because this is America baby! Home of the free!

JP: I love the fact that Kara is larger than life visually and what Amanda Conner did when redesigning the costume for the JSA Classified series played on that exactly like I think it should have and I expect some more changes along the way. This is who she is, this is how she is built and God bless Gerry Conway, Ric Estrada and Wally Wood for such a cool design. Why fight the obvious? Amanda is going to do what she does best and draw the shit out of this book.

JG: Look, Power Girl is a sexy book and that’s only one component of the character. We’re not shying away from it but we’re not interested in making that the primary focus either. One of the many benefits of having Amanda with us as the artist is she’s capable of bringing a natural and reactive female perspective to the scripts. Amanda is also free and clear to add or subtract anything she wants from the story and representation of Kara as a real woman despite her anatomical advantages. Expressive emotion, layered storytelling and a sense of playful bounce are also some of the elements Amanda’s wonderful art brings to the book. She knows how to make Power Girl sexy without being gratuitous or cheesy, which makes our jobs so much easier.

NRAMA: Overall, what's the tone of series going to be? What notes are you going to be looking to hit?

JG: Action and adventure on a massive scale combined with the kind of character development and star treatment Power Girl deserves. Her power levels are on par with Superman and we need stories that reflect that without losing a sense of drama. She’s not invincible but she’s much stronger than the average villain. There needs to be that sense of danger that only Power Girl can confront. As Karen Starr the focus is on Starrlabs and the technologies, big ideas and the wacky sci-fi stuff being explored there on a human level.

JP: Entertaining and fun with a bit of humor as well. The super heroics and over the top action will be there but we plan on establishing a real life and supporting cast for Powergirl and given its her own series, we will continue to build on these relationships. We want to give the reader a complete fix.

NRAMA: Let's wrap with a tease...what gets the ball rolling at the start of the series?

JG: An old villain gets a major power boost, a new character arrives on Earth after years of traveling through space, weird sciences, nanotech tattoos, algae monsters, an alien kaleidoscopic intelligence older than recorded history, a strand of computer code capable of rewriting reality, biotech-enhanced time traveling Neanderthals who clashed with the seven angels of vengeance during the apocalypse of 1955.

JP: A new work place, a new location, a cool group of supporting characters and some new looks along the way.

JG: Oh and there’s futurism and fascism, incursions from other realities caused by the inadvertent manipulation of a lost piece of Niccolo Paganini’s sheet music written in the blood of the world’s first super villain…okay, that just might be the caffeine talking.

Batman: "Friendly-Bat or Bat-God"!

2008-04-16T08:16:00.001-04:00

The writers/editors' inability to get together on one side and drive the character is why things have gotten so confusing about Batman.

Btw, (and maybe things could be different) but I think that sooner or later, i.e. once Morrison and Dini are gone, even the core Bat-books will return to the same side as the team-titles. For one, I don't any one following (or even tryin to) go along the same direction as Morrison. Sooner or later, whenever he leaves the title, things will snap back to usual/Pre-Morrison depiction sooner than...well, sooner than how Post-IC *brighter* Batman got nixed.

Power Girl's (various) costumes... (by Cat-Scratch)

2008-04-14T16:26:00.002-04:00

This listing was posted by Cat-Scratch (following mine about "Power Girl's (various) costumes...")

Link: http://forum.newsarama.com/showpost.php?p=5355755&postcount=9004

1.0 = The Orlando/Wood/Original/Classic from All-Star Comics

1.1 = The Orlando/Wood/Classic from All-Star Comics - Wally got sick of the pain-in-the-butt under the shoulder rope for the cape.

1.2 = The Orlando/Wood/Classic "2" from All-Star Comics - Wally started drawing her wearing only her cape, glooves and boots, so some poor assis-ed had to draw the suit lines and erase the nibbles all 'cause Wally was smart and sent it in at the very end of the deadline for printing.

1.3 = The Staton/Layton/Classic from All-Star Comics - She got back her belt and the colourists couldn't remember (as throughout the years since day one) if PG's belt was blue or red or even yellow.

1.4 = The Staton/Layton/Classic "2" from All-Star Comics - they shift from a high collar to a tank top like cut so cleavage could be seen (yeah, painted on costumes some how hide the cleavage). The longest running version to date.

1.5 = The Mary Wilshire "3" from Secret Origins - The Arion connection is made and she know has the Arion star added to her belt. It was also some times forgotten by subsequent artists. (I can't recall the artist for now, I'll fix it later)

2.0 = The Bart Sears from Justice League Europe - She got de-powered, so she got herself a new costume. Also, Sears seems to hate drawing capes, so........

3.0 = The Aerobics Instructor from Justice League International - return of the cape and boobie-hole, now a diamond. I can't recall the reasons for the change.

1.5 = The Amanda Connors/Classic "4" from JSA Classified - The classic returns with some twists from Amanda Connors.

Power Girl's (various) costumes...

2008-04-14T16:19:00.002-04:00

Okay, just because its been sooooo long (in both time and pages) since the last time...

...here's a brief rundown of PG's costumes through the years.

Thanks to Cat-Scratch (id. at Newsrama) for making this nifty line-up.

Okay, even though there are so many looks, (with/with out window, belt etc, color etc), these are PG's main costumes...

1. Classic/Current: The original one is also the longest lasting one, and the current one. From the 'window', to the blue shoes/gloves to the diagonally tied cape, this is THE definitive PowerGirl costume. A minor variation of this has the cape tethered on either shoulder/side.

2. Classic (with no hole, all closed): A variation on the classic look, this one saw use in the early days too. Not much since then.

3. Classic (with round neckline but no neck covering): Another variations on the original costume this one has made quite a few appearances, including the PG minis. It was recently used in SMBM #27 and the JSAC arc/mini. This suggests that this costume/variation is the original PG look in current DC continuity. This one too has the cape tethered on both sides.

4. Yellow/Gold-White: Even though this (like quite a few things from the 90s...the late 90s-early 00s in this case) isn't liked much by comic readers, it does have its fans. As shown in 'Circle of Fire' (Green Lantern event/mini/crossover), this costume is kinda like PG's *space costume*.

5. PowerAerobicsGirl: What else do I call this one? It started in (and from what I know, ENDED) in the JLI/JLE times. This one's from the early 90s.

I am not including any 'disguise' costumes like the one from the SG [I]Candor[/I] arc. Also, no 'one-shot/Elseworld/AU-sequence' looks.

#1.Classic/Current (Wally Wood):

#2.Classic (with no window, all closed) (Wally Wood) :

#3.Classic (with round neckline but no neck covering) (Joe Staton):

#4.Yellow/Gold-White (Bart Sears) :

#5.Aerobics Instructor (Ron Randall) :

Secret-Identity Retcon : Flash vs. Spider-Man

2008-04-11T08:38:00.000-04:00

About the Flash vs. Spider-Man thing...

