The Bane of Multiversalism

After the last couple days discussion, one might come to think of me as a comic book isolationist. That is to say, up until the 1960's, it was fairly uncommon for the stars of one comic book feature to have any impactful relationship with those in another feature, regardless of whether they shared a title, much less a company. Sure, you had team features like the Justice Society of America, but the only change in the characters from story to story was literally a change in what characters appeared from story to story. Most all stories in the Golden and early Silver Age were by a set group of creators under the command of one editor that valued consistency, and they ended up in neat little packages by the end of a given story's page count.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I grew up on Claremont X-Men and Wolfman Titans. I am all about complex universes of interrelated characters featured in extended stories that span decades. I loath most DC Silver Age stories, rigidly structure in the manner I described in the first paragraph to insure the least threat of change or depth. Call it the tendency toward conservatism that comes with age, but only in recent years have I begun to see the merit in such a process, and recognize the terrific fault in overlapping continuity.

Part of this comes from having lived through the 90's and seen the intercompany crossover reach critical mass and take a large percentage of the reading audience with it, myself included on many properties. Lord knows any affection I had for the X-Men was pretty irreparably damaged by that sort of thing. DC Comics has spent most of the Didio years doing their damnedest to ingrain a similar aversion to their entire universe. Another problem is that once the fanboys became professionals in the 70's, also known as the lunatics running the asylum, a sad homogeneity fell over comics to rival those crumby DC Silver Age comics. Where once the Justice League was a book that only featured DC's biggest starts, where the Avengers swiftly became a book comprised of heroes without features of their own, fan creators applied a mix of both philosophies to both books. The Justice League and Avengers books, in terms of dynamic and creators, were largely interchangeable throughout the 70's. Where once you had two distinct properties was now DC and Marvel's separate versions of the same essential book, often starring variations of the same character types (Scarlet Witch/Zatanna, Vision/Red Tornado, and so on.) Things only got worse for the Justice League, as they saw miserable failure in attempting to restart the team as an X-Men knock-off, some redemption as a new type of serio-comic team concept mingling the grandest and least of super-heroes, then returned to being a poor Avengers substitute. Grant Morrison went from critical darling to fan favorite by simply recognizing that perhaps the Justice League of America should go back to being comprised of its original elite membership, and saw massive sales follow. It proved so successful, in fact, that Marvel then aped the format and turned the Avengers into their own JLA. That's all well and good if you felt Spider-Man and Wolverine needed another series to dominate, but your Hawkeye fans aren't likely to appreciate it.

And what about Hawkeye? Super-hero comic books have a disproportionately large number of archer characters, mostly due to their having been created in the heyday of Errol Flynn in Robin Hood movies, and likely kept alive by the cowboys and indians that reigned over Western culture until sometime in the 60's. Hawkeye was probably the last great super-hero archer, and his being created just before the end of the popularity bowmen in outside media likely didn't hurt. Also, part of his initial appeal was that he was a villainous bowman, an anachronism pitted against the technological marvel Iron Man. He was pretty much always sympathetic, manipulated as he was by his love for the beautiful Soviet spy Black Widow, but his intended purpose was to serve as an exceptional man capable of facing a super-heroic Inky-Poo. Only later did he choose the side of angels alongside Captain America as the familiar wiseacre Avenger. This would have been all well and good, except he parallelled DC's own archer Green Arrow on their Justice League. Eventually, Green Arrow took on many of Hawkeye's personality traits, until he was nearly indistinguishable aside from his appearance, politics, and long suffering girlfriend/partner Black Canary. Of course, Hawkeye married his Black Canary proxy Mockingbird, and was her widower, until she was recently returned to life. This takes place shortly after Green Arrow finally married the original, which by this point makes me wonder how anyone can like Green Arrow or Hawkeye over the other, since they're now the exact same character.

It makes perfect sense to me for a creative individual to cast a glance at what others are doing with a similar idea and respond to it. Ideally, this would offer an opportunity to keep their work as original and innovative as possible, to validate their project and remain competitive. Instead, fan professionals just merged the two similar concepts in their collective minds and treated them as interchangeable, variant only in who published them. In other words, creatively speaking, we get the most common and uninspired of both worlds, 16 flavors out of what was once 32. So much for the spice of life...

