#comic book commentary

[the-most-humble-blog]

THE CAPE SAVES THE WORLD. THE BODY STILL TELLS THE TRUTH.

Let’s be honest.

Comic book movies are in trouble partly because they keep pretending romance is some embarrassing old-world infection.

There is barely even a male love-interest lane anymore for the female romance demographic.

No hunger.

No courtship.

No tension.

No “oh, I hate him, wait, why is he hot?”

No dangerous smile across the battlefield.

No beautiful idiot with a jawline and a wound.

No man worth choosing.

Just sterile self-actualization in a cape while the script acts like desire is a weakness from 2007.

That is insane.

Human civilization exists because men like women and women like men enough to keep the species running like a horny, tragic factory with taxes.

You can pretend that does not matter.

You can sanitize it.

You can sneer at it.

You can call chemistry “problematic” until every blockbuster feels like HR wrote it with a stun gun pointed at its balls.

But audiences know when the blood is missing.

Romance is not anti-feminist.

Desire is not character assassination.

A strong female lead does not become weaker because a man makes her pulse betray her politics for five seconds.

Sometimes that is the story.

The cape saves the world.

The body still tells the truth.

And until comic book films remember that women are not just empowerment slogans with cheekbones, but human beings with hunger, fantasy, taste, longing, and eyes?

These movies will keep dying in public.

Not because audiences hate women.

Because audiences can tell when the studio is terrified of letting a woman want anything that was not inspected, sanitized, and emotionally neutered by a committee of romance-allergic hallway weirdos.

https://linktr.ee/ObeyMyCadence

https://patreon.com/TheMostHumble

[ballinandcantgetup452]

Can we stop calling The Punisher a hero?

I'm sick and tired of the glorification of The Punisher. Frank Castle is a sick man whose happy place is being in a war and it doesn't really matter what or who he's warring against. He never started this crusade for revenge. If it was for revenge, then he would've gone home like 3 weeks in to Punishering it up.

Frank Castle is not a hero. He’s not some tough-as-nails, misunderstood anti-hero. He’s not some tough teeth gritting vigilante with a heart of gold. You're thinking of Wolverine. No, he’s a murderer. Plain and simple. That’s his whole thing. That’s what he does. That’s all he does. He doesn’t fight for justice, he doesn’t save people; he kills. And yet, people still put him on this twisted pedestal, like he’s the symbol of the moral gray and justification. And I’m so sick of it.

Yeah, sure, this is the Marvel Universe, where logic bends, where guys in tights throw buildings and teenagers can swing between skyscrapers like it’s no big deal. Ethics get fuzzy when you have gods and mutants and billionaire playboys. But what Frank does goes beyond all of that. Because Frank Castle is a bad man. A sick man. A man whose entire life is wrapped up in a never-ending war he never really wanted to end.

He lives in a van or warehouse full of guns and weapons, and he’s still out there, free, because he's too violent, too ruthless for anyone to deal with. Nobody stops him. Nobody can truly stop him. Not because he's some anti-hero with a tragic backstory. Once again, you're thinking of Wolverine. It's because he's a walking, talking, killing machine who’ll unload a clip in your face before you even think about it. People think he’s a badass. They think he’s cool. No. He’s a psychopath. A man who is only happy and defines himself by being in the middle of a war.

Don’t get me wrong; I like the character. I really do. But, I read his comics the way you might watch a true crime documentary about Jeffrey Dahmer. You’re not rooting for Dahmer. You’re horrified by him. But you’re fascinated. You’re trying to understand what makes a person tick when their clock is so broken. That’s The Punisher. There’s something raw, something almost cathartic about watching one man wage his own war against crime with no empathy, no mercy, just a hell of a lot of ultraviolence. And yeah, everyone gets in that mood every once in a while.

But here’s what gets me: people out there, actual people, glorify this. They paint his skull on their cars, their jackets, their walls. They act like he’s some kind of symbol of tough love or real justice. But Frank Castle would hate that. He’s said it himself — "Captain America would love to have you. I would not." He despises anyone who sees him as a role model because he knows what he is. He’s not confused. He’s not conflicted. He’s not trying to be a better person. One more time, you're thinking of Wolverine. Frank Castle is a monster.

And he knows it.