Wally just had his identity retconned/secret--fied. ONLY that. His friends, villains, family...most importantly, his WIFE were left untouched/unchanged. Also, the secret from other heroes, it was all taken away/care of within a single issue. We didn't have to sit through craptacular stories/issues/events were Dick Grayson (Wally's best friend) didn't know who Wally and/or Flash was. Even Linda, who didn't know it (initally) came to know it pretty soon. And yes, that particular bit (those issues) were LAME. That particular part of the whole story was just dragged out uselessly. And lastly, the retcon didn't bring back some long gone dead character(s) from Wally's past.

Wally's lack of a secret identity was never a big problem...and his life hasn't changed much after it.

As for Spidey...

He's lost his WIFE. Doesn't even remember her (any of their time together, Pre- or Post-marriage), NOT AT ALL. None of his colleagues, friends, heck, even the few villains who knew it...remember the man below the mask. This includes his best friend(?) Matt Murdock. He's back to being the loser who lives in his aunt's basement and shoots his wad..ahem, webs, which btw are back to being mechanical. Then again, the biological shooters were brought in for/because of the movies. Now that the movie(s) are done and over, they're back to being mechanical. So 'power wise' its a step back too. (And I am not touching on the 'ability to interact with insects' bit). Also, from what I've heard, the retcon has also brought back deadies.

Lastly, even though Flash/Wally is a fairly big/famous/known DC character...he's nowhere near Spidey's levels. Not. Even. Close.

Would the DCU be in trouble if Geoff Johns suddenly jumped to Marvel?

2008-04-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

Eh. No writer/artist is indispensible (or that important). Just as if Bendis, Millar etc (any one) leaving Marvel for DC wouldn't put Marvel *in trouble* so won't Johns' changing sides.

Even if Johns is the biggest architects of the current (Post-IC) DCU, he isn't the only one...i.e. nor is he DC's ONLY writer nor the only one who can writer (good?) stories. As has been mentioned many times in this thread were Johns to leave today there would be over a dozen ready-replacements for him, quite a few of them equally good if not better than him.

As for the 'direction' of the DCU, it too would just change according to what the new writers/editors will decide for it.

Johns is the current BIG thing at DC. He wasn't a few years back and he won't be a few years from now, (how many years they might be). Some new BIG name will take his place and direct the DCU according to his *view* of the characters. Who knows just as Johns, Didio and others have swept away the Post-COIE Pre-IC DC in favor of Silver Age fanboyism, the BIG name writer/editor then could do away with all of their/current setup and go back to the previous one...or start something afresh.

I used Bendis as an example because like Johns he (Bendis) too is one of the biggest architects of the current MU-616 setup. Both writers have done MEGA events and both have multiple monthlies on their desk.

And yes, Bendis's leaving Marvel would have a greater effect than if Johns were to leave DC. Even though he might have rebooted DC's continuity, Johns' effect on overall DC isn't as far reaching/deep as Bendis is at Marvel. Also, with SI, Bendis is more in the attention of the comic reading audience, while over at DC Johns is just working on his monthly titles. Sure there is the Legion event coming, and yes it will sell well...but it doesn't quite compare to the level of SI (or even at DC, either IC or FC). The Legion has its fans and Johns' name will attact new/temporary readers but as a franchise it just isn't that big/mainstream. A year down the line (whenever the GL mega event come out) if Bendis isn't headlining a mega event of his own, the balance will shift towards Johns' side.

Yet, neither writer is so important that they are indispensible.

Should there be a Power Girl movie???

2008-04-04T00:33:00.001-04:00

The following is my response in a thread over at Newsarama. The thread title is the same one as of this post...

As big a PowerGirl fan as I am...'m gonna say NO (not yet).

To make a PG movie right now would be like giving WildCat, GA Flash, Black Canary, Hawkgirl and, well, almost any other member of the JSA-JLA teams a standalone movie, (leaving out the Trinity). Not even Alan Scott could/should get a movie of his own, and he's the eldest/most respected character b/w the two teams. (Similar examples for any other DC 'team').

Moreover, as with any member of the families (core or extended) of the Big-3, any movie would have the problem of dealing with theie gigantic shadows, in this case Superman. The problem is only increased when one takes into account that most of the movie going audience won't be comic readers, meaning they won't give two sh!ts about whether the Supes shown/hinted at is from Earth-1, Earth-2 or whatever. An older or dead Superman will also cause problems (however small) for the Superman movie franchise, which, thanks to the colossal crap heap that was SR has enough problems of it own.

These are but two reasons as to why there shouldn't/won't be a Power Girl, for that matter, a Nightwing, Super Girl, Wonder Girl, Robin etc movie.

...and all this without even taking into account/mentioning DC's continuing inability/reluctance to get a Power Girl ongoing/series of minis going. They just keep wasting the opportunity raised by the odd story arc they do focus towards her every few years.

An afterthought regd. DC's killing of the first Ventriloquist...

2008-04-02T14:17:00.001-04:00

The Ventriloquist (i.e. Scarface) was dealt well in the BTAS series. DC should have left Wesker well and alone. Instead they killed him off and (readily) substituted a replacement. Someone should have told (hammered it into his head) Didio that the dummy isn't what is the driving force...its the guy with his hand up its wooden behind.

Even though he was never one of the big A-grade Bat-baddies, the (Wesker) Ventriloquist-Scarface duo was a good middle-level one. The new one, she is even more (readily) of a cannon fodder than Wesker was...well, until DC's TPTB green lighted his offing in OYL

Could DC's Justice Society be E2 based?

2008-03-17T22:45:00.002-04:00

Made this post earlier in the day at Newsarama (while starting a thread for it).

Link: http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=150418

Given the multiple titles for the JLA and (Teen) Titans...one can expect DC to start up a second JSA ongoing (especially with JSAC coming to an end).

Me thinks that if/when it does get going the *Justice Society* series will be based on on 'New' Earth but on Earth-2. With Johns shoving in one character after another from Kingdom Crap, the team's size is is well past its 'best before' size. There is no way each character is going to get a part...not without quite a few issues in-between each proper appearance/part.

Moreover, with KC's Superman already in and the way Johns is positioning him -- everyone automatically looking up to him, Johns' whimpy-fying of Power Girl going into overdrive, pushing her to the back/shadows (even though she is the CHAIRPERSON of the damn team), the 'ideological' differences between various team-members, and the upcoming E2 visits and/or splits in the team --

--- *Justice Society* could be the series for the characters who stay/move to E2 with Power Girl and Super-Loser filling in the empty spaces left by the disappearance of the *NEW* E2 PG and Supes.

