DC Comics is re-launching 52 titles in an attempt in an attempt to breath new life into their brand. Unfortunately, several underrated titles did not make the cut. It seems to me that several bat and Green Lantern-related series could have been scrapped in favor of the following great series.
Today, pretty much everything we own has a screen on it. Our phones, our game systems, our cars – it’s hard to find something that doesn’t connect to the internet. With the rise of the digital age, and the innovations that followed, the idea of instant purchases was an exciting one. Napster changed the way people bought music, Amazon introduced us to the ebook, Netflix gave us movies and TV from our computer, and iTunes capitalized on all of the above. What these systems have in common is instant digital entertainment. The days of worrying about a scratched disc or a torn page were behind us. Hard drive get wiped? Most of these companies allow multiple downloads after purchase. To many, it’s hard to find a flaw in all this. Is there a downside? Maybe.
I suppose I’ll start with the benefits. Digital downloads are basically indestructible. Ever buy a comic, bring it home, put it on your bed, and your dog jumps onto it? If not, I’m sure at some point one of your books got destroyed one way or another. My garage flooded once, and hundreds of my comics were destroyed. After softly weeping in the dark for what seemed like days, I went to the shop and bought a plastic bin for those that survived – and that was the end of it. Not once did I wish they were all on my hard drive instead of tucked away in flimsy boxes, though I did understand the appeal.
In this new feature, Comic Affinity’s Who’s Who, we talk about comic book characters you’ve never heard of – and this week we have some of the weirdest characters and teams you’ve never heard of from comics you have heard of, including Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, Death Throws, Dr. Robert Doom, Elf With a Gun and Number One Fan!
Possibly the oddest characters in the history of DC Comics, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy got his powers when he held an anti-gravity metal, Element 152. He can detach his limbs and use them as weapons. He first appeared in Secret Origins #46 trying out for the Legion (which he failed to join). After the Zero Hour reboot, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy was a member of the planet Lallor named Floyd Belkin. He again fails to join the Legion. Floyd finally got a full issue about himself in the comic Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century. It showed his origins starting from birth when his arm falls off (undoubtedly leading to his creative name choice). Growing up, he dreamed about becoming a Legionnaire and when he was old enough, went to Earth. He saved the Legion and was a promising candidate for their future tryouts. His name may ring a bell, since he was mentioned in Late Night Liars, but now you know his story.
Hey guys. Just kind of wondering in print here, curious if any of you might have some insight I lack. Why aren’t more people fans of comics? That’s the question, plain and simple. We report on four different types of media here at Player Affinity: video games (for multiple platforms), films, television, and comics. Now, I’ll tell you up front that this is not going to be a heavily researched article. We’re taking a ride on the supposition express. Having said that, when I run a search on [internet search engine of your choice here] for “video game/movie/television news” I get back between one hundred million and three hundred million hits. When I search “comic book news” the results don’t even break forty million. I’m not a mathematician, but to me, that makes a statement.
It’s hard to read through a superhero’s biography without counting multiple secret identities. The DCU is notorious for changing up who wears which mask. The Batman cowl has passed from person to person, multiple signature Green Lanterns, and there’s like nine thousand Flashes. The recent relaunch of Batgirl has a familiar face donning the suit. Should Barbara Gordon be Batgirl? Did she ever stop?
One of the more obvious controversies of the DC re-launch is giving Barbara Gordon back the use of her legs and having her become Batgirl once again. Brian may have loved issue #1 of the new Batgirl title with Babs reprising her role, but I’m not attacking the series. The story might be great, the art fantastic – the problem is: Barbara Gordon should not be Batgirl.
Like many others I could not see Stephanie Brown as Batgirl when she first took up the cowl. All the previous Batgirls I knew and loved just seemed so much better than this inept blond who appeared to be more of a wannabe heroine rather than an actual heroine. But after reading the ongoing Batgirl series I quickly accepted and grew to love Stephanie Brown as Batgirl. She became – by far – my favorite Batgirl. I love how her character developed, especially when this character development culminated in my favorite issue of the “Road Home” one-shots, Batgirl #1. This issue solidified Stephanie Brown as Batgirl and it felt like a slap in the face to me – if at first only in a blind Stephanie Brown fan-girl rage – when I heard that Barbara would resume her role as Batgirl, kicking Stephanie (and all that character development) to the curb. Also, seeing as Barbara was her mentor, it makes Barbara, regardless of the circumstances, look bad for stealing her student’s suit from her when her time with the cowl has clearly past.
Hello readers, faithful and otherwise. This is “Bring It or Keep It?” the series in which we take a look at a comic from beyond our borders and decide whether it should embrace multi-culturalism or stay a creepy xenophobe. Up for judgment this time is Mx0, a series that ran in “Weekly Shonen Jump” from 2006 to 2008. That’s right all, this is the first series I’m looking at that is not brand new. There’s been plenty of time for publishers to bring this title to our shores, but it seems there are no plans to do so. Have we been wrongfully deprived of a winning series or have the publishing powers that be made the right call in keeping this one away?
Wildstorm has many titles that had huge followings before the company went under in 2010. Before their unfortunate end, Wildstorm produced very adult content that took the superhero genre in a new direction. All of these titles were published with help from other companies, including DC Comics, Image Comics and Wildstorm’s imprint America’s Best Comics.
Featuring the very public issue that had Superman knock-off Apollo and Batman knock-off Midnighter come out of the closet, The Authority was a continuation of the series Stormwatch which featured a superhero team always willing to cross the lines between good and evil with no problems killing their enemies. The entire series was solid with great stories and impressive art. It’s entertaining and introduces new elements to the superhero genre while expanding on other previously explored territory, like when the team uses their powers in the political world.
Started in 1992, Wildstorm began as an imprint of Image
Comics and later DC comics. The imprint met its end in 2010, but the characters
from its universe continue to survive today, with the imprint leaving behind a
great legacy accomplished during its eighteen-year lifespan.
Wildstorm
originated in Image Comics. Scott Williams created the imprint with his
team Whilce Portacio (recognized for his violent poetic drawings – see Artifacts #8), artist Joe Chiodo, and Jim Lee. Under these creators, Wildstorm launched several titles, including WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams and the popular series Gen 13.
IDW was known for its horror before its licensed titles. Here, we showcase some of the better series produced by IDW Publishing that focus on the more horrific side of comics. IDW’s first comic, which launched an infamous seven-way bidding war for a movie (which scored a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes), 30 Days of Night, was written by Steve Niles. Niles loves to write horror and has tackled numerous dark characters in the comic universe, including Batman, Spawn and his own creation, Simon Dark. His series 30 Days of Night was another vampire title, but with a creative twist: the vampires come to the Alaskan town of Barrow where, from mid-November to mid-December, the town is completely dark all day long. The perfect setting for a vampire. It’s feeding time!