The Obligation of Renovation

I ran two comic shops over eight years time, so I can point to any number of examples in my personal history of disgruntled fanboy syndrome. If you're reading this, you've probably suffered from it to some degree yourself at various times. As an example, I give you "Clint." There were lost of reasons to take jabs at Clint, as he still worked a McJob and lived with his parents at an age when he should have been many years deep into building his own home. Clint loved lots of comic book characters, and visited my shop very regularly, but bought very few comics. He would go on and on about how much better they were decades prior, and how no one ever got them right anymore. He particularly loathed Frank Miller, who he even then credibly blamed for destroying the Batman, but more incredulously, also felt the same about his work on Daredevil. I'd never met anyone who hated Miller on Daredevil, and for the most part knew hardly anyone who bothered to even read the character before Miller. Before the 80's, DD was basically just a lukewarm Spider-Man knockoff with a few minor adjustments, so who cared about that guy until he was recast as a pulp detective in long underwear, Dashielle Hammett by way of Don McGregor?

That's where things get sticky. No matter how many people adore Miller's groundbreaking work on Matt Murdock and related characters across two decades, the fact remains someone kept Daredevil's book in print for nearly as long before Miller ever laid a finger on him. It isn't just that Daredevil had a lengthy history of outstanding artists and some fine stories to his credit-- the character continously sustained an audience through some of the lowest periods of comic book publishing history of enough size as to never be cancelled until well after Miller said his final goodbye to the concept. That being the case, how can you not acknowledge the work that came before Miller, and who can dismiss the grievances of fans who felt Miller betrayed the qualities that endeared them to the character in the first place?

On the other hand, people who hate Miller for his Daredevil run, then and now, seem to be in a fairly dismal minority. If you work in a field where by and large a corporation owns and is legally considered the creator of the characters they publish, it could be argued that serving the publisher's demands is equivalent to doing the creation due justice. I for one have never had much sympathy for creators like Steve Gerber and Marv Wolfman, who intentionally withheld signing away their creations as works made for hire. Knowing full well they were incorporating them into a publisher-owned universe of characters with the intent of exploiting their commercial prowess only to withdraw said characters after they achieved popularity seems to me to be a matter not of creator's rights but of bad faith. However, for most of comics' history, their creators have not enjoyed the option of retaining any ownership or management of their creations, and it seems to me it is also an act of bad faith for publishers to utterly exhaust their talent, strip mine their efforts, and turn out the husks of their ideas into other hands to molest however they need to in order to restore commercial viability. Creators may not be legally recognized as such under works made for hire, but they willingly bestow a small measure of their hearts and souls into their concepts, and it strikes me as immoral to abandon any responsibility to upholding the creative integrity of that gift.

Now, comic book publishers are not the Amish, so they will not freeze a character in amber for all eternity to nurture a feeling of security in fanboys. Characters have to grow and change not just to remain viable from a sales standpoint, but also to remain relevant to shifting culture over the great expanse of time. The reason why every modern comic book creator doesn't just retain majority rights to all their works is because writing a character like Batman assures them a measure of immortality. Super-heroes are the American mythology, passed down through the generations to be both glorified and modified to maintain their power over the imaginations and inclinations of mankind. They are our role models and emotional escapes. We love them and wish to commune with them as either revelors or prophets. In the 1980's, Daredevil was barely limping by as a hall closet in the House of Ideas. Frank Miller renovated around the character, and in the end added on a whole room around that small space. You may miss the comfortable nook that was, but in his wake Daredevil became unforgettable and indispensable. Again though, Miller expanded from an existing space into a more substantial quarters. While he took Matt Murdock to some dark places that forever removed his from his earlier, lighthearted leanings, the core of the character's concept and subsequent development allowed for Miller's new path. In other words, this remodel was structurally sound, aside from the occasional creek out of the Clints of fandom.

Baby's First Comic Book Writing Principle

When I was a boy, I would see a movie, read a comic, or some such passive entertainment, then reenact a variation of what I saw using action figures. If I had an Indiana Jones doll in my hands, I would invariably have him take part in adventures in that guise and along the expected lines of fantastic archeology in a period setting. If I had in my hands a toy based on a licensed character I had no real affinity for, like He-Man, he would invariably substitute for a character I did like, but who possessed no such toy, like Conan the Barbarian. Alternately, I would either develop a derivative personality around the toy as a supposedly "new" character, or treat them as a cypher to assume whatever role my afternoon's fiction required (thug, victim, etc.) This is how I learned the fundamentals of storytelling, through naked imitation.

