Oh the Angst

I have now finished reading Ed Brubaker's epic Captain America/Bucky Barnes saga, ending with "Winter Soldier: The Complete Collection." It was all masterful -- he's one of my all-time favorite comics writers -- but now I'm depressed. If you haven't read these, he didn't exactly leave Bucky in a good place emotionally, damn it. I'm not exactly eager to read more Bucky comics because from what I've seen of them, skimming them in various comic book shops, they pale in comparison to Brubaker's brilliance.

Roy Harper is my all-time favorite DC character (along with the original Supergirl) and now Bucky is my all-time favorite Marvel character. Oddly enough, both Bucky and the version of Roy before the nu52 DC lost an arm. I think Bucky lucked out with the better prosthetic limb, but for angst factor, they might be tied. Bucky was a programmed assassin and ended up losing the love of his life Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, who had her memories of him wiped due to a nefarious plot, but Roy had been a heroin addict who cleaned up his act, then suffered the loss of his young daughter, Lian, during... yup, a nefarious plot.

Meanwhile, I saw Ant-Man which totally rocked. It was loads of fun, but oh, that post-credits scene. Not the mid-credits scene, though that was fun, but the one at the very, very end. *sigh* And I hope the Milgrom Hotel where Scott was staying was named in honor of Al Milgrom, comics artist, editor, etc. If not, I'm going to pretend it was.

Finally, "Get on the damn ant, Scott." (I think I remembered that correctly.)

Comics Creators

Here are two articles that provide a lot of food for thought. In the first, Gerry Conway explains how DC Entertainment defines "derivative creations" and it is not pretty. It's not fair, either.

In the second, in an interview, Roy Thomas explains how he created Ultron and Vision and why he tried to not create many characters for Marvel.

I'm not a comic book writer or artist, nor am I otherwise involved in comic book publishing. I'm a reader and don't, therefore, have a stake in any of this. But I do believe fair is fair and creators should be fairly compensated. When many of the older writers and artists toiled at Marvel, DC, etc., there were few merchandising opportunities for their characters and while TV adaptations were a possibility, the blockbuster movie was not as likely, certainly not a big team-up movie with lots of characters. Work-for-hire contracts start off unfair. Most of the time, creating characters to be owned by the companies doesn't seem like a big deal. Unless the character hits big. And gets a movie franchise or is part of one. Or a hit TV show with action figures and the like. And then, the company that owns the character makes a fortune and the creators sit and watch others make money off what they created. And only the comic geeks know who they are.

It's fine that pretty much every Marvel fan knows who Stan Lee is. He sure has an impressive resume of cameos in Marvel Studios movies and TV shows. He even has his own action figure. But what about Roy Thomas?

Actually, I'm pretty impressed that Ed Brubaker, the man who brought Bucky Barnes back to life in the Captain America comic, as the Winter Soldier, got to appear in the movie. And how many people knew that? Or even what he looks like?

I understand the impulse of more and more comics creators to leave the big publishers to make their own comics where they can retain the rights to their creations. Creator-owned comics have made Image my favorite publisher. The variety of talent and stories in Image Comics is amazing, with truly something for everyone. But for anyone starting out, they need to make their rep first and that means toiling for Marvel or DC. And how many independent comics can the market support? The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, et al remain the characters people know. How many would be willing to try something new and different? I for one will continue to support creator-owned comics by buying all the ones that appeal to me. And now I'm hoping to convince you to do that, too.

Greg Rucka's Lazarus is in development for a TV show. Rucka is a well-established writer of both novels and comics. He and artist Michael Lark created the realm of Lazarus and its characters and own the rights. They will be adequately compensated for their creation. As it should be. Apparently, that's not true for the creative people at DC and Marvel, and that's a shame.

Coming Out of the Closet

So DC is going to make an established, supposedly iconic, character gay in a storyline starting next month. I applaud the decision and I think we'll see one of the male characters come out because we already have a fairly well known lesbian in Batwoman/Kate Kane.

Will it make me want to read a book I'm not currently reading? I doubt it, because I still have problems with the new reality. It's just new for the sake of change/mixing things up. I don't see that it's radically new or different than the same old same old that predated the new DCU. And as welcome and needed as this move is, it doesn't negate how little respect female characters get in relation to the male ones or how little respect female readers and older readers get. I'm not the demographic they want.

