To Catch Them If They Fall

My name is Tim and I like super hero comic books and other such things.  Header image by Ken Taylor from Mondo

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If somehow you stumbled upon this tumblr and like any of the writing here, I have since become a published freelance writer and regularly blog on my website https://urbaneturtle.com where you can find lots of excellent commentary and analysis on all kinds of comics.

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The House of Xavier...And The Way We Treat Our Children

 SPOILERS for House of X issue 4, out this week.

House of X 4 is a visceral, action packed issue that ends in tragedy as the full strike force of mutants discharged to stop the oncoming artificial intelligence apocalypse are murdered by a group of human zealots intent on wiping out all mutants.

What is profound and heartbreaking about this issue is not the way it ends in so many character deaths. We know that these characters will be back quickly. Most of them are headlining upcoming books. Comic deaths are temporary, always. This status quo is temporary--everyone reading the book knows that.  But like all comic books we deal with what is on the page in front of us as an individual story.

What is profound and heartbreaking about issue 4 of House of X is the way in which the book is salient, relevant, and political in a way X-Men has not been in decades. 

In particular, it is this moment to which I keep returning.

The temporary nature of the events does not diminish the emotional power of this panel. 

They’ve murdered so many of us, the world has grown used to it. 

In a time when political and racial violence, particularly in America, has escalated, in a time when mass gun murders of young people are a weekly occurrence, it’s so easy to be numb to the numbers. It’s just ... how things are for those people. 

For gay teenagers. For trans people. For school kids. For immigrants and refugees. For women. For the black community. Jewish people. For Muslims. We’ve grown used to the violence and the body count.

Throughout House of X and Powers of X, author Jonathan Hickman has presented us with data pages that have largely read like news clippings or Wikipedia entries outlining fictional future history and important pieces of background information. Designed with the help of graphic designer Tom Muller, these data pages have been vaguely hinted at to be from some kind of diegetic source within the story, though it is still unclear who the author is.

Importantly, the tone of these data pages has been very rigid and matter of fact, a largely dispassionate relaying of facts. 

In House of X issue 4, on the very first page, the reader’s expectations are immediately turned on their head.

Look at what they’ve done. 

Hickman transforms these very rigid data pages that have opened and peppered the books up until now into the voice of someone begging the reader to recognize the violence and pain inflicted upon this community. 

The matter of fact style of previous data pages is usurped and turned into a steadfast and desperate voice begging us to look at the cold, hard numbers. 

But we, this real world audience, are immune to death tolls. How many names of the dead do we see after each mass murder? Hickman and Muller are borrowing a format we know and our eyes have trained to gloss over--our hearts have calloused after so much violence.

Then, at the end of the issue, these same numbers are thrown back at us at the end of the issue as a nightmare torrent. A barrage of facts falling down upon Xavier’s shoulders and upon us as readers. Hickman is forcing us to feel the reality of it.

We are being invited to grapple with not just the weight of the in-story violence, but the painful reality it reflects. We feel not just the persecution of a fictional minority, but it borrows the authenticity of textbooks, websites, and newspapers to make us feel the authentic weight.

So yes of course the deaths we were forced to witness in these pages is not permanent. Wolverine, Marvel Girl, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler will return somehow. Probably within the next two issues. But by choosing to depict the murder and sacrifices of these characters, who are fighting for their very survival, killed in such a brutal way by people who want them eradicated, Hickman is making a bold statement about our world at this moment. It is playing against the expectations of readers, for one thing, who expect the X-Men to have survived last week’s cliffhanger through some clever means. 

For another, the world as it is today has seen more than its share of marginalized peoples corralled, targeted, and even murdered by not just the white supremacists marching with torches in the streets, but by agents of local and federal governments.

The X-Men have always been a metaphor for marginalized groups, often in clunky and imperfect ways. But what this latest issue of House of X shows is that this version of the X-Men inhabit a world where people do not just fear those who are different--they want them eradicated. By highlighting the decimation of mutantkind over the years, by having our heroes brutally murdered by zealots, some agents of the US government, we see reflected the stark reality so many today face.

Chris Claremont’s seminal run on X-Men was many things, but it was never so stark as this. It was never so clear that humanity wanted to see mutants not just marginalized, but exterminated. Violence is inevitable when humanity feels threatened by those they see as replacing them.

Hickman has subtly been building to what seems to be this central thesis of his relaunch. It is perhaps still too early still to say for sure what the House of X/Powers of X series is about, but certainly this issue makes it seem to be, at least in part, about answering this question: What do a group of people do when they finally say with one voice: “No more”?

The last several years of American life have exposed some dark truths that many thought had been left behind...the great bigotry that has defined this nation has exploded into violence. The corruption has prized profits over the lives of our children, gunned down in their own schools, in shopping malls, in movie theaters.

In House of X issue 1, Cyclops lays out what is increasingly seeming to be a central thesis for this version of X-Men.

The X-Men are tired of taking it. The world has exposed  itself as inhospitable, violent, and unforgiving to their difference.

Which leads me to this ‘data’ code at the bottom of this week’s title page, which has basically acted as a kind of subtitle for each week’s issue.

The House 

of Xavier

and the 

way we

treat our

children

What made this issue so heartbreaking, for me, was not just about individual acts of violence or the dark nature of groups of human bigots. It’s about the world we leave for the next generation. And the one after that. 

What is left for them to inherit? A society where we accept that we can be murdered in any public space, where our children practice avoiding bullets at school. A society where we accept that sometimes white men will march to intimidate people of latinx descent, and Muslims, and people of Jewish faith. A society that says it’s ok for people who are gay to be tortured until they turn back to “normal.” Where trans people are murdered in silence.

These acts of violence radiate across time, impacting those who come after us. 

We see that, textually, over and over with Moira’s cyclical life. It is not just one lifetime corrupted and scarred--it is multiple, over and over and over. In Powers of X we see  desolate and broken futures--worlds thrown into turmoil because of the violence. 

The X-Men are confronting in stark and graphic ways the culture of violence and the way our world has grown numb to that violence. We adapt to it. We scar and heal and scar again. But there are moments the weight falls upon us. We must confront the world as it is, and not grow numb to the zealots who murder and persecute those who are different. It goes beyond an often faulty metaphor for minorities--there is a generation now decimated by two endless wars abroad and traumatized by random and senseless violence at home, perpetrated by individuals who feel they do not have what they deserve.

House of X 4 begs us, shouts at us, to confront the violence and the pain--the cold, hard numbers and consider the world that is being left for those to come. 

Look at what they’ve done. 

They’ve murdered so many of us, the world has grown used to it. 

It is not enough to hope for acceptance.

We have to say...

No more.

[timlikescomics]

Judas by Jeff Loveness and Jakub Rebelka

Last night I started and finished Judas by Jeff Loveness and Jakub Rebelka, published by Boom! Studios in 2018.

I didn’t intend to get all the way through it last night, but I could not put it down. This is is a tremendous book. A rich piece of religious art made all the more rich by such a lack of it in the 21st century. It is challenging, heartbreaking and rich with human drama and emotion.

There is a throwaway line a quarter of the way through where Judas says he didn’t think Jesus would let them do it. There is a school of biblical scholarship that says Judas’s idea of the messiah was a more traditional avenging angel figure. Someone who would overthrow Roman rule. Judas was a figure trapped by his own expectation and he didn’t understand what Jesus was trying to do or say. Jeff Loveness clearly did the work to understand this angle of scholarship and I applaud him for it.

Moreover, I applaud him for his willingness to tell a challenging story of faith, doubt, anger, human tragedy, forgiveness, and hope. The Bible remains a source of fascinating stories and lessons but our fundamentalist-influenced society has turned it into a hacky cliche.

As someone who spent the time and energy to get a Masters in Theology, I often roll my eyes when writers fail to write about religion in a real or authentic way. Loveness has created something beautiful.

I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect after reading some interviews prior to its release—but the final product is a rich tapestry that clearly comes from a place of sincerity and care. Judas is treated with a deft human touch that mines the complex subtext of the scripture in a new and nuanced way.

I can’t speak to Loveness’s faith life, but he does not approach this difficult and creative story from an air of judgement or dismissiveness. It reads as a complex confrontation with the hard questions of religion. His depiction of Jesus is a complicated human character. A welcome change.

And one cannot discuss a comic without touching on the art. Jakub Rebelka provides a graphic style that evokes classical stained glass window shapes and powerful iconography. The black halo that surrounds Judas is a powerful symbol.

Rebelka’s art, though clearly illustration, brings these ancient characters to a new and believable life. They are tanned and wiry, exhausted and joyous. Mournful and lonely.

I cannot sing the praises of this book enough. A profound work.

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Remembering Stan Lee

Spider-Man

Fantastic Four

X-Men

Silver Surfer

Avengers

Iron Man

Daredevil

Hulk

Ant Man

Nick Fury

Thor

Black Panther

Dr. Strange

Galactus

Hawkeye

Dr. Doom

Dozens upon dozens more.

He never did it alone and the contributions of the brilliant artists that joined him cannot he overstated. He sometimes took more credit than he deserved and his legacy will surely be a complicated one. But Stan “The Man” Lee’s impact is profound and deep not just in the medium of comic books but all of popular culture today.