As I aged, I accumulated both more toys and more personal experience to inform my play time. Even when a Wolverine action figure would be produced and purchased, I would have already spent years projecting my interest in that character upon a proxy, who would have had his own adventures separate from his inspiration. Also, various influences would overlap, so that my Conan would team-up with my Wolverine and perhaps be joined by Indiana Jones on a mission against robots sentries in outer space. In my dramas, my Jean Grey proxy would fulfill my desire to see her shacked-up with Wolverine instead of Cyclops, while my Conan might have lost a leg to poor quality control standards at Mattel and become a team leader or a sleuth to compensate. Circumstance and variation would cause my substitutes to become developed characters in their own right, and cause me to focus on their stories as Indiana Jones fell by the wayside. This is how one progresses beyond imitation into actual creation.

Like most teenagers, I wanted to bless the world with my new found powers, which of course meant inflicting my prejudices and ineptitude on other people's creations. Shouldn't all comic books, if they're to be worth reading, be written and drawn in the manner of the creators I liked, and any other tastes be damned? Shouldn't the spotlight always fall on the types of characters I was interested in, with all others serving as fodder in service to their glory? Wouldn't Superman be cooler if he used his incredible strength to karate chop people's heads in two, or Mr. Fantastic could form knives out of his fingers, or the Disco Dazzler could use her light powers to slay vampires? Shouldn't Moon Knight just stomp on Spider-Man for once, and could Booster Gold just die already?

Well, no, obviously. Beyond being terrible, degrading alterations based on sheer lack of merit, they would also afflict existing characters in a manner that would only serve to dismay their creators and fans. Further, new characters created with these same slight "innovations" might be welcomed by fans who would turn away from their being applied to characters with histories previously unpalatable to them, and the preexisting fans would constantly seek to reverse the subversion of character concepts they had embraced before you ruined everything.

That, dear reader, is an extreme example of my theory of seminal integrity in sequential art. It's essentially the golden rule for comic book fantasists working with characters not of their own creation. Do unto others' creations that which you would have done to your own. I'll be discussing this over the next few days...

Obscure Character Handbook: The Wonder Man

Real Name: Fred Carson
Other Aliases: None Known
Dual Identity: Secret
Occupation: Radio Engineer and Inventor
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no known criminal record.
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Known Confidants:None
Supporting Cast: Donald Hastings (boss,) Brenda Hastings (imperiled boss' daughter and love interest,) Reggie "Playboy" Berold (well-heeled jerk and fiancee of love interest)
Known Allies: None
Major Enemies: General Attilla
Base of Operations: Unnamed city
Place of Employment: IBC Incorporated (International Broadcasting Company)
Group Affiliation: None
Extent of Education: Likely extensive
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Other Distinguishing Features: Narrow face, high cheek bones, slightly receded hairline.
Intelligence: High, as he is a brilliant inventor, logical and clearly aware of happenings in the world.
Strength Level: High, with upper reaches unknown. Could rend steel like paper and lift massive objects.
Skills: Talented inventor, airplane pilot.
Superhuman Powers: Endowed with "Herculean Powers" that include supernatural strength with the potential to be "the strongest human on Earth." Impervious. Uncanny accuracy. Can bound hundreds of yards. Mighty lungs.
Special Limitations: All powers derived from ring.
Source of Powers: Supernatural ring.
Special Weaponry: "A new type television apparatus... so small you can carry it on your belt." Long-range televisor. Tiny radio transmitter/telephone.
Personality: Supposedly "timid" as Carson, but actually just well mannered and gung-ho to take on new challenges and dangerous assignments. Terrifically assertive if judgmental as Wonder Man.
First Appearance: Wonder Comics #1 (May, 1939)
Origin: Unrevealed
Publisher: Fox Feature Syndicate
Status: Public Domain
Tagline: Mightiest Human On Earth
Mission Statement: Pledged to be forever the champion of the oppressed, defender of the weak and relentless foe of all that is evil and unjust.
Created by: Will Eisner (credited as "Willis.")

History:
"So, Fred Carson, wear this ring as a symbol of the Herculean powers with which you are endowed-- as long as you wear it, you will be the strongest human on Earth-- you will be impervious-- and now in the name of humanity and justice, go forth into the world."

For reasons unrevealed, Carson visited Tibet, and through unknown circumstances was given a ring by the Old Yogi and a mission to use the abilities it bestowed for the common good. His employer was impressed with Carson's work on returning to the States, but still insisted "I've no time to listen to your goofy ideas," unless of course he saw immediate profit potential.