Also, unless DC has already swept it away, this E2 is NOT the original E2. It is the new 'similar' version formed after Mr. Mind's moth form (whatisname) made a meal of the various Earths in 52. Therefore, this E2 is NOT Power Girl's original Earth. Also, even though both might have white/grey hair KC Supes is miles (in shades of dark/serious) from the fairly simple and clean hearted E2 Supes. The two just don't fit...especially if *NEW* E2 is going to be portrayed in the same 'Simple People/Earth' way of Pre-COIE E2.

A passing 'review-esque' thought...

2008-03-13T15:30:00.002-04:00

(From another of my posts on the 'rama. This one's about a few of the issues out this week).

GA/BC #6: Started last issue...and I don't I'm going to last long with this one, primarily because of Black Canary. Just can't stand her character, haven't ever. Just what the hell was DC thinking rebooting the previous GA title? If the sales are anything to go by the reboot is going be a failure (sales are set to fall below that of the previous title).

Wonder Woman #18: I first dropped this title with issue #2. Returned (with cautious hope) when Gail Simone took over. Am dropping this again. This 'Diana Prince' is NOT Wonder Woman. And I thought things couldn't get any worse than what they were with Allen Heinberg.

Gotham Underground #6: Haven't gotten to it yet.

Tiny Titans #2: This is a 'guilty pleasure' title, and in that it succeeds.

DC's January 2008 Sales...Post #6

2008-03-13T11:51:00.002-04:00

6) Ms. Simone was kind enough to respond to some of the points raised (both by me and other posters) regarding the Wonder Woman series. There were a few other posters who posted after her (in relation to her post). My response is (as usual) posted below after hers...and a poster by the name of Viv Vega.

Originally Posted by Gail Simone

Well, to be fair, Birds of Prey was one of DC's most consistant sellers for the entire time I was on the book, Gen13 sold the best of all the WSU relaunches that actually came out (to everyone's surprise considering the heavy hitters on some of the other books) and Tranquility's tpb outsold all the other WSU relaunch collections (which was an even bigger surprise). No one expected anything out of any of those titles, actually, and a couple were downright injured properties when I took them over.

Plus the trades of my stuff tend to stay in print because they continue to sell long after the initial orders.

I heard from retailers over and over that it's going to take some time to rebuild faith in Wonder Woman, and I think that's understandable. But above all, what matters to me is whether or not the book is any good, and I believe it is. In the past, that's been a pretty good indicator for me as to whether or not a book finds an audience. At some stores, the book sells like hotcakes. We're just hoping that the enthusiastic response will spread, as it has in the past for books like Bop. It's a very entertaining book, and the art is gorgeous.

Best,

Gail

Originally Posted by Vic Vega

"For Tomorrow" and "Hush" were the WORST SUPERMAN AND BATMANS STORIES I'VE EVER READ.

But they sold like hotcakes. Why?

Jim Lee, mainly.

The only misstep D.C.'s made was assigning Lee to a book that only comes out once every 6 months.

Or putting Perez on an anthology books since fanboys don't like anthologys.

Alernate Lee and Perez on D.C.'s top tier books and you'll get sales without even changing anything else.

It's really that simple.

Remember for fans of BOTH Marvel and D.C., an artist is only hot once he or she's worked for Marvel and been deemed hot. Oliver Copiel is a perfect example of this.

Exactly.

I am not contesting the 'quality' of the current Wonder Woman series (now, NOT the past craptacular issues) but the numbers just aren't there. Also, while a 20K sales figure might make for WSU's top selling ongoing it below dismal for a DCU title. And yes, I know, good/great/top sales quantity doesn't nec. mean good/great/top quality and vice versa but as Vic Vega posted...HUSH had the sales numbers...both because of Jim Lee and JEFF LOEB. Loeb might not be (us) InterWeb fanbois' *favored* writer but he does get the numbers. Just take a look at his gawd-awful Wolverine run.

That said...Wonder Woman isn't in a danger of getting cancelled even if sales fall to even half of the current (like say titles like the All-New Atom). I don't know much about what setup DC has with the Marston estate/trust...but I am pretty sure it requires them to have a Wonder Woman ongoing.

Nevertheless for a character with such a long history, and one who is billed/marketed as one of the Big-3 it is rather...disheartening. It doesn't help the Post-IC return to Diana Prince and other Silver Age crap (and scuttling of just about all major character developments in the previous series i.e. the last two decades) has alienated quite a few fans of that series/character, (I am among one of those fans).

Also, its isn't the fanboys who don't like anthologies...its the fanboys who love them. The others already have their share of 'character team-ups' with the dozen or so *guest appearances* DC has in their titles every month. From Superman appearing in Blue Beetle to Batman in Firestorm to the JSA in Nightwing. A title such as BnB worked when the characters had essentially 'independent universes'...but now...well...

DC's January 2008 Sales...Post #5

2008-03-12T23:13:00.002-04:00

5) 'm posting the original posters post for this one too...and once again my response is posted after it.

Originally Posted by nightw1ng

i think a lot of it is DC putting too many of their eggs in one basket (i.e. everything Countdown/Crisis related). look at marvel. they're not just focusing on one big event, they had messiah complex for the x-men, brand new day for spidey, annihilation for the cosmic books, world war hulk, civil war, and now secret invasion. with dc, it's like they're trying to tie every single book together. crisis after crisis. weekly after weekly with even more tie-ins. while they're headed in the right direction with things like the sinestro corps, they still could do a lot more.

plain and simple, to invest in a dc story, you have to literally invest more money and the casual buyer isn't going to want to do that.

The *tieing everything and the kitchen sink* together...while it has the potential to have a reader(s) pick up the 'related' titles also has an equal potential for the reader(s) to drop a whole bunch of titles together. It doesn't help that for every second (if not every) DC title that the readers read they have to google/wiki/whatever some obscure long (and in cases, rightly) forgotten event/character that has been *NEW Earth-ed* back...in many cases vastly changed from their original incarnation.

DC's January 2008 Sales...Post #4

2008-03-12T23:11:00.003-04:00

4) This one is response to a poster quoting sales for Villains United (Villains United 4 sold DC 84,700 )to disprove my point about Gail Simone not being a 'big sales numbers' writer (not yet anyways).

It was an EVENT tie-in...an event that was hyped/marketed as the BIGGEST DC event ever. Its bound to sell. Just see the sales figures of the Secret Six mini and compare the two. SS 'cause it was the same author, was a six-issue mini (I think) and didn't have the Infinite Crisis juggernaut driving/pulling it up.

DC's January 2008 Sales...Post #3

2008-03-12T23:08:00.002-04:00

3) This is the response that the poster (ESF) made to my previous post. My response to this one is posted under it...