His work with Ditko and Kirby revolutionized what comics and superheroes could be. Raw, human, full of doubts, persecuted and struggling. Stan Lee’s Heroes were outsiders and freaks. Teenagers, mutants, and monsters scorned by society at large. He taught us that being different was not a curse, that it could be what makes you better, stronger, more special.

Stan taught us that the strong should stand up for the weak, that patriotism isn’t tied to blindly following orders, that with great power comes great responsibility. He told us that doing the right thing requires sacrifice and pain. He showed us that self doubt and fear don’t need to keep us down, that we can be more than we thought we were yesterday.

His storytelling pushed boundaries and questioned authority. It took stances that were not always accepted. Stan told stories with his gut and his heart.

He brought me much of my childhood and his enduring creations continue to inspire me. Superheroes show us that at our deepest core there is good in this world. Stan’s indefatigable optimism will be sorely missed.

Stan didn’t start by doing what he loved. He worked and scrapped and turned what he did into something he loved. And he changed thousands of lives.

I am glad that his final months were free of the pain and heartache that surrounded him for the last few years.

Thank you, Stan. For my friends Peter and Bobby, Ben, and Johnny. Thank you for the joy in the hard times, the inspiration in the darkness.

Face front, True Believers. We were lucky to live in Smilin’ Stan’s world. #Excelsior

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Finding God on Krypton

The following is  adapted from a paper I wrote during my grad studies, the one I mentioned a few days ago. I felt it was worth posting. A little lengthy, so it’s under the cut. Superman has been a huge part of my life, and continues to be profoundly important to me. This paper was an exercise in expressing a little of why.  I took out some of the more academic stuff and to make it more accessible to people not studying theology…and the stuff I just put in to pad the length a little.

When I started to become familiar with Ignatian Spirituality (the spirituality practiced by the Jesuits, an order of Catholic priests) during my time serving with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, discovering the practice of “finding God in all things” transformed my spiritual life and helped me reconnect and reclaim my Catholic identity. I began to see God at work in and through a connected network of things, events, and people. In my graduate studies and work in ministry, I have come to believe that cultivating this sense of God’s presence beyond traditional elements of Catholic faith is key in working with teens and young adults. To work with them in finding God at work in the things they enjoy, and not only in prescripted moments can help foster a personal spirituality that makes a religious life seem more attainable. From here, prayer can take many forms, even if they don’t know it. To provide an example, I will discuss Superman and superheroes, and what these stories have meant to me and my spiritual life.

Even in the early days of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits rooted their education in the culture and art of the time. This continues to be a hallmark of a Jesuit education and in a spirituality rooted in Ignatian practice. The ability to recognize God’s hand within the natural and cultural world provides an opportunity for a more practical, lived experience of God. Ignatian Spirituality proposes a vibrant faith that engages with lived reality. It allows one to root his or herself in a Catholic worldview. When we approach the world from the starting point of God, we can hardly interact or think about things in the same way.

The emphasis on practical, lived experience is a key element of utilizing Ignatian Spirituality with young adults and teenagers. In his article in America, “Why Young Adults Need Ignatian Spirituality,” Timothy Muldoon explains, “the theological reason for focusing on Ignatian spirituality is that this tradition emphasizes faith as an ongoing dialogue between the person and God. It thus represents the kind of dynamic approach that young people have often discovered for themselves.” Many different studies and analyses have shown that experiential, dynamic learning is a key component in teenage and young adult formation. Today’s young adults grew up in a society where simple answers and truths are rarely taken at face value. We live in a pluralistic, global society. When we are surrounded by and exposed to multiple worldviews in our schools, in our media, and online, it’s hard to simply accept a single finite truth.

Young people are naturally inclined to distance themselves from old models of worship. By focusing on our relationship with God and thinking about that relationship in new, personal, ways, it can eventually lead us back into a religious community. The Ignatian focus on finding God in all things allows young people to encounter God on their terms, and encourages them to seek answers and meaning where traditional Catholic catechism does not provide them. As Muldoon put it, “To speak about finding God in all things is to admit that no doctrine, no tradition and no Scripture can exhaust the mystery that is God.”

Another benefit of Ignatian spirituality is that it reminds us that God seeks us out, and we are not walking down a one-way street. God meets us where we are. God may be acting in our emotions, our feelings, or in other hidden or unexpected ways. The art and practice of finding God in all things challenges us to pause and examine every facet of our life—our desires, our passions, our emotions—and seek out God in those less traditional ways.

Discernment, the practice of making decisions with God’s help, is another element of Ignatian spirituality. We must examine our feelings and emotions. Focusing on our desires, and recognizing that perhaps God is at work in these desires can help us make difficult choices. The process of discernment challenges us to examine these emotions. According to James Martin, in Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, “Desire is a key way God speaks to us”. These are the deep desires, “the one that shape our lives…that help us know who we are to become and what we are to do.” Recognizing our desires tell us something about who we are. But how do we come to know them? Can the stories we feel drawn to tell us something about our desires? Can fairy tales, myths, novels, or movies inform who we are on a deeper, spiritual level?  Ignatian spirituality tells us that these things have a profound impact on our spiritual and moral development. Through a process of discernment, we can delve into these stories and analyze what about them speak to us, and what they tell us about God.

It wasn’t until I came to JVC and learned about this school of thought that I was able to fully articulate what Superman and the superhero genre has meant to me personally.  Superman was created in 1938 by struggling Jewish artists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. In the midst of The Great Depression, the two men came up with an idea for a super powered hero who would fight for the underdog. These early adventures depicted a man ousting corrupt politicians and fighting social injustice. He was, as the premiere issue of Action Comics described him, a “champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need!”

Superman was very much an invention of its era, a fictional character created to address real anxieties of his time. He was “The Man of Tomorrow,” not yet “The Man of Steel.” He represented a promise of a bright future for humanity, showing us our potential. It was a potential that seemed at the risk of being squashed. As Grant Morrison, one of the most influential super hero writers in the last two decades, and creator of one of the greatest Superman stories of all time explained in his book Supergods, “This was August 1938. Production lines were making laborers redundant across the entire developed world while Charlie Chaplin’s poignant film masterpiece Modern Times articulated in pantomime the silent cry of the little fellow, the authentic man, not to be forgotten above the relentless din of the factory floor” (Morrison 6). This Superman was a response to Depression era fears of  “runaway scientific advancement and soulless industrialism” (Morrison 6). On the premiere issue of Action Comics, he is seen smashing a car over his head. Superman, as the Man of Tomorrow, combated the vision of a dehumanized, mechanical world, and offered an alternate view.

At his best, Superman and his kind continue to provide an answer to the fears, anxieties, and hopes of American society. The fact that super heroes have been their most relevant in times of social upheaval speaks to their ability to inspire us. Superman’s spiritual relevance is not as a Christ figure, as Hollywood so often likes to portray him. Rather, his most enduring appeal stems from something far more primal. Ben Saunders, author of Do the Gods Wear Capes? Spirituality, Fantasy and Superheroes, writes in his essay on Superman, “the enduring appeal and significance of Superman derives less from his resemblance to prior gods and heroes than from his status as one of the most successful modern mass-media attempts to depict what philosophers since Plato have called the good.” Superman, and superheroes in general, fit neatly into the western tradition of trying to bridge the gap between how the world is, and how the world ought to be. This tension has often been described in more theological terms as the problem of evil. And superheroes, like many great works of fantasy, philosophy, and fiction, help us to process these difficulties.

To paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, children already know that dragons exist, what fantasy stories provide is an assurance that they can be slain. Chesterton expresses the hope to which many readers cling to: “the idea that these limitless terrors have a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies, that these strong enemies of man have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness and stronger than fear.” While I don’t believe that most Superman writers intend their hero to fit into a Christian, theological worldview, I find it impossible to deny the transcendental nature of the character and the superhero genre at large along Chesterton’s lines. One need only examine Joseph Campbell’s writings on the hero’s journey to see how ingrained our myths are into our very being.

During orientation for JVC, one of the activities was to draw our idea of “God.” Without very much thought I drew Superman’s symbol, not because I see a direct correlation between the two or because I see Superman as an allegory for God, but because to me, the ideal of Superman is the Christian ideal. He represents a pure sense of optimism and belief in good in this world that is hard to find elsewhere in the 21st century. To me, Superman represents the beauty of the human spirit, and the best in all of us. For over 75 years, Superman has persevered; he has modeled values of altruism, hope, and courage in the face of impossible odds. Grant Morrison, discussing his Superman book All-Star Superman, with Wired magazine explained, “we chose not to deconstruct the superhero but to take him at face value, as a fiction that was trying to tell us something wonderful about ourselves. Somewhere, in our darkest night, we made up the story of a man who will never let us down and that seemed worth investigating” (Thill).

