What if Male Superheroes Had Costumes Like Women?

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Ms. Marvel takes a Day off

For you non-comic folks, Ms. Marvel is a superhero, Avenger and a fashion icon (that sash does it). But here's a cute clip of what happens when she takes a day off.

Superman: Truth, Justice and __________ Way

Superman is no longer an American. To be honest, I didn't know he claimed to be. Anywho, in the milestone comic, Action 900, Kal-El renounces his US citizenship because he feels it will be better for other nations if he's global.

That's a big step for a hero that has been defined by this country. I understand Supes decision. Wonder Woman and Storm are also non-Americans. They claim their home 'countries'. But those two are different in the eyes of non-comic folk; so I wonder what impact this decision will have?

Oh, you may want to pick a couple of these comics. They are starting to sell out.

Comic Writers & Artists join together for the Anti-Bullying Comic: "The Power Within"

 Here is a great comic book initiative that really touches on impact of teen bullying and suicide.


The comic is called The Power Within and famed writers & artists like Gail Simone, Phil Jiminez, Carla Speed McNeil, Dan Parent, Donna Barr and Andy Mangels are adding pages for a new print of the comic.

Here's more from their Kickstarter page

We are looking to do a large print run of The Power Within, a comic book that tackles the subject of teen bullying and suicide. It focuses on Shannon, who gets picked on a lot at school because he is smaller, quieter and more "artistic" than the other kids. His dad and his teachers think the other kids wouldn't tease him if he just "fit in" more. Their advice is for him to hide, or he's bringing it on himself. 

Faced with all this, Shannon has created a super-powered alter ego that he can escape into whenever he's in a bad situation. Pretending he's a powerful hero helps him stand up for himself. But will the power within be enough to save him?

We originally created this comic book for 24-Hour Comics Day last year, in response to the rash of teen suicides in September of 2010. We were so proud of the results that Mark went back and finished and cleaned up the art, and we released it as a "DiY" comic book and sold it at a few conventions on the west coast this spring.

The  The Power Within is created by Charles “Zan” Christensen and Mark Brill. If you can, please contribute and move this project forward.

Marvel considered The BLACK Avengers TWICE?

Today, I learned that Marvel thought about making the Black Avengers. Seriously? The BLACK Avengers? Yes, honey and it was brought a couple of times.

Marvel SVP of Publishing Tom Brevoort reveals the idea:

The third one I can remember — and at least two different people pitched this at two different times — was an idea that never got as far as an official title, but it was essentially “Black Avengers.” It was “Let’s put all the African or African-American heroes together on a team for an adventure,” and in those cases too, there was nothing about the idea beyond “It’s a bunch of super heroes together” that said “Avengers” beyond the fact that “Avengers” is a term that’s salable. I think there’s something very specific about what “Avengers” means to the Marvel Universe. They’re the varsity. They’re the A-list. They’re the Man. They’re not about being super heroes because of demographics or ethnicity. They stand for something specific and occupy a certain role. If you don’t have some degree of that, then it doesn’t feel like Avengers.

I wonder why The Black Avengers was even thought of or what did they hoped to accomplish. What was next, the Asian Avengers the Gay Avengers? Thank Hera they passed on this, because I think it would have caused a huge backlash.

While I would enjoy seeing more Black characters in comics, I wouldn't want see this team like this formed out of some form guilt or a misunderstanding. I very glad they passed on this concept.

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Gay Comic Character gets His Mini-Series

Archie's Kevin Keller gets his own 4 part mini-series.

The four-issue series shows how Keller arrived in Riverdale, where he's become close pals with Archie and the gang. But it will also deal with heavier fare than the typical "Archie" comic -- including how the character struggled with coming out to his parents, and bullying. 

If the title does as well as Archie co-CEO Jon Goldwater expects, it could lead to an ongoing series for the character, whose presence in the imaginary town would have been unthinkable not long ago. "This is the most important book this company has released in 70 years," Goldwater said. 

Sounds exciting, I hope these are good stories to read about.

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The Year of The X-Men: MMXI

The folks over at Marvel promises a kick ass year for the X-Men. Here are a few teasers

The Comic Book Bible, Wizard Magazine is Done

This really hit home the other day. I read that Wizard Magazine is closing up shop... in physical form, but like the Phoenix, it returns in digital fashion.

IGN reports

In an official press release, President and CEO of the now public company Wizard World confirmed the previous reports of Wizard Magazine's closure, which will also include Toyfare Magazine. He confirmed that the company has gone public and will now be the producers of the Comic Con Tour, holding events across major cities in the US.

In addition, the company will launch a brand-new digital magazine in February 2011.

"This is a very exciting day for Wizard World and the industries it serves," said Shamus. "Having the Tour produced by a public company provides additional opportunities to expand and grow the Tour. The new digital magazine Wizard World will give consumers the content they want in a magazine format with which they are familiar, but distributed in a form that is always available at any time on any device. It is a natural evolution for us in this market."