Originally Posted by ElijahSnowFan

now, ok. i'll agree that the relaunch failed miserably -- hell, i've said it enough.

but at the same time, Simone/Dodson are telling good stories with a known character, and it's shedding readers. now certainly, i can't and won't speak for everyone, but i've been around long enough to know a bad comic book when i see one, and this book is FAR from that. i mean, seriously -- it's a good book.

there's something not right about...i don't know. it's hard to put my finger on it. i'm serious, though -- some of those books just should be doing better -- shedding readers like some of them are...i don't know. it's just hard to figure out why.

As I said in post, Wonder Woman doesn't have an A-level creative team...not in terms of quality mind you but in terms of being able to get quantity. Ms. Simone has fans, some of them very vocal (just like with any other writer/artist) but they are very few in number...solely going by the sales figures on the titles she has worked on/with in the past (Birds of Prey, Gen13, The All New Atom, Welcome to Tranquility).

DC's January 2008 Sales...Post #2

2008-03-12T23:07:00.001-04:00

2) In response to a poster's questioning/wondering about the falling sales of the Wonder Woman ongoing (even with a new creative team onboard)

1) The relaunch was soooo much hyped that its dismal delivery made for a double whammy.

2) DC's inability/failure to set up Wondy properly as 'One of the big three'

3) Despite the art, writing, etc etc being good...there is no BIG NAME creator (i.e. someone proven to bring in the big number sales). Batman gets Morrison, Superman gets Johns, Wonder Woman gets...Jim Lee's college-mate. Granted that 'run' is over (and forgotten) but still, give Wondy an A-level writer/creator/etc.

And those are just three points. 'm pretty sure someone can come up with more (better ones).

DC's January 2008 Sales (Posts from the Newsarama discussion)

2008-03-12T23:05:00.003-04:00

THE BEAT posted DC's January 2008 sales and I started a thread for it on Newsarama.

'm posting my posts from that discussions. Will be adds posts as the discussion goes along...

1) OPENER:

Its up...DC month-to-Month Sales January 2008

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/b...-january-2008/

The first line of the whole (blog) post...

With Justice League of America, DC Comics only had one book selling above 70,000 units in January.

'nother good (reviewing) weekend!!

2008-02-25T13:32:00.002-05:00

After last week's run of 9 reviews this one came in at a lower but still good number of SIX reviews.

Four of the reviewers are posted on my site www.xcave.net and two on Comics Bulletin (www.comicsbulletin.com)

Also, CB posted three more of reviews from last week.

Toronto AutoShow 2008!!

2008-02-22T13:39:00.003-05:00

Visited the Toronto AutoShow 2008 yesterday and spent about four hours there.

Took a few pics (w/ my paltry phone-cam)...those and my views/thoughts/rants...all of them coming up soon, most probably over the weekend.

January 2008 Sales: NOT (even) one DC title in the Top 10...

2008-02-19T10:31:00.001-05:00

...and only THREE in the TOP 20.

Newsarama: www.newsarama.com/marketreport/Jan08sales.html

ICv2: www.icv2.com/articles/home/12096.html

Yeah, DC's never looked this good...not even during CW

Finally!! Some reviews!

2008-02-19T07:07:00.003-05:00

Finally!! After weeks of backlog (no reviews) I returned to my reviewing and if I do say so myself...did so with a BANG!!

With the new 'Family Day' making this weekend a long (3-day) one, I had sufficient time to both lounge (read: cleaning, grocery and laundry), dinner out (twice) and still get 9, yeah, NINE, reviews done. Now agreed two of those were quickies but even at 7 reviews in three days I hit my past/usual speed.

Six of the reviews will be posted on Comics Bulletin (formerly Silver Bullet Comic Books).

Have about 3-4 reviews (for this week's list) to go and have them about half done. 'm not sure whether to finish them up or put them away until next week and do a couple of Trade Paper Back reviews (one again for CB posting).

Well... lets see how it turns out.

For my latest reviews: reviews.xcave.net

Returning from the dead!!

2008-02-15T21:30:00.002-05:00

The last three weeks, month rather has been a real killer. Not only was I crushed under a veritable mountain of data (dates, contacts, etc) to get my grad. school applications out I have been left in the dust as far as my comic reading and reviewing is concerned, (this being a direct result of the first reason).

Anyways, with more than three-quarters of the application work completed, I can take a breather and play a little catch up. This post is the second step in said 'catch up'. The first is/was carrying on with getting my site up-to-speed. End of Dec.'07 I had started with the next update to the site's design (look, nav. etc), and although it has gone quite well, there are a quite a lot of small but sizable (in number) of changes/updates that I have to carry out. In that the main is completed, the Gallery and section is more than 60% done and the Reviews & FanFiction about 45%. Over the next few weeks hope to complete almost most (if not all) of that too.

'nyways, 'm off now to start with my backlog of comic-reading and then getting their reviews out.

Until later...

Holy ROBIN Batman!

2007-01-14T10:09:00.000-05:00

Someone on a group asked me about a quick 'Info Session' on the various Robins. This was my reply to them. Hope it helps others too.

Robin I: The first Robin was Dick Grayson who is now Nightwing. He did leave after a fight with Bats (which is when he also left being Robin...becoming Nightwing soon after). He was a ward of Bruce Wayne but is now his Eldest (and FIRST) son. He is currently based in New York...although which idiot put up that idea and which dumbass passed it, well, that's a whole another rant. (Dick Grayson's Robin is also the one who gave us many memorable Bat-Phrases, many of them like "Holy ____ Batman!" Fill in the blanks)

Robin II: The second Robin was Toad-Face, I mean, Jason Todd. He was (thankfully) beaten to a pulp and blown up by the Joker. He has since made a return and just as with any loser character, he keeps jumping around from place to place trying to be DC's Bucky. This I say because both characters returned around the same time.

Robin III: The third (and current) Robin is Tim Drake. Unlike the cartoon (where Tim had a Jason Todd style background), this one came from a relatively affluent family...all of whom, thanks to DC's *killing* policy, are dead now. (This also includes his girlfriend Stephanie Brown). As it is now, Post-IC, he is Bruce Wayne's second son...and the only one who lives in the Wayne Manor.

Robin IV: The fourth (and ONLY girl) Robin was Stephanie Brown (a.k.a Spoiler). She was also Tim Drake's then girlfriend. She was killed in the utterly uselessly long Bat-event 'WAR GAMES'. As for who killed her, thanks to the writer slobbering for 'shocking the readers', her murderer is Dr. Leslie Thompkins (who kept medical treatment from her and thus let her die...succumbing to her initially non-fatal injuries). However, it is rumored than with DC's Post-IC *Happy* Batman, this particular murder has been 'fiddled' with making the injuries fatal.

Well, those are the Robins.

Year in Review: Top 5 '2006'

2007-01-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone enjoyed themselves with the Holidays, or (like me) at least tried to.