We, as a society, have continued to keep that dream alive, we have chosen to continue to hope for and believe in the possibility of a hero who lives out a desire to save others—no matter the cost. We need only to look at the blockbuster superhero films that dominate our current pop culture landscape to see that these kinds of stories resonate on a deep, emotional level. Stories have always provided people with ways of processing trauma and anxiety. Morrison has this to say about superhero stories in particular

We live in the stories we tell ourselves. In a secular, scientific rational culture lacking in any convincing spiritual leadership, superhero stories speak loudly and boldly to our greatest fears, deepest longings, and highest aspirations. They’re not afraid to be hopeful, not embarrassed to be optimistic, and utterly fearless in the dark. They’re about as far from social realism as you can get, but the best superhero stories deal directly with mythic elements of human experience that we can all relate to, in ways that are imaginative, funny, and provocative. They exist to solve problems of all kinds and can always be counted on to save the day. (Morrison xvii)

I was a sick child growing up and battled with Crohn’s Disease until I went into remission several years ago. But before that, I was a weak, tired, skinny kid who was constantly in pain. My real life was a struggle every day, and stories are what really sustained me. The stories that captured my imagination most were superheroes. Admittedly, Superman was not my favorite. I have always liked him, but I was a bigger fan of characters like Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men. I never gave this love for superheroes a second thought until college, when I began to analyze those stories on a deeper, academic level. But before then, I just knew that they made me feel joy, they brought me hope, they helped me to dream about a different, better world where anything was possible. They still provide me courage when I am overwhelmed or doubt myself, or when I am overwhelmed with the cruelty or injustice in the world. I often turn to super heroes for inspiration. Perhaps this is a naive notion, but I don’t really think so. The reason that they are such a part of our entire culture, and have been since 1938, is because they show us all our greatest hope, our truest potential: that there are people who put everything before themselves and use their gifts to help others.

I have come to appreciate Superman in a deeply spiritual way that is unlike other heroes. Perhaps it is because he is the original, or perhaps it is because his moral fortitude is so central to his character. Superman believes in us all. He fights for truth, justice, and the American way. For freedom, for equality, for the right to dream. There’s nothing wrong with believing in a better world and dreaming of a future. It’s not out of reach, it’s just a matter of each of us pitching in, working together, and being a little more like Superman. One Superman quote sticks out to me more than any other, and it is from the end of one of my favorite stories. In an issue titled “What’s So Funny about Truth Justice and the American Way?” Superman must defend his more noble desires against a new group of violent heroes who come in acting as judge, jury, and executioner. After defeating this team of so-called superheroes, Superman refuses to kill them like they had done to their enemies and gives this speech that beautifully sums his character. “Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul I swear… until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share… I’ll never stop fighting. Ever.” (Kelly 39)

The most successful and well-received Superman stories embrace the inspirational aspect of the character (sales figures back me up on this). By focusing on what superheroes are capable of overcoming that seem impossible for the normal reader, comic book stories can act as an allegorical and powerfully inspirational form of storytelling. Super heroes have had ebbs and flows in their cultural importance. They are a product of the Depression, and their first great boom was during World War II. After that, they nearly faded into complete obscurity, but resurfaced in a Cold War Era fearing the threat of nuclear extinction. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Superman and his kind continued, but remained a niche market. Now, in a post-9/11 War on Terror society, superheroes have seen resurgence in popularity highlighted by their success in the movies.

Superman offers us a chance to believe in power without corruption. He provides us with an example of using our abilities in the service of others. These are values that have trouble in our current social climate. In the late twentieth and early twenty first century, the world seems to no longer believe in black and white good and evil. This has resulted in general rejection of large institutions, including government, corporations, and institutionalized religion. This continues to be true in our climate of public surveillance and constant war against vaguely defined “terror.” Belief in things like “the American dream” and the “American way” have become compromised in light of corruption. The Catholic Church struggles with the sting of clerical abuse. Clear moral authority seems impossible to come by for many young people. It is at times like this where we need faith the most. Finding our way to that spirituality and faith can be difficult, and it is here that Ignatian Spirituality and finding God in all things can help us find our way back when we lose sight of God.

For me, recognizing in Superman and in superheroes something about the human condition was a profound moment in my spiritual development. The hope that superheroes can instill has been felt by many others. Superman’s symbol has been seen at protests and rallies, on tee shirts and etched into people’s skin, in memorials for deceased loved ones in honor of their bravery and strength. The symbol has, in our world, become shorthand for strength, for hope, and for overcoming obstacles. In recent years, an idea has been added to the Superman legend that the symbol Superman wears on his chest literally means hope, in his native language of Krypton. Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in the 1978 film, also recognized the way Superman could change lives. In an interview with Time magazine, he said:

It’s very hard for me to be silly about Superman, because I’ve seen firsthand how he actually transforms people’s lives. I have seen children dying of brain tumors who wanted as their last request to talk to me, and have gone to their graves with a peace brought on by knowing that their belief in this kind of character really matters. It’s not Superman the tongue-in-cheek cartoon character they’re connecting with; they’re connecting with something very basic: the ability to overcome obstacles, the ability to persevere, the ability to understand difficulty and to turn your back on it. (Friedrich)

If there was one image that I think captures the deep spiritual joy and hope that Superman, as a character and as a story provides me, it would be a page from All-Star Superman issue 10 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. In the middle of the issue, Superman drops everything he is doing because he hears a young teenage girl talking with her doctor on the phone, planning to kill herself. We shift to a new page of the girl standing on the ledge of a building. Suddenly, Superman is behind her, and embraces her, assuring her that her doctor was only held up, and had not abandoned her. “It’s never as bad as it seems,” he tells her. “You’re much stronger than you think you are. Trust me.” This is the power of Superman as a character. Not that he can fly or carry a mountain on his back. It is that despite all his abilities, he cares so much for people that he puts his powers toward defending and helping others. That we, as a society, can dream up this character who is so inherently good and altruistic, who uses his amazing gifts for the good of others, says to me that we as a people are capable of anything. That if we just believe, we can change the world. Grant Morrison created the single most perfect Superman scene to encapsulate the character’s greatest strength. In his introduction for the collected volume of Morrison’s All-Star Superman, Mark Waid writes on what makes Superman unique even among other superheroes:

It’s not his powers. It’s not his costume, it’s not his heritage. It’s that, unlike his myriad counterparts, he has more faith in us than we have in ourselves, and All-Star Superman is the story of how transcendently that faith elevates and redeems the human race. Everyone Superman encounters…inherits some of Superman’s values just by being in contact with him…When [Superman] tells [the suicidal young girl], “you’re much stronger than you think you are,” they become the most moving words we have ever read in a Superman story. And they are perfect because they reveal the fundamental secret of Superman and why we love him so…Superman achieves his power by believing in us. (Waid)

Waid’s analysis captures everything I believe to be true about Superman and his importance as a cultural figure. He does so by avoiding spiritual language, but when I read that passage, I cannot help but think, “Yes, this is God, reaching out to us, assuring us that these things are possible.” Being selfless is possible; loving others unconditionally is possible. It is possible for people with great power to put others first and serve their neighbor. What is more Christian than that?

Can reading Superman comics, or connecting with a particular song or novel be considered praying? Is the spiritual practice of finding God in all things prayer? Perhaps it depends on your definition of the word. Finding God in all things may not in and of itself be active praying, but it can easily lead to things such as contemplative prayer or thanksgiving. There is no doubt in my mind that reading Superman books can be a spiritual experience. Just as watching the Lord of the Rings films and being moved to tears at Sam’s speech about stories in The Two Towers can be a spiritual experience. When we recognize in our daily lives moments of transcendent joy, we can begin bridging the gap between our hopes and reality–between the world as it is and as it could be.

Stories have been a key component of my personal spiritual development, in finding God in the human desire for good to win over evil, for peace, and to believe in the ability to overcome insurmountable obstacles. When we invite our young people to explore their lives in new and dynamic ways, we invite them to recognize in their lives God’s activity and a reflection of the tradition and myth that form the background of a Catholic identity. When we seek to find God in all things, we look at the world with God as a starting point, and when we do this, the way we live our life changes. We can become “contemplatives in action,” always keeping God at the center of what we do. From here, prayer and spiritual life has fertile soil to grow. It allows us to expand our imagination of what God is, and can lead us back to a more complete religious life. By recognizing in the stories that I love the hope in humanity and the ability to persevere against hardships, I have come to find that Superman’s words apply to me as much as the young girl he saved on the page: ”You’re much stronger than you think you are.“ That these words have literally saved lives shows me that the stories we love have a transcendent power in our lives and can be an example of God at work in the world in personal ways.

Works cited: Benson, Bruce Ellis, and Wirzba, Norman, eds. Phenomenology of Prayer. Bronx, NY, USA: Fordham University Press, 2005. Print. Brennan, Anne, CSJ. "Myth In Personal Spirituality.” Religious Education 75.4 (1980): 441-451. ATLA Religion Database. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. Chesterton, G.K. “The Red Angel.” Tremendous Trifles. CreateSpace, 2009. 51-53. Print. Douglas, Deborah Smith. “Saved By Fiction: Reading As A Christian Practice.” Christian Century 129.21 (2012): 26-27. ATLA Religion Database. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. Friedrich, Otto. “Up, Up, and Away!!!” Time, 14 March 1988. Kelly, Joe. “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” Action Comics. 775. New York: DC Comics, March 2001. Print. Martin S.J., James. The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything. New York: Harper One, 2010. Print. Mooney, Catherine M. “Ignatian Spirituality, A Spirituality For Mission.” Mission Studies 26.2   (2009): 192-213. ATLA Religion Database. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. Mooney, Edward F. “Becoming What We Pray.” Benson, Bruce Ellis, and Wirzba, Norman, eds. Phenomenology of Prayer. Bronx, NY, USA: Fordham University Press, 2005. Print. Morrison, Grant and Frank Quitely. All-Star Superman. New York: DC Comics, 2007. Print. Morrison, Grant. Supergods. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2011. Print. Muldoon, Timothy P. “Why Young Adults Need Ignatian Spirituality.” America. 26 Feb. 2001. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. Thill, Scott. “Grant Morrison Talks Brainy Comics, Sexy Apocalypse.” March 19, 2009. Wired.Com. Web. September 2011 Saunders, Ben. Do The Gods Wear Capes?  Spirituality, Fantasy, and Superheroes. New York: Continuum Books, 2011.16-35. Print. Siegel, Jerry and Joe Shuster. Action Comics. 1. New York: DC Comics, 1938. Print.