Diversity in the DCU

I suppose I should comment on Ian Sattler's comments in a Q&A at HeroCon that have been sliced and diced across the comics blogosphere (no links because I can't remember all the places I've seen them).

A serious topic came up about how characters who are minorities who happened to be legacy characters like Ryan Choi are killed off so their caucasian counterparts can return and how they feel like they are being cheated or sidelined out of their roles. Sattler took a more serious tone. "It's so hard for me to be on the other side because it's not our intention. There is a reason behind it all. We don't see it that way and strive very hard to have a diverse DCU. I mean, we have green, pink, and blue characters. We have the Great Ten out there and I have counter statistics, but I won't get into that. It's not how we perceived it. We get the same thing about how we treat our female characters."

Now,  I'm going to be charitable here. I'm going to assume that no malice was intended. I'm doing to assume this is simply (and yes, I know the risks I run when I make assumptions) a case of someone just not getting the point.

I believe he's sincere in thinking they're doing nothing wrong. And I believe there's a real story/plot point behind the deaths and the chosen resurrections. It may all end up being one helluva story that we'll be talking about for decades and that we'll all love. Maybe. But that does not negate Sattler's misreading of readers/fans' concerns.

Bringing fictitious ethnicities into the discussion, the blue and green people, while ignoring the many shades of actual humans who are not properly represented both on the pages and in managerial positions, let alone in the talent producing the books is a disingenuous response at best. There are no pink people, no green or blue people walking around our wonderful planet, so mentioning the ones walking around the DCU isn't going to win you new readers. Kids usually want to read about people like them. Sure, a polka dotted alien is cool and can be entertaining, but after a while, you want to see a mocha complexioned woman who speaks like a real person and dresses as someone other than a slut.

Because, women make up half the population, but not half the comic heroes, and that issue is usually brushed aside.

Sure, we've got some great female characters right now and many are headlining their own books. Batgirl has been amazing. Birds of Prey is back. Supergirl has turned into a super book and Power Girl got off to a great start. Wonder Woman has been as good as she and we deserve her to be and I hope that continues. We've got the Batwoman book coming and half of the Secret Six have been female. But do these books represent half the DCU superhero books? Not even close.

There is no reason why characters like Ryan Choi have to die to bring back Ray Palmer as the Atom. There is a whole Corps of guys running around as Green Lanterns, for frak's sake. And wonder of wonders, one of them is actually black, named John Stewart. We've got a bunch of Flashes. We've had some names swapped out without a concern that people would be confused. Nightwing becomes Batman while someone from Kandor becomes a new, different Nightwing. Did anyone worry that we readers would mistake the new Nightwing for Dick Grayson, or that we'd mix up Dick as Bats with Bruce as Bats? No. So call Ryan Choi Mr. Atomic or something and let him live. He was wonderful and far more entertaining than Roy Palmer ever was or likely ever will be.

But none of that matters, not really. They're just characters. Same as with the killing of Lian Harper (a mix of Caucasian and Asian, btw), it's just comics. They're fictional characters, not real people. What really matters is the attitude of people like Sattler who make the decisions. They need to understand how those decisions are perceived. They need to learn how to better read and communicate with their audience. They need to own up to their failings, to own their mistakes, and vow to do better. It's a lesson so many companies don't learn until too late, if at all. They think denial or sidestepping an issue will make it go away or reduce its significance. They're wrong. That just makes it worse, especially in this age of instant, viral communication.

Mr. Sattler, you should have taken your lumps, said your mea culpa, promised to do better, then actually do better. Ask what we'd like to see more of. Ask for suggestions. Suggest ways we can get our concerns to the rest of management. Etc. But don't act like the wounded party. Really, it isn't becoming.

I'll still read the comics that entertain me. And I'll continue to write my opinions of them. But don't expect me to love everything you do because you think it's wonderful. I was going to say that's not how to develop a lifelong reader, except in my case, it sorta was. Because back in 1960 when I read my first comic, there was even less diversity and here I still am. But times have changed. Please make sure the DCU keeps up. Your readers, present and future, will much appreciate it.