I was going to do a 'Year's End Review' for my site (www.xcave.net), but with my editor (at Silver Bullet Comicbooks) asking all reviewers or as many of us as we could, to do one for SBC...

...well, long story short, please use the link provided for my take and TOP 5 for the Comic year that was 2006.

And in true curmudgeon fashion (more than one of my readers has awarded with that title, with the top three honors going to Bastet from SWoTX, Icha from BMWW and SebZero from Newsarama), my Top 5 isn't what I liked best about comics in 2006 but rather what in my not-so-humble opinion, are the Top WORST 5 events/stunts/changes of 2006.

LINK: http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/soapbox/116718473280697.htm

**Please scroll down to the entry under the name of BRUCE LOGAN.

Comments and Feedback welcome...and WANTED!!

The Women of the Bat-Clan...

2006-12-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

As much as I love the BAT, DC and its writers and editors, have twisted the Bat-clan into a family that scores very low in regards to respect to its females, (and no Batwoman doesn't count. She isn't a part of the family.)

- Leslie Thompkins: Killed Stephhanie Brown.
- Stephannie Brown: Check with Ex-Dr. Thompkins
- Barbara Gordon: What Ess went down on that front I don't even want to get into.
- Casandra Cain: Cassandra who? Oh, the 'crazy' one. Sorry, we needed another scapegoat and with all four mentioned above unavailble (Leslie destroyed, Steph dead, Babs wheeled away), it was Mr. Cain to the Bat-guillotine.
- Selina Kyle: Being in the Bat-mythos was 'stiffling/killing' her character, hampering her growth. So, we took her away and gave her kid instead. But don't fret, as and when we need next chump-killing, Baby Helana will be the top on our list.

And then there were,

- Vicki Vale: Uh, she left
- Silve St. Cloud: Ditto
- Vespar Fairchild: We pulled a Stephannie with her
- Amina Franklin: Don't worry, she too will get her time on the butchering table
- Shondra Kinsolving: She, uh, lost her mind.
...etc etc etc

FVCK IT.

More of my rants at DC's Re-Silver Agifiied Post-IC status...

2006-11-28T19:16:00.000-05:00

Posted in a discussion thread over at Silver Bullet Comicbooks (www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com)

Lets see,

Batman...got ninnified (i.e. turned into an incompetent noob that even Robin would feel ashamed being seen alongside with). And just because everyone in the Bat-side has to be slightly off-kilter, put in a punk (one drawn out from a RIGHTLY FORGOTTEN Elseworlds story) Title: Batman, Son of the Demon, Robin
Superman...lets make the comic version into a copy of "Superman Returns". Although, just because this is the *cleaner, brighter* Post-IC continuity, do away with the *bastard* in the son, and plunk in *adopted* in its place. As for those who don't like it (or that lousy movie). EFF YOU. Title: Action Comics
Wonder Woman....Take her, CUT away just about every single character development of the last TWENTY years i.e. return to those oh-so-missed days of Agent Diana Prince, PRINCESS of Themiscya and two bit lackey of a foreign power (i.e. the US government). In short, two words, BLUNDER BOOB-an. Title: I forget.
Flash...So what if we (TPTB at DC) can't get Barry, we can always get that other ALLEN. And as for Wally West...What/Who Wally West? Title: Flash: The Whiniest Man Alive
Green Lantern...start by taking out one, (Kyle Rayner), by having his girlfriend cheat on him (a forced/Editorial mandate). Then take the other and send him into *deep* undercover (my azz). And oh, just as we are at it, why not do away with that Parallax too. Voila, just like it never happened. Title: Green Lantern (v3, v4), Green Lantern: Rebirth, The Omega Men

Just FIVE, and the list goes on. Ladies and Gentlefreaks, presenting the Re-Silver Agified...ahem, NEW Earth. Everything old (and tired).

Nothing much...

2006-11-24T17:32:00.000-05:00

..but a simple quote/analogy that made in a response post to my REVIEW for 52, Week 29 (on Newsarama).

(Thread) LINK: http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=91981

Analogy:

What DC is doing is akin to eating a scrumptious cake, digesting it, crapping it out and then trying to serve the crap (on a *NEW* silver platter i.e. NEW Earth) again.

-B-

How DC dropped the ball with OYL...

2006-10-29T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just a few characters and my views on how DC fumbled and then 'lost' the impetus and history built by (either) Infinite Crisis (or) the whatever these characters grew/achieved since COIE (i.e. the First Crisis)

**********************************

Wonder Woman: Oh, lookie, she is one of three of DC's TRINITY. She's so important. Oooh, we are reinventing her.

BULLSH*T.

Not only has Wonder Woman lost just about everything her character acheived/developed in the last two decades, i.e. been reset her to Pre-COIE, I am an Amazon Princess, I used to be the Goddamn AMBASSADER to the U.N. and Oh, did I mention a FRIGGIN' PRINCESS, but now, I am back to being a two-bit lackey...sorrry, 'Secret Agent' for another country. Also, I am so good (or maybe the others are so dumb) that I don't even need to change my name, let alone get a respectable diguise. (The glasses work for Supes...and that too barely, but I sure as hell ain't buying them on 60s Throwback Woman.)

Besides, if she is so important, so damn important that DC deems her EQUAL to Superman and Batman then why the hell did they hire a HACK who sh*t out two issues in the time there should have been SIX. This 'new' Wonder Woman is only part of the Trinity to give Bats and Supes lap dances, 'cause that is the only way one can define how and where she is spending her time...and wtf are those three doing the cave, sitting around with their thumbs up their behind.

Flash: As with all major 'names' the Flash too has been kicked back to his silver age version, only for him it was a bit different. Seeing as Barry got his a$$ disintegrated in COIE, and wasn't there to 'return to glory' (ala. Hal *Parallax* Jordon, or Green *Queen* Arrow), DC went in for the only other character carrying the ALLEN name, i.e. Bart. Not only did they pi$$ on all that Wally had come to have (first as Kid Flash and then as Flash), they even tossed Bart and his time as Impulse/Kid Flash into the gutter. And just in case the fans still has some part unburnt, they went that final step and gave Barty a girlfriend that 'in drawing' would remind that of Linda Park, which in turn would keeping on stoking the memory of Wally. As for their kids (son and daughter)...Fvck 'em. After all, who in hell misses those two runts, especially when we are giving one son each to both Batman and Superman.

Batman: Kicked back to Silver Age, in their endeavor to make a lighter, friendlier BAT, they've turned him into a goddamn pansy. The last issue of Robin is a clear example of what an emotional ninny he has become now. Either that, or he didn't/doesn't care about his elder son (Nightwing) as much as his new one (Robin). I can't wait until he starts with the CHUM talk. At least 'Tec and Batman (sort of) are good.