[qweety-archive-deactivated20240]

I have no words

[timlikescomics]

Solomon Grundy want pants too

[timlikescomics]

On Iceman, Homosexuality and Representation in Comics 

So, if you're a Marvel Comics fan, and even if you're not, you might have heard the news that Bobby Drake, Iceman, one of the original X-Men, has been revealed to be gay. It's a surprising development, but one that many fans have either suspected or hoped for based on his past failures in relationships. At least one other writer in the past seems to have attempted to hint at it subtextually, but it never went anywhere.

It's a pretty big move for Marvel and the X-Men, even if it was not meant to be getting the press it has gotten. As just part of an issue and the ongoing character drama of All New X-Men, it feels like just an extension of the story. You see, the Iceman that made this realization is a time travelling Iceman from the past, whose teenage self traveled into the current day Marvel Universe with the rest of the original X-Men and got stuck there. Each of the characters has had to face some harsh truths about their lives and reactions to who they have become and the world they hoped to change, but is just as hateful of mutants as ever. So yeah...comic booky time travel shenanigans. But why do people care? Why did this relatively brief moment in an issue matter so much that fans have responded both positively and negatively? Why did major news outlets pick up on it?

Well, because superhero comic books are really pretty terrible at representing anything except straight white dudes. Just...terrible awful. The X-Men have been a stand-in for all sorts of discrimination. When they got big in the 70s and 80s a lot of it was in regards to civil rights. The mutant hate became an allegory for racism. In recent years many people in the LBGTQ community have latched onto the fear and hatred of mutants as an allegory for their own experiences. And both of those take-aways are valid. What Chris Claremont did in his time with the X-Men, one of the most significant and pioneering runs on a superhero book of all time, was explicitly utilize the X-Men as a placeholder for real world prejudices.

But for a book about discrimination and acceptance, the X-Men are across the broad pretty darn white and pretty darn heterosexual. As far as I can tell, the only other gay X-Men character is a guy named Northstar and reading that you probably just said, who? I barely know who he is, so that tells you something about the representation lacking in mainstream superhero comics.

Brian Michael Bendis is one of those truly good dudes that you hope your favorite creators are in real life. He has a deep abiding love for Marvel Comics and superheroes, and has been a major force in reinvigorating Marvel's publishing line and has helped to shape the last decade of the Marvel Universe. He is also a creator dedicated to making sure Marvel Comics reflects the world we live in, as has always been one of the publisher's stated missions. He brought Luke Cage, a blacksploitation character from the seventies into a place of prominence as one of the most interesting members of the Avengers. He created Miles Morales, the black hispanic Ultimate Spider-Man. He's the father of a multiracial family. I think his track record in comics and just in  life buys him some trust in his intentions with the current journey Iceman finds himself on.

Bendis is in fact one of many of the current crop of writers in mainstream comics that have been dedicated to increasing diversity. Marvel has especially made a push for diversity in its books, throwing both Sam Wilson as Captain America and a new female Thor into the spotlight. Not to mention the work Kelly Sue DeConick has done with Captain Marvel and the breakout character Ms. Marvel (a teenage muslim girl) by G Willow Wilson.

Bobby Drake's newest development should really be taken in context of what I hope and truly believe is a trend toward inclusion in superhero books. Our society is defined by our pop culture as much as our society defines pop culture. Major superhero characters being more representative of the world that we live in is essential toward making change. Having a prominent X-Men character, one of the founding X-Men come out as gay is a huge gesture for the X-Men line that has been at its core about diversity and inclusion for most of its history, without including much actual diversity or inclusion.

Bobby has always been my personal favorite X-Men character. It was never my interpretation that the dude was gay, but I also know people in real life that I didn't know that particular aspect of their life at first either. I think it's brave of Marvel to take an established character that has had some hints (some intentional, some not) toward this particular revelation. The question becomes, how can teen Bobby be gay if adult Bobby isn't? It's too soon to say that is the case, for one thing. As Bendis has already had to restate over and over, the story isn't finished.

And it makes particular sense for Iceman to have not accepted this part of himself. It's a tragic fact of life that people have lived their whole lives having to deny a certain part of themselves. With Iceman, a character that is defined by his inability to be in touch with his emotions or honest with himself or others, I can see him hiding this truth from himself because of his experience and shame at being a mutant for so much of his life. Having to deal with two levels of discrimination was too much. Bobby Drake is more or less defined by his emotional coldness and the jokes he tells to distract from that pain. To utilize a time displaced Bobby for this realization to come to light makes extra sense because this version comes from a time when being gay was even less accepted than it is now.

As Bendis explained in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, “There are thousands if not millions of stories of people who, for many different reasons, felt the need to hide their sexuality. The X-Men, with the conceit of time travel, give us a fascinating platform in which to examine such personal journeys...This is just the first little chapter of a much larger story that will be told.”

Obviously this is a bizarre "coming out" story, but it's a very superhero way for something like this to develop. Some concerns are valid, like Jean's insensitivity, but in context she's a teen who can't control her ability to read minds well, and she's trying to be accepting even though she too is coming from a particular worldview.  Anyone jumping on Bendis about trying to force a social issue on the readers or somehow being dismissive of bisexuality miss the real point of this story--and is jumping to conclusions. This move comes from a desire to shepherd these long established characters on a human journey, to tell dramatic stories, and to make the Marvel Universe a little more real. Jean is trying to be supportive of a friend. You've got to read the book to understand this moment in context.

On a purely fan note: I hope that this leads to Iceman becoming a more prominent character with a clearer identity. So many people have had no idea what to do with Bobby Drake, and I'd love for someone to come along with a clearer angle of who Bobby is. Maybe this is the push he need to become a bigger player in the X-Universe, and is just the development writers need to understand his personality.

It's far overdue for superhero books to expand their horizons of inclusion. I think as readers, we should give Bendis and the X-Men editors the benefit of the doubt that their intentions are admirable and honorable. To judge the entire story of Iceman by one issue or just a couple pages sells the intention and emotions behind this move short. What really matters is where Marvel goes from here in the story. How will the adult Iceman react to this development, and how will future X-Men writers treat Iceman? I've been fortunate that I have had plenty of characters with which to identify in superhero books. My hope is that Iceman, my favorite X-Man, becomes a character that other people are able to relate to in a new, more personal way. I give Marvel credit for this move, in making an effort to make their comics more representative of the lived reality of its readers. We are as good as a society as the stories we tell, and it takes brave writers to make changes in the stories.

Representation is something that  is often on my mind because of my experiences working with inner-city high school kids. At a film club meeting, one of the boys straight up asked our guest, the director of Paranormal Activity, why there weren't more black people in movies. I'm not gay, so I can't speak for the authenticity of the moment, but I have to believe that the intention will come across to most readers and that somewhere this was a scene that was in some way therapeutic or meaningful for many people who relate to Bobby's situation.

We need more representation in our pop culture, because these stories have a profound influence on our perceptions. I look forward to seeing how this development shakes out, and I certainly hope that the comics community, future writers, and society as a whole embrace this new facet of a character that has been a part of Marvel from the start. And I surely hope that this story helps bring comfort or relief, or something to other people who have faced confusion or frustration with their own identity. Maybe it's the story some teen needed. Bendis has already seen some of those reactions through his tumblr page.

And what more can one really ask for in a story, but something to move and impact them?

[timlikescomics]

Comics Review, Archie's Dark Circle Comics Black Hood #1

As the premiere issue of Archie Comics' new Dark Circle Comics Line, The Black Hood Issue 1 by Duane Swierczynski, Mike Gaydos and Kelly Fitzpatrick is a gritty, enthralling tale of a city and hero abandoned.

In the intro to the Black Hood’s  letter column Duane Swierczynski describes living along the Frankford El and its lumbering, noisy halts before taking off again. The train as metaphor for Officer Greg Hettinger’s experience in issue 1, as the writer alludes to in the letters column, is exactly what makes this introduction so compelling.

The El is a reoccurring motif throughout the issue and receives pride of place as the first image Swiercsynski and Gaydos choose to introduce the series and one of its major characters, the city of Philadelphia itself. As a Philadelphia native there’s something thrilling about seeing the city represented authentically in a comic, even if it highlighting its seedier aspects. I imagine it’s what New Yorkers must  feel reading Marvel Comics. The art team of Michael Gaydos and colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick set the dark and gritty tone of this series perfectly, and capture a dark, run-down glamour that feels authentic to the area of the city the Black Hood takes place in. The very first panel sets the tone for the entire book to come. Far from the skyline and art and culture of Center City, funds are low and the buildings and streets are untended to. One more exit off 95 and suddenly you’re in an area the city has decided to stop caring about. I pass through Broad street and cross under the El frequently to get to La Salle, and the grit and charm of the infrastructure is perfectly captured by Gaydos and Fitzpatrick’s art.