Top Ten Favorite Characters

I saw this done over on BrainFreeze, so figured, why not do that here, too. So, I present my favorite comic book characters. Since I'm mostly a DC reader, that's what I'll stick with. I tried doing a list of my favorite characters from other companies, but couldn't come close to 10.

Favorite Female DC Characters

1. Supergirl (the original Kara from the Silver Age)
2. Black Canary (any version, I just love Dinah)
3. Catwoman
4. Barbara Gordon (as Oracle or Batgirl)
5. Huntress (the original, Helena Wayne, though the current version has grown on me)
6. Power Girl
7. Manhunter (Kate Spencer)
8. Lois Lane (Because when I was growing up, she was the one character I could grow up to be. But I never did become a reporter.)
9. Zinda (As she's been in BoP, she's been an adventure unto herself.)
10. Hawkgirl (the original, Shayera/Shiera)
    

Honorable Mention: Zatanna, Wonder Woman

Favorite Male DC Characters

1. Roy Harper (Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow, whatever the future might bring)
2. Dick Grayson (Robin, Nightwing)
3. Green Arrow (What can I say? I'm a sucker for the jerk.)
4. Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes version preferred, but Ted Kord is fine, too.)
5. Element Lad (When I was a kid, I had the biggest crush on him, Roy Harper, and Dick Grayson, so even though I no longer read the LSH and the few times I've seen him in recent years, he was barely recognizable, the version from the Silver Age remains a favorite.)
6. Elongated Man (*sigh* I still miss Ralph.)
7. Animal Man (A solid, dependable -- mostly -- family man!)
   
8. Ragman (He's Jewish!)
9. Booster Gold (It took his current book to make me fall in love with the character.)
10. Wildcat (Yeah, I know I complain sometimes that he's hogging JSA Classified, but really, I have to love a guy both Black Canary and Catwoman consider a friend.)
    

Honorable Mention: Mr. Terrific (current version), Hawkman (ah, that chest hair)
Honorable, Honorable Mention: Two from other lines in the DC Comics company: Grifter, Jack of Fables

This has been an interesting exercise. While I love scores of characters, trying to pick favorites (which is never easy for me) required real thinking. The first 2 or 3 of each category was easy, but after that, I really had to consider what characters I'd read under damn near any circumstance (except the painfully bad, because I'd hate to see favorites in such poor stories). I reserve the right for the lists to remain flexible. After all, who knows what new, great characters will be coming along. It might be worth doing this a year or two from now.

Gay Characters

As usual, I'm a bit late to the party, but I do want to make a few comments about the Alex Ross comments re: the Obsidian flap. The Beat has a nice overview, with Ross' clarifications.

First, I agree with the general idea that making gay a character who has been around for a while and who has never until recently been depicted that way is to make a major change in the character's identity.

Second, Obsidian may have been around a couple of decades or so now, but he hasn't been high profile. Making him gay isn't on par with suddenly finding out Bruce Wayne is gay (uh, wait, there was all that talk about Bruce and Dick...) or Ollie Queen.

Third, while most of the gay people I know have told me they knew at a rather young age that they preferred people of their own sex, there are others who are conflicted about their sexual identity and clearly, in comics, we don't always see every aspect of a character. Perhaps inner turmoil over his sexual identity added to Obsidian's overall problems.

I can see both sides of the issue re: whether or not it makes sense for Obsidian to be gay. I believe Alex Ross when he says he used wrong words to get his point across and that he's not anti-gay characters. I agree that it's better to create new characters who are gay than retrofit that sexuality to older characters. But it does fit in this case, and it adds some diversity to the universe without trying to get people interested in someone entirely new, which is the case with the new Batwoman.

I remember how upset people were to find out Jefferson Pierce had a grown daughter, Anisa Pierce of the current Outsiders. In a way, that made less sense, given how old Black Lightning was, the fact that he and he wife were never depicted as parents when Anisa should have been around, and so on. Eventually, people calmed down and Anisa has, in my opinion, been a fun character who has added richness to Black Lightning's existence.

I, for one, am looking forward to Obsidian playing an important role in the new JSA and for him to be shown with all current aspects of his nature.