Superman: It's Movie and TV time for him. If its not Superman Returns or any of the first two movies (after all, no 'self respecting Supe fan' cares about the last two), then its Smallville. If only they would name the new kid 'Jason' and bring Chloe from Smallville into the comics. After all, its not like they can change comic Pete Ross or Brainiac into their Smallville version. Or can they. Also, introducing Chloe is such an great opportunity to add a 'love triangle' tension to the Lois and Clar marriage...espcially when it has NEVER been done before, with, oh let's say...LANA, LORI, MAXIMA or Wondy. Sorry again, the Pre-IC Wondy. Not this one. For this one, it's back to mooning over Twitty Trevor.

Green Lantern: Do away with all Green Lanterns, who don't have the first name of Hal or the last name of Jordon. Either send them away from earth, or deep, deep...deep undercover. So deep, that he (John Stewart) shows up in Omega Men.

OYL was a great opporunity for DC to try something new, whether from scratch or by just correcting the faults in the Pre-Crisis DCU. Instead, what do we get? The excreted remains of Pre-COIE DCU.

***************************************************

Part 2: The Silver Age and OYL!

The SA (Silver Age of Comics) was good...VERY good even, just as during it's time, was the 'Horse Drawn Carriage' (HDC), and just as the HDC retains its charm and is still enjoyable (once in a while), we wouldn't want to give up on gasoline/diesel/electrical powered vehicles and go back to it. At least I wouldn't. Same is the case with the Silver Age of Comics. It seems that in their endeavor to become 'Environment Friendly' (i.e. a 'Lighter DCU'), DC's TPTB have done/art trying to do, exactly that.

The result? The comic equivalent of Horse Crap (complete with its nauseating stench)

***************************************************

Part 3: Monthlies become Bi-Monthlies and are looking to go be Quartlies!!

Don't you mean 'their top talent can focus on their *bi-monthlies/quarterlies and in ASBMR's case, yearlies* more...or even a little.

Lets see, amone the LATER-lies...

Wonder Woman (After all, she is from the Trinity...hence first position in this list)
ASBMR (Well, about that I don't even care)
Teen Titans
Green LATE-ern
Supergirl
JLA
Brave & Bold (Didn't even reach launch)
Seven Soldiers (More like 'See ya Seven month later, Soldiers!')
Batman (Requires a 'fill-in' to keep to schedule)
Aquaman
Superman-Batman (That title was supposed to be the 'FLAGSHIP' of the DCU. More like tail dingy)

And these are just a few.

DC might have big plans for their Re-SILVERed Post-IC/OYL universe, but unless they tell the stories...IN TIME, the readers are going to get fed up and LEAVE. (As is clrear by the latest sales figures n' comparisons)

At this point in time, DC should give Wonder Woman a 'temporary' rest from the TRINITY and get Green Arrow (As much as I am not a fan of this character) in there. At least his title comes out on time.

Both of Geoff John's titles (GL, TT) have been have a famously delayed run, and now he's on Action Comics? And is slated to start on the JSA? Seeing as AC just HAS to be kept to schedule, one can only guess the 'once evey three months or so' fate that awaits the JSA? As it is, GL's already on his way there, with the Titans following his trail.

Seriously, all three titles (the previous ones), Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern, all three goddamn titles were punting along smoothly, coming about on time month after month (with only a few delays). Add to the the JLA too. Only to get the sales boost from the oh-so-shiny #1 issue did DC reboot/start anew, all four of them.

It would have been fine, if...

a) they would have gotten the right creative teams (currently NOT on either WW or the FLASH)
b) have those goddman coneheads...ahem, 'creators', sit down and actually do some creating...and that too on time.

It's like a company launches a 'new' better *BREAD*, one that not only tastes better, is more healthy, but also allows you to have a better dump. The public goes crazy after it. Only problem? After the first batch ships, the company starts stockpiling (for months) and then once the bread is all stale and moldy, they bring it to the market.

Not only will it have lost a major market interest/share, even those will buy it/consume it, will do so with a bad taste in their mouth.

On the plus side, the moldy bread will retain (and improve) on one thing...it will give the consumers a REALLY gooooooood and painful 'case of de loose motions'.

The 'TRINITY': What it means.

2006-10-29T11:19:00.000-05:00

The first 'Fresh' post of this new blog: This was part of a discussion thread on Newsarama where the opening poster put up the following question....

*******************************************
Title: Why isn't Spider-Man in the comic book trinity?
Post: I mean it's not like he didn't earn it. I say that he should replace Wonder Woman! What do you think?
*******************************************

To me it seemed that either this poster did not have a grasp of what the 'Trinity' stands for in comics (especially DC) or maybe he was just trying to be funny or even more so, sarcastic, both of which are

My response to it...

The 'TRINITY' is a *DC only* thing and came so much into vogue after a three issue AU/Elseworlds style mini (Batman-Superman-Wonder Woman: Trinity) published a few years back (2003). It has nothing to do with Spider-Man or for that matter any character from any comic publisher other than DC.

Note: There was another 'Trinity' mini (1993) published by DC, but that was during that whole Parallax, Controllers etc etc whatever.

The term Trinity has also been used in various religions/cultures. While in Christianity it's the the three aspects of God (the father, the son and the holy spirit/ghost), in Hinduism, the Trinity (or as it is known there *TRIMURTI*) are the three top-gods, Brahma, Vishu and Mahes/Shiva. Brahma is the 'creator or the source', Vishnu, the 'Preserver or Life' and Shiva, the 'transformer or destroyer'. And so and so forth in various other beliefs.

In the same way, Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman are the three cornerstones within which the DCU is built/resides.

As for me, I like to think Bats and Supes are the other far sides of the DC 'Weighing Scale' with Wondy being the hold/fulcrum that marks the 'BALANCE'. The IDEAL setting.

Even their *cities* make up the far corners, with Gotham (Dark and foreboding) on one side and Metropolis (Bright and welcoming) on the other. While cities such as Star City fall the bat-side of the balance, those like Coast City (used to) on the Super-side. The twins, Keystone and Central (one blue collar, one white) are the ones which are/were closest to the middle. As for the Ideal in that case too...what else, but 'Paradise' (Themiscyra), or at least what it used to be.