So let’s call it out. Call out the people who put Frank Castle on a pedestal like he’s something to aspire to. You wanna read a tough teeth gritting vigilante? Go read Frank Miller’s Batman or Daredevil. You want someone morally gray, someone who actually grapples with the weight of what they do? Check out Moon Knight. But if you want to peer into the mind of a deeply broken, deeply dangerous man, then yeah, read The Punisher. Just don’t fool yourself into thinking he’s anything other than what he is: a guy who likes to kill people, who lives to kill people, and who’s damn good at it.

Frank Castle is not a hero. And he never will be.

[tiger-in-the-flightdeck]

If you've been following me for any length of time, you'll have noticed that I believe that Batman the Animated Series is like the pinnacle of Batman media. Or really, comic book media in general. The only mark it has against it (Other than that Bruce Timm should not be allowed near Babs, but that's a different topic entirely. Just. No.) is that Dick is written as being in college, because the network was worried about portraying a young teenager in such dangerous situations. And that's not even really a negative thing, it just makes the timeline a little skewwy about his 'I'm not a child anymore, I'm in fact an angsty young adult and I am now going to strike out on my own to create a solo identity.' *Cue the goth Liberace Disco Suit complete with junk enhancing motifs* (Seriously. Just... Just google it....) and how long Bruce has been wearing the cowl.

The things I love most about it are things that are apparently lost on a lot of certain fans. The ones who are just in it for the Zuff! Snuh! Bort! fights, while also coming up with Hot Takes™ about Bruce Wayne being a billionaire who just wants to beat up the mentally ill. Which, I get it, we're used to 'real world' rich people whose idea of philanthropy is to encourage their twitter followers to donate money and recycle more.

But BAS is really great at Show Don't Tell storytelling, and it's shown that if Bruce liquidated Wayne Tech and put all of the profits toward charitable work, things would be great! For about a week. Things would start to break down again, and all the good that Bruce Wayne had been doing would have been for nothing, and Batman will not have any resources. Bruce isn't the only wealthy person in Gotham, and the others are all mob money.

So what the BAS does is show that for every bit of good that Batman does Gotham, Bruce Wayne does just as much. The show almost makes them two separate characters tackling problems in their own way. The best example of it is probably the episode The Forgotten, which is a massively scathing commentary on prison labour, and the exploitation of the poor. Men are going missing from a homeless shelter, and they are being kidnapped with the offer of long term employment, then forced to work on a chain gang in a gold mine. And this is my favourite part (Besides Alfred getting mocked by the BatWing)- Bruce finds this out because he is doing volunteer work there, peeling potatoes. He didn't go in looking for information, he went in because that's just what Bruce does. He funds free health clinics, AIDS and cancer research, employment opportunity outreach, gets work for petty crooks, thanks his garbage collector if he happens to see him, and he sits his ass down in a soup kitchen and peels potatoes so people can have dinner.

[writerspanel]

Happy New Comic Book Day!

A terrific new Comic Book Commentary episode today. Zenescope Comics co-founder Ralph Tedesco has written a new book called THE WATCHER #1, which he chats about in an in depth conversation with the book’s brilliant artist, Victoria Rau.

Get the podcast via itunes or via not-itunes.

Lots of great books out today, including Once and Future #1, Analog #7, Black Hammer/Justice League #2, and more! Get to your local comic book shop!

[jeremywhitley]

Comicbook Commentary

Have you read Future Foundation #1 and 2? Are you not yet sick of hearing from me? Great! Check out @BenBlacker's Comic Book Commentary, a podcast in which comic book creators talk about their comics, panel by panel.

Have you read Future Foundation #1 and 2? Are you not yet sick of hearing from me? Great! Check out Comicbook Commentary, a podcast in which comic book creators talk about their comics, panel by panel.

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[writerspanel]

Today’s Comic Book Commentary is a special one. It’s a conversation between author Chelsea Cain (Maneaters; Heartsick; Sweetheart) and Sleater-Kinney founder/guitarist/vocalist Corin Tucker.

It’s a wide-ranging conversation about art, creativity, feminism, and humanity. It’s well worth your time to listen to the episode, read Maneaters, and listen to some Sleater-Kinney played loud!

Get the podcast via itunes or via not-itunes.

I’m going to San Diego Comic Con, July 18-21!

Please come by to either of my signings. I’ll be giving away exclusive (read: bootleg) HEX WIVES pins to anyone who brings anything for me to sign.

You can pre-order the collected Hex Wives now via Amazon. CLICK.