The muted colors and grainy splashes of ink and blacks echo the stark reality of the pothole ridden streets, cracked pavement and rusted train tracks. But beyond that, Gaydos also brings forth the beautiful architecture and charm of the brick storefronts and rowhomes that run throughout the city. Throughout this issue the world these characters inhabits feels inhabited and well lived in. Whether it’s Hettinger running across the roofs of Frankford, or a drug bust beneath the train tracks in Kensington, the city comes to life and envelops these characters. The importance of Philadelphia itself as a character in the story is highlighted by the backup feature from Dennis Tafoya on true crime in the city. 

Once again, the El is a constant presence throughout the story, reminding the reader that Hettinger’s life is out of his control, barreling down the tracks with hard, loud stops and starts The rhythm of the train is echoed in the pulsing of the panel layout. The story proceeds in primarily an eight-panel grid, making for a consistent momentum that propels the story along and highlights the main character’s structured view of the world. Combined with the almost procedural narration from Hettinger, the book feels like an attempt to piece together sense out of what the protagonist perceives as senseless. Panel borders are choppy, not the standard straight grid lines, adding to the air of  dread and disorder that pervade the issue.

This first issue is primarily the story of a man’s loss of order and control. A good-looking cop with everything going for him suddenly loses his greatest asset and is haunted by taking the life of a man he isn’t sure deserved it. There’s a sense of claustrophobia and desperation that the art team is able to conjure up. The train overhead, the city skyline, hospital rooms, the rhythmic grid of the panels and Hettinger’s tiny home. The pills and the city take over, bearing down on Hettinger’s very existence. There’s hardly room for an entire head in any of the close-up shots and the tightly cropped structure of the panels. How many times can we even see the sky? There’s plenty of ceilings, but even the shots of the city end with the roof of the two story buildings that populate the area.  Even without the skyscrapers, the city bears down on Hettinger.

Not until the end, when Hettinger dons the Black Hood and races across the roof is there a sense of freedom. The sky clearly above him. The final page is a splash, the only one in the book. The officer is free, and claims a new identity for himself.

The Black Hood is a perfect collaboration of art and writing, where both come together to perfectly capture a mood that sets up a distinct tone and mission for the book going forward. By the end of this first issue, we know who our leads are and we know their personalities. How Hettinger and the city continue to interact and influence one another is going to be compelling reading going forward, and my appetite is teased. It’s rare to read a book that feels this solid right off the bat with a collaboration so strong. The book wouldn’t work without Swiercsynksi’s voice and without the pitch-perfect art the world and its inhabitants would not be so well fleshed out. First issues are tough to nail, but Archie and Dark Circle Comics have a winner on their hands. It feels fresh and distinct among other “superhero” books, and I can’t wait to see Officer Hettinger’s life fall apart even more as his new identity takes hold and the series takes us further into the grimy world of crime and vigilantism.  If this is the quality we can expect from this new imprint, comic fans have plenty to look forward to.

[timlikescomics]

Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Spidey  will finally be folded into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. The deal also looks to be casting a new Spidey. Sony has mishandled the property to the point of almost destroying their profit margin, so this new development is a win-win for Marvel and Sony who split the cost of making the film. With the creative and financial backing from Marvel/Disney we are more likely to see a Spider-Man film with more heart and respect paid to the comic book roots with less studio meddling. Sony reduces their financial risk in the hopes of getting a greater profit out of a superior product. There's also the branding and cross-promotion that comes from being in this highly interconnected universe. Disney gets their hands back on their most highly lucrative intellectual property. What this means for fans is SPIDER-MAN ON SCREEN WITH OTHER SUPER HEROES which is the greatest thing the five year old in me will ever see in my life. Not only that, but Spider-Man is perhaps Marvel's most important character and the biggest potential money maker in the stable. How Sony has completely mishandled this guy to the point of losing money is beyond me. Having Marvel at the wheel means, hopefully, we get something we haven't seen before. What this is even more likely to mean is that Peter Parker may finally be top dog again in the Marvel sandbox, a world that has been increasingly dominated by Iron man and the Avengers franchise. I'd like to see Pete back at number one. Sad that it looks like Andrew Garfield is out, but excited by what this deal means for the creative future of the franchise. Marvel Studios is much more faithful to the heart, spirit, and core of these characters than licensors like Sony and Fox have been.  No details on when Spidey will next appear, but given that they indicate the next Spider-Man film will premiere in 2017, Captain America: Civil War is looking like a possibility.

[brianmichaelbendis]

Ultimate End!

Live chat with @BRIANMBENDIS and Mark Bagley.

 Replay it now! http://bit.ly/swsurprisechat #SecretWars

[timlikescomics]

This Secret Wars business is very intriguing. I'm skeptical at how much permanent status quo change there might be, but I'm happy to go along for the ride. Additionally: check out that killer David Marquez art. This guy keeps getting better.

[timlikescomics]

Review: TMNT: The Secret History of the Foot Clan

In a life steeped in and obsessed with pop culture fantasy, sci-fi, and superheroes, there has been one franchise, perhaps more than any other, that has given me just constant pure joy and entertainment. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were perhaps my first big obsession—predating even Batman. Between the original cartoon and movie, which I watched so often I was able to perform the entire movie from memory and act out every scene as it played, I couldn't get enough. I loved it all. Everything. Including their concert.

So when IDW announced a new series I was excited. A company with a solid track record picking up one of my favorite properties with original creator Kevin Eastman as part of the package? Yes please. The turtles franchise had been in limbo for a while. While I enjoyed the 2003 4Kids Entertainment series a great deal for most of its run, until it sent the turtles into the future and slashed the animation budget significantly, the turtles had fallen far out of the popular consciousness. The cartoon had ended and Mirage Studios, who owned the turtles, had essentially stopped publishing anything. Not that the comic they had been releasing was even particularly good for the last decade or so. Volume 4  of the Mirage turtles comic was a pale shadow of what the franchise had been and the stories that were capable of being told with these characters. With stiff, uninteresting art and floundering storytelling, the Turtles were all-but-dead.

Peter Laird, co-creator and soul rights-owner of the series sold Mirage and all licensing rights to Nickelodeon. This was a beautiful thing when it was announced. With Laird’s growing disinterest in creating new stories (or at least a lack of ideas) and no prospects, a new creative and marketing force behind this franchise was exactly what was needed. 

IDW’s Ninja Turtles series has been a consistent heavy hitter on the comic stands every month since it premiered in 2011. It has been a joy to get new stories of such a high calibre with some of my very favorite characters. I think it’s safe to say the Turtles have never been better. Yes, the original comic was inventive and creative and so bizarre and unprecedented. But after the first dozen issues, the series became an uneven anthology series with only two significant stories that were particularly compelling. The stories Return to New York  and City at War showcased Eastman and Laird and their collaborators at the best of their storytelling and artistic abilities. They had an epic scope, dramatic action, and a sense of heart, drama, and character. But these are just two stories many years apart within the span of a decade or so. 

TMNT is a blockbuster every month. Even better, it streamlines, refocuses, and synthesizes the disparate elements of the turtles franchise into a genre-transcending book that is wildly unpredictable and pure unadulterated fun. The turtles and all the other characters are so well defined in a way that I think no other version of this franchise has managed. The Shredder is intimidating, calculating, and dangerous.  

The series weaves its way through not only the main title, but also the TMNT staple “Microseries” of character one-shots and miniseries. No book or storyline in the series so far captures the essence of IDW Turtles so succinctly and clearly as Mateus Santolouco and Erik Burnham’s Secret History of the Foot Clan.

Criss-crossing between feudal Japan and present day NYC, Secret History has an epic scope and ambition that the series had not, up to this point, attempted. All of the best elements of the IDW turtles  are present. Great characters, fantastic art, and action that won’t quit. One of the things that has really helped this iteration of the turtles is that it has felt much more rooted in Japanese culture. Whether it is historically or culturally accurate is a different question, but at least it feels more authentic. Eastman and Laird early on were not trying to be historians or cultural ambassadors. They were just riffing on what was hot in comics at the time.

But with a new generation of creators steeped in anime and manga and yes—even the Ninja Turtles—comes a series that is more interested in exploring the “Ninja” aspect in a more authentic way. And so half this miniseries takes place in the era of samurai and ninja. It is replete with intrigue and backstabbing, jealousy and hatred. Power and corruption.  Secret History of the Foot Clan plays out like a feature length film. 

Santolouco’s art bursts off the page in widescreen action scenes and visual storytelling so tight that you forget you’re reading a comic. You feel like you’ve stepped into this crazy universe. Not all comic artists are capable of staging an action scene where you are able to complete the image or follow what is going on naturally. But with Santolouco’s crisp lines and excellent use of the page you never get lost. What he and letterer Shawn Lee do with the sound effects fit in so naturally with the art as to go almost unnoticed. Which is a good thing. Like a great score in a film, these elements are ones that you aren’t supposed to notice, but rather feel.  And Joao Vieira’s colors are beautiful. The contrasts of lights and darks set the mood beautifully, and the shift in palette between past and present ensures the reader is never confused. The colors are vibrant and clear.