Feb'2006 (Marvel Comics Sales Figures)

2006-10-29T11:10:00.000-05:00

Original Post Date: 03/20/2006

Finally, the Ranking (with the sales figures) are out. Here they are:
(Among #1 to #100)

(Rank - Title - sales)

In the bracket are the sales for the previous month (Jan'2006):

01 - ASTONISHING X-MEN #13 - 140,655 (No Issue)
02 - NEW AVENGERS #16 - 121,492 (121,758)
06 - AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #529 - 90,414 (95,415)
10 - UNCANNY X-MEN #469 - 79,039 (79,808)

11 - X-MEN #182 - 78,653 (X-Men #181 - 74,094)
12 - X-MEN #183 - 76,454 (See Above to X-Men #181)
17 - WOLVERINE #39 - 72,248 (70,944)
24 - SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #23 - 59,051 ()
26 - YOUNG AVENGERS #10 - 56,347 ()
29 - DAREDEVIL #82 - 53,058 (44,252)

32 - X-FACTOR #3 - 48,307 ()
35 - NEW EXCALIBUR #4 - 45,071 (47,196)
36 - FANTASTIC FOUR #534 - 44,573 ()
37 - CAPTAIN AMERICA #14 - 44,041 ()
38 - CAPTAIN AMERICA #15 - 43,350 ()
40 - FANTASTIC FOUR #535 - 43,124 (See Above to #534)
41 - NEW X-MEN #23 - 41,463 (42,923)
47 - INCREDIBLE HULK #92 - 39,224 (35,980)

60 - EXILES #77 - 32,998 (#75 - 33,485, #76 - 32,843)
61 - STORM #1 (Of 6) - 32,831 ()
75 - SHE-HULK 2 #5 - 27,183 (28,214)
80 - BLACK PANTHER #13 - 26,054 (27,933)
82 - X-MEN UNLTD #13 - 25,257 ()
95 - CABLE DEADPOOL #25 - 22,918 (23,542)
99 - THING #4 - 21,190 (21,839)

For complete list: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/8384.html

My Comments:

This is not an all inclusive list and is limited to the Marvel (616) mainline universe, and except for 'Storm #1' mini-series have not been included.

There don't seem to be any major change in the series ranking among the top twenty (including Wolverine), a trend that is pretty much set (as clear from past figures).

Going down the list, the only major gainer in the 21-50 ranks is 'Daredevil #82'. That can be attributed to the major change in the status quo both with DD's time in jail starting, and his long time partner and friend Foggy Nelson getting stabbed in the gut.

From No.51 and below, it is pretty much unimpressive, with all of the series losing sales figures, including, Marvel's (Joe Q) favorite, Black Panther, who from Nov'2005 (31,987) to Feb'2006 (26,054) lost almost 6000 sales (and 18 in rankings). I used Nov'2005, cause BP #10 came out that month and was the issue after the X-Men (Wild Kingdom) Crossover.

As for Storm's miniseries, can't say much about it, not until atleast two issues are out there. But one thing is there, it is atleast better than Ororo: BtS, which started around 28k for the first issue. Hopefully, unlike that, this series' sales won't fall to half by the time it reaches #4 (and even lower after that for #5 and #6)

BW

Marvel (June 2006) Solicitations

2006-10-29T11:09:00.000-05:00

Original Post Date: 03/14/2006

Marvel has come out with its June 2006 Solicitations and you can check 'em out here:

http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Jun06/solicitations.html

and the discussion (on Newsarama) here: 'Newsarama Discussion on Marvel June 2006 Solicitations'

I really thought that by now (June) there would be more of (possibly) clearer picture as to what was happening in the MU. Nope!!

With the extent of the events (and I say events, cause there are more than one) Marvel seems to be matching (or trying to match) what DC is doing (done) with its whole Infinite Crisis shindig.

Lets match 'em!! (DC - Marvel)

1. Infinite Crisis - Civil War

2. Rann/Thangar War & Return of Donna Troy - Annihilation (and all its minis)

3. Day of Vengance - The Apocalypse thing (whatisname!!)

4. Villains United - Can't think of anything yet but to name something, lets put....TWO sides (forming) for the CW (including possible allainces b/w Heroes and Villains supporting their side)

5. OMAC Project - (weak match) Sentinel O*N*E

However, while Alex Luthor (and his lackey SB Prime) were able to tie in the R/T War to the events on earth, there doesn't seem to any such thing b/w Annihilation and CW. Is there??

Moreover, even though I was never (and still am not) a big fan of Apocalypse, it just doesn't feel right that a character of his stature is desinated to a (for all purposes) sideline plot-line.

Finally coming to the....ahem, 'Wedding of the Century', no one (from the discussion on Newsarama) was in the least bit (let alone) impressed/excited/looking forward to it. We can put that down to that the PR train not catching speed, or we can face it for what it is....a plot that just isn't coming in the radar of the readers. Then again, maybe all those readers/posters don't come in Marvel's 'Target Audience' and hence don't know about the 'Universe Reverberating' consequences of the wedding.

And as for a last point, Who The F**k drew Storm on that cover of BP #17...oh, yeah JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER. Please, that easily scores among the worst 'Storms' I have seen in quite sometime....maybe ever!!

BW

Joe Q and his Bachelor Parties!!

2006-10-29T11:08:00.000-05:00

Original Post Date: 02/27/2006

Lets get this out of the way first!!

**“What I love about weddings are bachelor parties,” Quesada said earlier in the panel about the upcoming Black Panther/Storm Wedding storyline, “and T'Challa will be having bachelor party, and if I'm not mistaken it's being thrown by Luke Cage and Wolverine.

“I can only tell you, if I was having a bachelor party, I would want Wolverine to throw it. He knows people.”**

And now this....

Link: http://www.newsarama.com/NYCC/Marvel/Cup_O_Joe/report.htm

Marvel should seriously consider changing its name from Marvel Comics to 'Wolverine Comics', 'cause there dont' seem to be even half a dozen (remotely respectable) series where Wolverine isn't making an appearance every month.....and this, hosting the bachelor party for the guy he can't stand (Wild Kingdom x-over) has to be the cherry on the proverbial cake.

Lets see, Wolverine, Uncanny X-Men, Ashtonishing X-Men, "Adjectiveless" X-Men, New X-Men, New Avengers, Runaways, B.P., Spider-Man (all of this current timeline series)...recently, anything HoM (before and after), upcoming anything Civil War, lets just forget
the miniseries (Deadly Genesis, Colossus: Bloodline, Jubilee, Nightcrawler...Oh, give me a break-Mystique)...

...They just don't stop. And now on top of all this, Wolverine: Origin.

I mean, come on, he is supposed to be the best at what he does, but nowadays the only thing he seems to be doing is jumping around all over the planet...ok, for his past, but to give any and every god-damn series the 'claw' touch.

And now, both him and Luke, they are going to become glorified 'pimps'. Luke Cage was the first African American hero to get his own comic series (way back in 1972) and this is how Marvel is using his potential!! Even in the New Avengers he comes across more as 'eye candy' than anything else. I remember reading him going against Spidey (atleast I think it was him) during the early days of his career, when he had the whole 'Angry Young Man' thing going for him....and although the previews of Civil War seem to present an interesting take on his situation as a 'family man', this whole bachelor party thing is going a bit (a lot) overboard.