Here’s my schedule:

Friday, July 19

1:30-2:30pm: signing at the DC/WB Booth 4545. Bring anything with my name on it, and I’ll sign it! A partial list of my comics credits is below.

4-5pm, Room 25ABC: Writing the Rules of Magic panel – This was an idea I had when conceiving of Hex Wives: There is more science fiction and fantasy on TV and in the movies than ever before, and while these genres may seem like opportunities for a writer’s imagination to run wild, in fact their stories benefit from rules and parameters. These help to ground a writer’s fancies and create a recognizable world for the characters. But coming up with the rules of magic and science fiction is more difficult than it seems. These professionals, who have created detailed, grounded worlds, tell how they did it. Panelists: Deric Hughes (Arrow; The Flash), Jose Molina (Magic: The Gathering; The Tick), Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad; The Strain), Kieron Gillen (The Wicked & the Divine; DIE), Julie Benson & Shawna Benson (Wu Assassins; The 100), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), Chris Dingess (Doom Patrol; Agent Carter), Adam Rogers (Wired magazine).

Saturday, July 20

1-2pm, Marriot Marquis, Grand 12: Next Gen Nerds – Moderating this panel with The Adventure Zone/My Brother My Brother & Me’s Travis McElroy and Clint McElroy, Malik Forte (Overwatch League), Courtney Enlow (SyFy Fangirls), Brian Brushwood (Scam School), and Riley Silverman (SyFy Fangirls) about the challenges and responsibilities of influencing the next generation of nerds, as both parents and creators.

Sunday, July 21

11-12, signing at the DC/WB Booth 4545 with my pal, Hex Wives colorist Marissa Louise.

Here are some of the comics I’ve written and co-written. *my favorites

Hex Wives #1-6 (DC/Vertigo)*

The Thrilling Adventure Hour original graphic novel*

Star Wars: Storms of Crait (Marvel)

Star Wars: DJ: Most Wanted (Marvel)

Weapon Hex #1-2 (Marvel) Deadpool v Gambit #1-5 (Marvel)

Wolverine: Savage Origins (ogn) (Marvel)*

Death Be Damned #1-4 (Boom!)*

The Thrilling Adventure Hour #1-4 (Boom!)

The Thrilling Adventure Hour #1-4 (Image)

Flash Gordon #1-4 (Dynamite)

Thunderbolts #27-32 (Marvel)

Thunderbolts Annual #1 (Marvel)*

Deadpool Annual 2013 (Marvel)

[writerspanel]

Three great Comic Book Commentary episodes out today. Tini Howard (Thanos; GLOW) looks back on her terrific EUTHANAUTS #1. The trade of the first arc is released in a couple of weeks. My pal Heath Corson (Bizarro) talks about his fun ATOM ANT back-up stories that appear in SCOOBY APOCALYPSE. And the very funny, weird, inventive Mark Russell talks about WONDER TWINS #1, out today from Bendis’s Wonder Comics imprint at DC.

Get the podcast via itunes or via not-itunes.

I also have two trades out today that I wrote with Ben Acker! THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR: MARTIAN MANHUNT collects the four-issue Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars book drawn by J. Bone. And INFINITY WARPS: TWO-IN-ONE has our WEAPON HEX miniseries about the X-23/Scarlet Witch mash-up which was a blast to write. Both worth your time and money!

[writerspanel]

I accidentally started a new podcast. Sorry!

But doing a commentary track for a comic seems a natural outgrowth of the Writers Panel. I love commentaries on movies, and I thought it’d be fun to do one for Hex Wives. It’s more of the “how the sausage is made” goodness that you get on the Writers Panel pod, and, recording it, it really hit home this notion that “storytelling is storytelling,” regardless of medium.

So, I’ll be doing a commentary for each issue of Hex Wives, and a bunch of comics writer friends have signed up to record commentaries for their upcoming issues! I’m excited to listen to these.

Get it here

Hex Wives #2 is out this Wednesday by me, Mirka Andolfo, Marissa Louise, and Josh Reed, with a cover by Emanuela Lupacchino. The commentary will be released same day.

Starting in January, we’ll move these commentaries to a new feed and start the podcast in earnest with episodes from Eric Esquivel (Border Town), Zoe Quinn (Goddess Mode), Tini Howard (Euthanauts), Mark Waid (Doctor Strange), and more!