One thing I love about Santolouco’s art is the distinctiveness of every character, especially how different each of the turtles look. We have for years been so used to a particular design sensibility for these characters. We have either the Eastman, Dooney and Lawson blocky, angular and muscular turtles, or the more Peter Laird, cartoon versions that are rounder and softer. Santolouco in particular, differentiates the turtles and reimagines them in ways that are completely unlike previous takes on the characters. This is more than just a design quirk, it allows this version of the franchise to stand on its own as something unique. Santolouco imbues each of the turtles with body-types that suit their personalities and sets them apart from one another in ways other than just bandana color. He also manages to thread the needle between making the characters look a little more turtle-ish while still respecting the iconic look we are more accustomed to—and without making them look off putting. Most importantly, they really look like teenagers. Something many artists fail to incorporate into their designs. They aren’t hulking super heroes. They’re lithe, young, martial artists.

This miniseries, with story by Santolouco and script work from he and Burnham, ups the stakes for the entire turtles franchise. There are a lot of fun elements and easter eggs that mine past versions of these characters but never at the expense of the story. Eastman and Laird had no idea the iconic characters they created in that original first issue 30 years ago. When they killed off Shredder at the end of their very first story, they couldn't have known he would go on to become one of the all-time great pop culture villain. At the end of Secret History, the connections between the turtles and their arch nemesis feel more dramatic and important than they have in any other version of the franchise. The personal histories between all of these characters unfold in unexpected ways in the IDW series, and that dramatic tension is only enhanced during this story.

The mix of sci-fi and fantasy has always been an odd quirk in the turtles universe, but IDW’s version entangles it all in a charming, dramatic fashion that works in a way it never quite has before. And this miniseries makes it even more believable and rooted in the characters. If you are interested in the Turtles but are intimidated by jumping into a new series, check out Secret History of the Foot Clan. It’s a great introduction to these versions of the characters and their universe. All of the major characters have a role to play and you get a feel for how this world works and what sets it apart from other versions. And if you like it, you’ll be chomping at the bit for more. It is perhaps the strongest story that IDW has put out in a very strong franchise. If you’re like me and hate jumping into a series in the middle, then I highly recommend checking out the series from the very beginning. It’s all good. 

[sense4comics]

In case you didn’t know, or plumb forgot.

[timlikescomics]

For all you aspiring comic artists, or those of you who just dream about it. Advice from a master.

[litospeaks]

G. Willow Wilson ‏@GWillowWilson

Some amazing person has been painting over the anti-Muslim bus ads in SF with Ms. Marvel graffiti. Spread love. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=348076972052222&id=102257986634123 …

[timlikescomics]

Super heroes fight for change and acceptance in the REAL world! How cool is this?

[comicbookartwork]

Spider-Man by Mark Bagley

[timlikescomics]

One day I have to write about how much Bendis and Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man changed my life. In the meantime: gorgeous Bagley art.

[urbaneturtle]

DCAU Rewatch Part 10: Mask of the Phantasm

What  is there left to say about Mask of the Phantasm that has not been said by countless fans over the last 17 (!) years? The film is simply phenomenal. Dark, moody and dramatic. It reaches right into the core of Batman and Bruce Wayne and leaves the viewer moved unlike any other Batman story I’ve ever seen. Phantasm blows every other Bruce Wayne story put to film to shame, except  for Christopher Nolan’s equally, but differently brilliant movies. The inclusion of Andrea Beuamont, played perfectly by future Lois Lane Dana Delaney, is the only time Batman in love has ever worked. I’ve never been so convinced that a woman mattered to Bruce Wayne as much as Andrea did in this movie. Even his well handled trysts with Catwoman and Talia al Ghul, both in the comics and the cartoons, never felt like they meant as much. They all came second to Andrea. The love story is more than just cinematic drama. It is a tragedy, one that adds to the layers of the DCAU’s Batman in a way perhaps more resonant than the death of Bruce’s parents. That young loss may have set Bruce on his quest, but his relationship with Andrea calls it all into question, only to leave him tragically convinced he has no other course. Bruce’s greatest motivation is the pain of loss. With newfound love, is it selfish to let go of that pain and move on? 

It doesn’t mean I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to let you down, honest, but… but it just doesn’t hurt so bad anymore. You can understand that, can’t you ? Look, I can give money to the city to hire more cops. Let’s someone else take the risk, it’s different now ! Please. I need it to be different now. I know I made a promise, but I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t count on being happy.

The scene at the graveyard is perhaps the most powerful Batman moment ever put on screen. It displays all the heartbreak inherent in his character, and speaks volumes to how he views his mission. When ultimately Andrea leaves, Bruce Wayne’s path is clear. His final shot at happiness as he sees it is ruined, which reinforces for him that he can never truly be happy again.  It is as painful for him as his parent’s death, because it is a death of a part of himself. Now only the mission matters. Anything else is pain. Bruce Wayne did not count on being happy because he wasn’t meant to be happy. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight attempted to portray similar story ideas with Bruce and Rachel, but it never seemed like Rachel was as important to him in that movie as Andrea is to this Bruce Wayne. Andrea is a way out, Rachel was a future goal. But enough comparing it to other movies. Mask of the Phantasm stands on its own and to compare it to such different material does it a disservice. The film, on top of being a tale of lost love, a mystery and a gangster movie, is an origin story, and shows Bruce Wayne in his early days as a vigilante. We see him try and fail a few times, we discover the Batcave, see the inspiration for the Batmobile, and we see him don his cape and cowl for the first time. We see why he chooses the bat. Every moment in this movie tells story; there are no wasted scenes. Even Andrea and Bruce’s trip to the Gotham World Fair sets up for later sequences, and provides Bruce inspiration for his sweet ride. Speaking of the World’s Fair, it acts as a great backdrop for Joker and for the final scenes and showdown. Batman and Joker towering over a miniaturized Gotham is a symbolic powerhouse…and it just makes for a cool fight sequence. I have to admit, though, the fight with the Joker always felt tacked on. The creators did a good job at working him into the backstory and the gangster killings, but it was strange that the movie’s setpiece was Batman vs. Joker, when the Phantasm is the driving force of the movie. But perhaps there’s an unintentional symbolism present even there. The Phantasm as a villain is just a mask for the emotional arc of the movie, which is the true driving force all the way through. Yes, Batman is trying to find the killer, but it all takes a backseat to his emotional journey. By the time the Joker and Batman fight, the emotional arc has more or less reached its finale. But, hey, it doesn’t mean that the emotional arc is the only good thing about this movie. The gangster story is a great crime drama, and matches the best  of the Animated Series, but trumps them all to some degree by how sophisticated and adult the feature film format allowed the writers to work. Scenes with the mob are dark and film noir inspired, a mood that permeates the entire story, and is a thematic extension of the Batman Animated Series. There’s no shortage of  great moments in this movie, but another of my favorite parts of this film is Alfred. We see him here as a father, something that we did not get to see a whole lot of in the show. From his brief spat with Bruce in the middle,

BATMAN: You think you know everything about me, don’t you ?

ALFRED: I diapered your bottom, I bloody well ought to… SIR !

 to the final scene, there’s a real sense of a familial relationship between them, and it is beautifully illustrated. Having to face losing Andrea a second time, Alfred comforts a grieving Bruce. In a subtle bit of dialogue, he does not call him “Master” Bruce. The wonderful symbolism of a hunched and defeated Batman being “absolved” of his perceived failure by Alfred is not likely an accident.

Vengeance blackens the soul, Bruce. I always feared you would become that which you fought against. You walked the edge of that abyss every night, but you haven’t fallen in and I thank Heaven for that. But Andrea fell into that pit years ago, and no one, not even you, could have pulled her back.

Technically, this movie is a pleasure to watch. Supporting the fantastic dialogue and story is a powerful score that includes familiar cues from the show, but lifts them to emotional, dramatic and haunting new heights. The piece that opens the film sets the tone for what is to come. It’s no mistake that Danny Elfman’s theme that opens every episode of the Animated Series is omitted; nor is it missed. Shirley Walker composed a wonderful soundtrack. The animation in this film is inconsistent, but when it really matters it is excellent. Someone on the Toonzone DC Animation forum mentioned that when well animated, the original Animated Series designs look a lot like The New Adventures ones. It’s true in this film. At its best moments, the characters are on model and eschew the common problems of looking too round, lumpy or rubbery. In fact, this is one of the few times I’ve felt that the Joker design worked in animation, normally his model bounces around. But, like I said, the animation is somewhat inconsistent. In expository and less important scenes there are problems with keeping characters on model, but when it comes to the action or the important story beats, Spectrum Animation Studio flexes its muscles and delivers some great work. The chase scene following the explosion at Valestra’s is especially memorable, as is Joker vs. Batman. The voice work sends Mask of the Phantasm over the moon. Every actor nails it. Do we expect any less from voice director Andrea Romano? Kevin Conroy shines in this movie. He had to go to so many places emotionally and physically. He had to play young Bruce Wayne, young Bruce Wayne trying to sound like Batman, adult-socialite Bruce Wayne, Batman and “real” Bruce Wayne, all while selling what the character is feeling. Combined with the solid animation, Batman is an extremely well defined character. This is Kevin Conroy’s tour de force. Dana Delaney plays Andrea Beaumont, and she does it well. There’s a subtle difference between how she plays the flashback Andrea and the present day Andrea, which reflects the loss that she shares with Bruce. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. has probably his best stuff to work with out of his entire tenure as Alfred, and as I said before, his final scene with Bruce is brilliant. Mark Hamill’s Joker is fantastic. I’m watching Mask of the Phantasm a little early in my rewatch, so I don’t know how he sounds in the Volume 2 DVDs, but in this movie Hamill has got the character down. He goes from goofy to sinister and back without a hitch.  This is how Joker is meant to be portrayed. All of the side characters play their parts very well. Abe Vigoda has a role as an aged gangster, which always tickles me because I just think of Conan O’Brien when I hear his name anymore. I truly can think of nothing negative to say about this movie. I don’t recall quite the first time I saw it, but I know it was long after its release, and probably after The Animated Series had ended. Either way, I was pretty young, and I’ve simply taken for granted just how good this movie is since then. Watching it with a more discerning eye, I’m impressed all over again. Mask of the Phantasm is a powerful film that stands as  a timeless and quintessential Batman story. One of the very best.