Yeah, they are heroes (super-heroes) and the whole world is going to the crapper around them (civil war) and what are they going to do? Down shots and ogle at grinding babes (and hopefully throw up later)....Oooh, they must really be tense!!

Am I the only one who seems to think that Joe Q's 'bachelor party' mentions are a joke gone too
far...especially in keeping track with the current situation in the MU at that time?

Marvel's Wedding, Continuity and their C-King!!

2006-10-29T11:07:00.000-05:00

Original post date: 02/25/2006

This is my first post in this blog...well, my first post ever in any blog. Have been thinking of trying my hand at this for quite sometime, if nothing else just as an extension of my site. This particular post is from one I made on a forum and is built up from that.

Have my fingers crossed!!

Here goes....

In case you were wondering, the C-King is for BP's 'offical' standing as King of Wakanda, and the 'C' is for his 'fan' standing....not to mention his record-breaking sales...Yeah, like that is going to
happen!! EVER!!

Stan Lee formed his characters with a 'real' life base....meaning, unlike 'billionaire' Batman or 'happy, honest, reporter' Superman, who have/had an idyllic life, characters like Spider-Man, X-Men, Hulk etc. has a lot going wrong in their 'personal lives'.

It seems that in following the same philosophy, the future writers, have shoved one middle finger up 'continuity's' a$ while the second one, up, 'proper power definition's'.

That explains how they can propose a C-list character, whose previous history has been 'officially' annulled, gets a new series, and only after the first seven issues, either start with specials or crossovers....and now he is going to be married to an A-list character, with just the hope that he will become atleast a 'B-' if not 'B'.....and they propose to set him akin their topmost star (above the rating).

If anyone was confused, let me clarify. Black Panther is the character, and his new series started by totally dumping whatever the old one had accomplished...'offically'. Just after the first arc
(+1 other issue), issue #07 was 'House of Lost Marbles' (HoM) special, #8 and 9 had the X-Men crossover, while the next ones have Blade, Luke Cage, ninjas and Who the Fu** cares who else.

And from #14 onwards, he goes on a world wide 'sniffing' quest just so they can somehow cover five issues to correspond with Storm's miniseries. Even the freakin' wedding, is not going to his show (and its HIS series...or atleast its supposed to be). He is just supposed to appear there and get hitched onto the Storm and through her the X-Men and maybe the Avengers bandwagon. I mean, come on, is the series called 'Black Panther' or 'Marvel Team-Up with a side dish of Black Panther dumped on whichever poor soul we an get our hands on' Series.

I mean, come on, they are already telling you that he is going to marry her, then WTF are those filler issues for? Just in case yor run out of toilet paper while on the cra**er?

Moreover, if the previous BP history was really dumped, how can they quote two issues (not even a dozen pages) to sell this Goddess and Dump wedding? Even the supposed 'target audience' stunt, is only to generate racial publicity, with one side saying its a good thing that minority characters are getting their due attention, while the other saying its pure PR. I whole heartedly agree with the 'get the due' point, if in fact it were so. I mean DC has a Black Green
Lantern, and now even the 'Spectre' is of the same race. Even though not strictly an A list character, the Spectre has a lot of clout in the DC universe.

All this because Marvel knows, at the end of the day, even white boys (n' gals) and other race readers (I come in the 'other' category) will get drawn into the conterversy and more or less end up buying it.

Get a clue, Joe Q says that marriage harmed Spider-Man's character....yeah, real harm. He fell from being the most famous, most selling Marvel character to....oh, sorry, he didn't fall anywhere. In fact, he has had not one but two 'sh** your pants' money making movies, not to mention the video games attached with them. Now Mr. Queseda is going to work his wonder with a 'on life support' character/series like BP and make him the next Spider-Man. Yeah, not even when pigs sprout wings and get MIT/Harward/Wharton degrees. Even after forty years,
all BP has to show for himself...NOW, is a dozen issues, because frankly, the rest DIDN'T HAPPEN. But, then they go into the garbage bin where they chucked that fan-favored history into and draw up whatever they find to their liking.

Even the Legendary, Epic, Universe shaking....give as many names, but no one (ok, a handful people) cares romance...is being retconned in. And what about that little bird known as 'CONTINUITY'. Oh, just blow it away with a 'selling' cannon such as E.J.Dickie. I am just waiting for the retcon by which BP single handedly saved the entire universe from the Brood, the Shi'ar, Galactus, Thanos, Dark Phoenix....all at the same time, all while wiping the floor with wimps such as Magneto and Apocalypse.....and lets not forget, mutant monkeys from Niganda.

At one time, Marvel's faithfulness to continuity used by leagues better than DC's and the people at DC knew it...just as did the readers. Even those turn of the 15th century villains in the 'wild kingdom' crossover, they were totally out of it (continuity). That doctor/scientist stealing mutant powers. He was from Genosha, got out before the sentinel attack and worked in a mutant hating/enslaving government atmosphere. Meaning that whole bull cr** with Magneto never happened?

So, as the situation goes, I myself am really looking forward to what's in store for Storm. 'Cause if marriage harms a character such as Spider-Man, it should naturally do wonders for Storm...after all she is the opposite sex. (emphasis on opposite...N-S polarity). And with BP being the next Marvel top-shot, she will automatically rise up with him. With the hints of a kid, that will happen faster than you can say 'Fat Fu*****g Chance'. With the whole family thing, they are simply trying to create a second Reed-Sue-Frankin-and-Valeria Richards, and in true Joe Q fashion, instead of the decades long history of the originals, the V2.0 family with be formed in a matter of months. Hey, its the e-mail age.

Just hope they don't complete the nine month long pregnancy in 9 days....

...even that will have a horde of crossovers.

Now with Storm #1 out and BP #14 on its way, its only a matter of time before the P.R. bridge is put into high gear in an effort to make the general (Marvel) comic fanbase actually give a care about this unlikeliest of unions.

Oh, they are perfect for each other. Why? Just because they just happen to share the same (general) skin color and race. They want us to believe, that in a continent of more than 800 million people, in countries so far apart, these two met as KIDS and now they are just perfect for each other. Meaning, the Forges, Mistys and what nots, are just fillers.....just to get the practice 'humping' done before they move onto the main dish.

Its simply cheapening...not to mention putting off. As of Jan 2006 I am not buying any Marvel comics (except for Wolverine, Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Spider-Man) and won't be for the forseeable future.

Thank you very much Mr. Qlueless. You just lost a reader.....with all my 'freed' funds going into DC's 52 series.

Archiving the Past!

2006-10-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

As part of moving (a few of) my old posts from my previous stillborn blog (or as I like to call it, my 'trial run' blog), I will be posting them here. Shouldn't be more than half a dozen...at most, after which will start with the 'current/new' ones.

Hope this blog works out better and has a longer life than its predecessor.

So, here goes nothing.

BW