Wow... You know, this hits hard a little. Back in the day, I use save up to get Wizard Magazine with my weekly comic pack. Wizard was the Almanac of comics, telling you all the latest hype and news about your favorite comics.

It was a must-have for me, I truly enjoyed the magazine over the years. But, I knew it would be a matter of time before Wizard would close shop. Just didn't think it would be now.

When Comics meet Crazy: Moose Mess in Steampunk Palin

Yes, kids... This is a real comic

Comic Alliance reports:

That's right. This book contains fifteen pages of story, followed by eight pages of pin-ups of Sarah Palin. If you actually felt a little sick start to crawl up the back of your throat when your first saw that, I can guarantee you weren't the only one. And yes, they're not kidding around with the pin-ups. But I will spare you that horror. For the moment.

Steampunk Palin hopes to capitalize on the popularity of two things: First, former Vice Presidential Candidate and ex-Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, whose life story of beauty queen to elected official to media celebrity has captivated a nation, both for those who find her to be an inspiring voice to the Tea Party movement of libertarian-influenced conservatives, and those who derive perverse entertainment from many of her public statements and behavior.

 

 Robama?

 

 Fascinating

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GLAAD's Nominees for Outstanding Comic Book

GLAAD put out their list of nominees for the Media Awards!

The one I really, really care about is well, the Comic Books!

OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by Scott Allie, Brad Meltzer, Joss Whedon (Dark Horse Comics)
Fogtown, by Andersen Gabrych (Vertigo/DC Comics)
Veronica, by Dan Parent (Archie Comics)
X-Factor, by Peter David (Marvel Comics)
Young Avengers: Children's Crusade, by Allan Heinberg (Marvel)

I have to say that Young Avengers should get it. Two of their lead characters are teen lovers and I think they send a great message to gay teenagers out there.

2010's Best Moments in Comics

Comics were pretty good this year and there were some moments that kicked ass in 2010.

Hope Summers/Jean Grey/Phoenix? -The X-Men saw hope for the mutant race in, well, Hope. The mutant girl was gifted with the powers of the Phoenix, but is she Jean Grey? Time will tell...

The Death of Rupert Giles - Our favorite librarian/Watcher was killed by Angel. Completely changed the game in Buffy.

 The Return of Batman - Everybody thought Bats was dead, but he was stuck in time. However, he found a way back to the present.

The Blackest Night - New Lanterns, the Dead rises and Heroes restored. Great series.

Nightcrawler's Death - We lost our favorite demon as he risked his life for Hope Summers.

Wonder Woman's New Costume - Love it or Hate it, her costume cause everyone to talk about Diana.

Marvel Comics prepares us for Fear Itself

A peek into Marvel's big thing

Archie does it again! This time with Obama and Moose Mess

Archie Comics may make history again with the Obama and Sarah Palin story arc.

Here's a bit of the story:

In issue #616 of Archie Comics, which hits the stands December 22, Archie and Reggie are going head to head as rivals for Student Body President of Riverdale High. 

When Archie begins using President Obama in his campaign literature, Reggie fires back and does the same thing with Sarah Palin. The choice is pretty intelligent, Archie's a regular kid with normal problems and gravitates toward progressives. Reggie is kind of a jerk and too rich for his own good with little to no apathy, making the most sense for the conservative opposite he chooses.

But when the real life Obama and Palin find out about it, they both arrive on the scene to deal with it.

Ultimately, it seems to be leading to a point where Progressives and Conservatives can talk about issues without vitriol or talking points. It's an admirable thing to show the kids and hopefully one day it can be realized.

 Interesting to say the least, however many folks are excited about this comic. Orders for this Archie 616 has sold out.

BENT-CON was a Blast!

Yesterday, I went to Bent-Con, a comic-con for the gays. This was its first year and I believe it's off to great start for the future.

Several comic book and Sci-Fi writers and artists were present for the event. I spent quite a bit money yesterday, but I didn't mind. I'm supporting the work of highly talented gay people.

I was very fortunate to meet the some the writers and artists. You could tell how passionate they are about their work.

For example, I talked to J.T. Tepnapa and Carlos Pedraza, the masterminds behind the upcoming movie, Judas Kiss. Their info and advice was very helpful and informative. They have truly put their heart and soul in their movie and I totally admire them for that.

And for my ego, there were some readers of my blog and tweets. I was very happy to meet them.

I really can't explain how inspirational it was to see gay creative people in one setting. Sean Z, who's one the founders of this event, was pleased with the turnout and hopes to make it bigger next year. I believe it will get bigger and better. As more gay geeks, artists and writers hear about Bent-Con, I sure it will grow.

I have some pics to share. Please click the 'Show Info' part of the sideshow