[timlikescomics]

Since grad school started and I began to work, blogging real content has been harder and harder. You know how adult priorities are. In the mean time, here's a repost of my look back on Mask of the Phantasm from my series of DCAU analysis. Hopefully in the coming months I can get back into my deep dive of Morrison.

[timlikescomics]

Your Holiday Guide to the DCAU

Find yourself having trouble getting into the holiday spirit? Something missing in your life this Christmas season? This sounds like a job for Superman. And Batman. And the Martian Manhunter. Because nobody demanded it, I’m going to run down for you fine folks the antidote to this year’s Scrooge Blues and give you the lowdown on what the DC Animated Universe has to offer your eyeballs and cold, cold hearts. Like Batman throwing a cup of scalding hot chicken soup at your face, this cup of DC Holiday cheer is the cure for all ills.

Christmas with the Joker (Batman: The Animated Series DVD Volume 1 Disc 1)

I’m going to be honest, I’ve never particularly cared for this episode. The animation is some of the show’s worst, it is the first of many Joker stories about Joker hijacking a television feed, and Mark Hamill’s first outing as the Clown Prince of Crime isn’t yet the astoundingly perfect performance it would one day be. My original write-up of the story here reflects my  long time bias against it. It didn’t help that when my younger brother was little he would watch this episode on repeat.

Removed by a few years from any previous watching, I have to admit… it’s pretty charming. What makes it work is that it’s played straight. The Joker hamming it up is perfectly in character—and the use of the canned laughter is pitch perfect.  It’s over the top in a wonderful way and there is a lot of great subtle humor. From Batman having to be coerced into a night off, to his reason for never having seen “It’s A Wonderful Life,” and just the general juxtaposition of Batman and Robin at Christmastime, there is something pleasantly absurd and humorous about the entire proceeding. I just can’t help but love Batman refusing to get into the spirit. 

Joker utilizing the Christmas variety show and twisting it to his criminal ways is just the kind of thing he would do, and the way he balances the mayhem with his jokes is a fine example of who this show’s Joker is: equal parts clown and criminal. 

Of course, this episode has what every episode of Batman: The Animated Series does, even the worst ones: gorgeous music and lavish background artwork. Even when the animation or writing itself is lastlucker the design work and atmosphere are gorgeous. And I’ve got to admit, it’s one of the classic, memorable episodes of the series. It doesn’t quite have the holiday charm of some of the other episodes of this series, but if you’re looking to combine Batman and Christmas, then how can you ignore this pleasant romp through Gotham City? I also can’t deny the pure nostalgia that goes along with this classic.

Heart of Ice (Batman: The Animated Series DVD Vol. 1 Disc 2)

This isn’t technically a holiday episode…or at all, really. But do we need an excuse to watch one of the best episodes of the DCAU? Listen, the snow, Batman having a cold… To me, it all feels like the holiday season (even if this episode explicitly states it takes place in August). And something about it gives me that cold December evening feeling—so I’m just gonna go ahead and put it in this holiday bunch.

It’s a beautiful, haunting story propelled by the tragic and brilliant acting provided by Michael Ansara. The animation is stunning and seamless—the frost effects on Freeze’s helmet make him look better than he does in any subsequent appearance. It also plums an interesting character component about Batman. Mainly, that his goal is more than just stopping criminals: it’s about redeeming people, saving them from themselves, second chances. He saves Freeze from himself, prevents him from committing murder. But it’s too late—Freeze has already lost the piece of who he is that makes him care about real justice. 

Maybe it isn’t a feel-good story, and it doesn’t really have much thematically to do with the joy of giving, and peace and such that we should look for during this time of year, but it’s…got something that feels kind of sweet, doesn’t it? Oh well, whatever—just watch it. There’s snow. And chicken soup.

A Bullet for Bullock (B:TAS DVD Vol. 3 Disc 2)

Set in the week between Christmas and New Years Eeve, A Bullet for Bullock is a hidden gem of Batman: The Animated Series. With an Emmy-winning score, great animation, and a story that focuses on a supporting character, it’s a superb, noir-inspired hardboiled detective story. The snowy, holiday backdrop perfectly compliments the moody jazz score and feels straight out of a different era.

Batman The Animated Series’ Bullock is a great character, brought to life with fantastic voice work—as most characters in these cartoons are. His team-up with Batman is handled perfectly, with neither man really liking the other very much. While this episode isn’t explicitly holiday related it definitely benefits from its setting. And the somewhat twist ending even gives Bullock an almost Scrooge-like lesson to think about. If you’re looking for reasons to watch Batman and want it to coincide with the season—look no further. 

Holiday Knights (B:TAS DVD Vol. 4 Disc 1)

This is the DCAU Christmas episode that really fills me with nostalgic holiday spirit. It so far outshines Christmas with The Joker as a holiday special. It definitely perfectly combines the holiday spirit with Batman. Written by wit and heart by Paul Dini, it is chock full of humor, action, and even a little heart. The mix of Animated Series score and classic Christmas tunes is part of what really makes this episode so delightful. From Harley and Ivy’s shopping spree, to Harvey Bullock as the Worst Santa in History, to the subtle playful animation of the new Robin, there is plenty to love.

What I love about this episode is how much it emphasizes just how insane Batman’s life is—over the course of just a few days all of these insane plots take place, and over the holidays no less! There’s no rest for people like Batman. And that makes the final vignette all the more rewarding. A quiet moment between Jim Gordon and Batman relaxing as old friends and toasting to the new year and hope for better days to come. If that doesn’t capture the essence of this time of year, I don’t know what does. 

This is probably THE holiday special to watch this season, if for some reason you only have one to watch. Frankly, I can’t understand why it’s not on TV somewhere every year.

BONUS: Holiday Knights was adapted from the BATMAN ADVENTURES HOLIDAY SPECIAL, and while the episode largely improved upon the source material, with a bit more room for the stories to breathe, the voice acting, and the music, there is one tragic piece missing from that book. The Adventures Holiday Special includes a wonderful, moving story featuring Mr. Freeze. Thanks to the release of the movie Sub Zero, Mr. Freeze’s wife Nora was brought back to life,and so the story wouldn’t work anymore. Nonetheless, it is an excellent story that captures the best parts of the DCAU version of the character. If you can find it, and with some internet sleuthing you may be able to, it’s worth reading for that story alone. 

Comfort & Joy (Justice League Season 2 Disc 4)

While I don’t have the nostalgic affection for this that I do for Holiday Knights, since I didn’t grow up with it, this episode is an excellent holiday treat—one of those surprisingly good specials. It’s also a nice breather from the intensity of this series, especially before the epic finale, STARCROSSED. Taking a break from saving the world  (and the surrounding ones, as they do in the beginning of this episode) the League splits up for a holiday respite. GL and Hawkgirl spend some quality time together, Superman takes J’onn (Martian Manhunter) home to the Kent farm so he won’t be alone, while Flash takes it upon himself to get the local orphanage the most-wanted toy of the season. All of the stories are charming in their own way, but my favorite is the Clark and J’onn story. Seeing Superman as Clark in this series is simply wonderful, and it is the Kent’s welcoming of the lonely, alien J’onn that is the most heartwarming aspect of this show. And just watching Clark get so excited about Christmas is fun.

The Flash teams up with a super villain to bring some Christmas cheer to the children, and thus brings out the best in him. Meanwhile, GL and Hawkgirl have fun with their superpowers and flirt—thus taking part in one of the most extreme snowball fights in history. 

It’s perfectly charming, superbly executed and 100% Christmas Cheer. What a fun way to spend 20 minutes.

That’s all, folks. Hopefully with this trip through the DCAU you’ll be in the spirit of the season—if nothing else maybe a desire to take a longer dip back into these wonderful cartoons. I know I’m ready for good ol’ Sandy Claws.

[timlikescomics]

MorrisonBats: Batman Dies at Dawn

Batman 672

This issue starts off with action at the Gotham City Police Department and only races forward. It’s in this issue where Morrison’s fractured storytelling begins and things begin to get truly bizarre for Batman. So far we have seen pieces set up in fairly self-contained stories and now things begin to unravel. First, I want to mention Tony Daniel’s art because it is one of his best looking issues of his entire tenure on Batman. Great looking characters, some dynamic action. There’s a random visual allusion to the Dark Knight Returns for some reason on a full page splash but I imagine that was Morrison’s call.

The final ghost of Batman comes to call, demanding to speak with Commisioner Vane—Gordon’s predecessor.Meanwhile, Bruce is base jumping high above Gotham City with Jezebel Jet, who explains to Bruce “you only have one life Bruce. I want to live it. I want to do everything.” Her thrill seeking doesn’t end at parachuting and action sports. 

Batman engages the impostor Batman—who as we may recall from 666 claims to be a spawn of the devil, or a harbinger. After shooting Bats point blank, he explains, “I was a good officer…This police department…this city betrayed me…sent me to hell to learn from the devil.” After being shot, things begin to fall apart for Bruce as he goes into cardiac arrest. He has a vision of a strange robotic, alien looking creature—a callback to the 60s story that plays a pivotal role in Morrison’s run through R.I.P., “Robin Dies at Dawn.” I didn’t know this when I first read it and was quite confused. The story is actually a pretty great one, and the way Morrison plays with it going forward is rather brilliant.  We’ll talk more about that later. The title for this issue, “Space Medicine,” is directly derived from “Robin Dies at Dawn.”

Thins go black and begin to fall apart for Bruce.He has flashes of images. The words Zur En Arrh appear. On the finale page Bat-Mite appears. What could this creature mean? Is he really an imp from the 5th dimension, or a figment of Bruce’s imagination—part of his backup personality that is revealed in R.I.P.? That too, will be a discussion for a later date. We also get the reoccurring image of the Bat crashing through the window. Morrison will return to this defining moment in the creation of the Batman identity over and over.

While this issue is action packed, it is still merely setup for the issues to come and what it has to do with Morrison’s themes and ongoing story will be better understood in later issues. On its own though, it’s a pretty exciting issue of Batman, and a solid first chapter in a multi-part story. It calls to mind the first issues of previous arcs—a reintroduction to Bruce and a dramatic entrance for Batman. But where it goes next is far less ordinary.

Batman 673

Usually when people have problems with Grant Morrison they lob things like he doesn’t make sense or what he does is incoherent or confusing.I think when people talk about not liking his run on Batman they point to this issue and RIP as being just too impenetrable or something. There are things that do make this issue tough to grasp. One, it references a decades old silver age comic book story. Although, the story itself does give you most of what you need to understand it. (I will admit it did help me to finally read that story before going back into these comics.) The second thing that do make this issue tough is that Morrison throughout his R.I.P. era plays a lot with hallucinations. Hallucinations don’t usually come coherently or in an orderly fashion. They jump around and make sense only in the midst of their happening. They flash by. I suppose if you don’t have any experience with that understanding what is going on in this issue can be tougher. I did experience some fever dream type hallucinations once when I was extremely ill and so that experience has kind of made what Morrison is going for a bit clearer to me personally. 

So, what’s important to keep in mind in this issue is this: Batman is suffering from a hallucinatory state brought on by his cardiac arrest at the end of the last issue. He is having flashes of incoherent imagery recalling his experience during the Thogal ritual in Nanda Parbat (remember?) as well as a volunteer isolation experiment he underwent many years ago (“Robin Dies at Dawn”). All of these hallucinatory, mind altering experiences are crashing in on one another as Batman suffers from intense physical and mental trauma from being shot. 

This is one of the first times in the Batman title we get some insight into the Nanda Parbat exercise, which is important, because it plays a key role in what unfolds in Batman R.I.P. There are also a few interesting and amusing bits of Morrison playing his meta-game where he extrapolates all of Batman’s history. On one page Bruce narrates, “I’m Batman. I go out every night and I look after people by getting into fights with other people on their behalf. And every afternoon, I record the details in a black A4 spiral-bound notebook as if it’s procedure and not just madness. I practice that self-conscious, hard-boiled style Alfred loves to read. Anything to keep int interesting.” Morrison is poking a stick at the noir style narrative that has pervaded Batman stories since Frank Miller (that he also continues from time-to-time at varying levels). He’s putting all of Batman’s history into one timeline. He also even reaches back to the earliest stories—to when Batman carried a gun—and applies a rationale to it that does not contradict the later developed no-guns policy that has helped to define the character for so many years. 

There is an intense two pages where a young Bruce wayne first encounters the bats around Wayne manor and also witnesses his own funeral. “I must be around five years old when I first sense the presence of a gaping toppling void in the center of existence.” Batman’s present and future collide in a moment, recognizing the hole in things that will in some ways be indirectly responsible for the very creation of Batman. The presence of evil, of darkness trails Bruce since before he was born through to his “death.” The hole in things is always present, watching him. This funeral image will be repeated later.

This is followed up by the introduction of Doctor Hurt, explaining the isolation experiment. “One of man’s most primitive fears is loneliness. When a man is isolated too long, the mind plays strange tricks. In your case you imagined that you were indirectly guilty of Robin’s death.” It’s dialogue lifted right from the “Robin Dies at Dawn” story.  Much of the dialogue on the following page is also taken from that story.

Batman explains to Robin later that he volunteered for the experiment to get a glimpse into how the Joker’s mind works. Dick replies, “That’s so wrong, Bruce! If you ask me, you think way too much about the Joker!” This sets up a difference between the two that will play a big role later when Dick takes on the cape and cowl. Dick is confident that he gets the Joker, that he always has. Bruce, meanwhile, obsesses over his enemy, has to experience and get into the same frame of mind to effectively combat him. 

The hallucinations end with Joe Chill realizing that he created Batman. Evil and darkness gave birth to a hero who will never give up the fight against it. Ultimately, Bruce’s experience with Darkseid and the Omega Effect will reinforce this theme.

The issue ends with Bruce coming to once again, at the mercy of the impostor Batman. 

When I first read this issue many years ago I was frustrated by it, but I’ve come to really appreciate and love it. It’s a look into Batman’s psyche, and what drives him. I also admire the fragmentary nature of this issue, because it is a disjointed experience that nonetheless follows a narrative focus. It’s something that isn’t really possible outside of comics. The biggest flaw is Tony Daniel’s art. Some things just aren’t clear at all. Was the blond dreadlocks guy Batman in a mask and wig? Did Joe Chill wet himself after he heard Batman laughing from the shadows?  There are some parts that are just messy. But despite that, it’s a rich issue with even more to explore than I’ve touched on here.(Batman asking “when did I die?” as he looks at the Robin memorials and laments keeping Tim at arm’s length could reference his increasingly paranoid and loner nature that Morrison set out to rectify.)

Batman 674

A lot of questions raised over the last few issues get answers, only for even more to be asked. We learn on the first page that the three fake Batmen were drafted from the GCPD in an attempt to fill the void in the event that Batman were to die. A few pages later there is another flashback to “Robin Dies at Dawn.” Bruce recognizes that he is having residual side effects from the isolation experiment, and explains, “When I have these mental blackouts, I endanger your life. I can’t ever let that happen again. There’s only one thing I can do…I must put away my Batman costume and retire from crime-fighting.” (Words once again lifted from the classic comic book) Bat-Mite is there once again and asks, “Wonder who hid THAT command in your head, Bruce. Come on, don’t look so confused.” Command? What is Bat-Mite getting at? (and what is that creepy-ass insect thing crawling on his back?)

Bruce, having relived all these memories that had been suppressed for some reason, begins to remember more about the isolation experiment. He remembers the name Doctor Simon Hurt. He remembers that he fought these three fake Batmen before—whent they were sent out to fight him as a test shortly after the isolation experiment.  The narration boxes tell us, “I thought the three were ghosts, isolation chamber flashbacks, hallucinations of the Batman I could have been. Could I have been made to think that?” We also learn that Dr. Hurt used Batman’s time in the chamber to study Batman’s psyche and learn more about him.

Bat-Mite’s hint to Bruce is that his mind has been tampered with—that he has been given some kind of post-hypnotic suggestion to forget these particular events for some reason. Hurt had the last impostor Batman—the one currently keeping Bruce strapped to the chair—tortured by having his family murdered and maimed (and made it look like a Satanist cult.) Hurt recognized that trauma was a key factor in Batman’s becoming who he is. But who is Dr. Hurt? The impostor has our first answer to that question: “Doctor Hurt was the devil. Sometimes he visits the world to destroy the good and make slaves of men like me.” Is he crazy? Or is there something to that? Even Dr. Hurt makes similar claims. That question is one for another time…but keep mulling that over as we get deeper into things with Dr. Hurt. Batman sees things a bit more practically: “What if there were an ultimate villain out there, unseen? An absolute mastermind, closing in for the kill? What if there existed an invisible, implacable foe who’d calculated my every weakness?…An adversary whose plots and grand designs were so vast, so elaborate, that they went unnoticed…until it was too late.” 

That worst case scenario is certainly coming true now…and it goes so much deeper than Batman could possibly imagine. Morrison’s initial designs for Batman R.I.P. were just what Bruce is contemplating, Batman vs. the ultimate criminal mastermind. Things get a little bigger than that…something more along the lines of good versus evil, but we’ll talk more about that later. As it stands in this issue, there is a criminal conspiracy just beyond Bruce’s vision that is slowly creeping in around him. The ending of the issue is supposed to give us a hint—but the coloring and the art fails to tell the story correctly. The fake Batman leaves his glove behind to imply the involvement of “The Black Glove” from previous stories, but Tony Daniel fails to actually show the glove fall, and colorist Guy Major fails to color the glove correctly. And so the image ends up looking like Batman staring at his own glove. Frustrating mistakes! Oh well.

Things are really heating up…and no one in Bruce’s life is safe.