When the boss' spoiled dilettante daughter Brenda announced she had joined the Red Cross as a nurse in civil war torn Tatonia, Carson was assigned to chaperon the girl, against either's wishes. However, when Carson used his "long-range televisor" to view the thousands of starving, destitute refugees set upon by soldiers in the foreign land, he changed his mind. Flying Brenda out in a two-seater, Carson landed to meet her wealthy fiancee, Reggie "Playboy" Berold. The surly Berold grabbed Carson by the collar and threatened him after taking offense to his use of the "Playboy" nickname. That bit of unpleasantness was was diverted by another, a immanent bombing raid on the hospital base. Carson volunteered his plane to Brenda and Reggie, the latter of whom showed gratitude with a "So long, sucker!"

Carson removed his civilian garb to reveal his Wonder Man costume, and stood ready to take on the incoming planes. "Bomb hospitals, will you? I'm going to teach you a lesson!" The Wonder Man caught a bomb in midair, landed on his feet, and launched it like a football back at its deliverer to explosive result. He next righted a truckload of refugees and directed them to safety, calling ahead for the return of hospital staff.

Meanwhile, evil rebel leader General Attilla's forces had downed Brenda and Reggie's plan, intent on holding them for ransom.

The Wonder Man made his way to the rebel forces' headquarters, outside of which hungry masses were denied food horded for troops. "I think it's time someone stopped this horror!" The Wonder Man leapt to the top of the towering building, smashed through a wall, and manhandled Attilla and company. "Here's a little love tap to put you to sleep 'til I get back." Wonder Man shrugged off all manner of attack, snatching shells from the air and launching them back at mighty cannons. The hero released the rebel's prisoners, including Brenda and Reggie. The former had stolen a gun she intended to use against a guard, while the latter had been reduced to whimpering cowardice. In fact, Wonder Man had to seize Reggie and force him to help control the hungry masses as Brenda doled out food. Reggie proved ineffective, so Wonder Man, "endowed with mighty lungs... bellows above the tremendous roar of the crowd."

The Wonder Man continued his assault on the rebels, "with no apparent effort... rips through steel doors," and carried food reserves to the people. "Personally, Wonder Man aids in the distribution." By nightfall, Brenda was so exhausted from the effort she fainted in Wonder Man's arms. "Tenderly, the Wonder Man kisses the unconscious girl," before taking her to safety. The coward Reggie was next located, and commanded to fly himself and his intended home in a vacant plane. Finally, the Wonder Man threw General Attilla another beating, scarring his face. "The Wonder Man stamps an indelible impression on him with his ring..." He leapt off into the night, suggesting, "If you ever feel like starting trouble again, just look at yourself in the mirror and remember me!"

Carson radioed a report into Mr. Hastings. "Say-- Carson's gadget worked after all-- great work! With this new invention, we'll scoop every radio news service in the world!" By the time Carson returned home a few days later, Reggie Berold had painted himself a hero. "What? He did--? How nice--" That was all well and fine, as Carson's only thought was for lovely Brenda, and he claimed to have never heard of "this mighty Wonder Man everyone's talking about..."

According to Ain't It A Wonder, Will Eisner produced a second Wonder Man story, which never saw print, thanks to an injunction from National Periodical Publications accusing the character of infringing their Superman copyright. It took a few years and Eisner's honest testimony that Wonder Man's creation was intentionally derivative of Superman per publisher instruction to insure the end of Wonder Man's heroic career.

Brenda was accidentally called "Nora" twice.

Ineffectual Video Commentary

I was at The Aquaman Shrine yesterday, where I came upon the following embedded video...



This fellow, speaking as a representative of Aquaman fandom, repeatedly states that he has no idea why he's a fan, has little idea why people make fun of Aquaman, and offers up exactly one example of quality Aquaman reading. Also, he attributes the non-starter Aquaman/Wonder Woman romance to writer Grant Morrison, when in fact it was the criminally unappreciated Christopher Priest. More and more recently, I've been exposed to guys like this and those nimrods at The Stack, and I've got to say, epic fail. These people are neither funny nor informative, and they irritate me something fierce.

They say that on the internet, everyone is famous to fifteen people. With this quality of banter, I'd add that fame will only last Andy Warhol's prescribed fifteen minutes. I love the democratization that has come in the age of YouTube, but if fifteen million people post videos where they ramble on for fifteen minutes to no positive effect, who on Earth will have the time to bother sifting through all that garbage. If you're going to broadcast your opinions in this manner, you must be articulate, focused, and entertaining. If you cannot manage that on the spot, write a script and stick to it. Also, honestly, none of these dorks are doing any favors for the image of the fan community in their ill-fitting genre t-shirts, so it might not be a bad idea to distract from this with more comic book imagery.

It seems to me this sort of material should be like blipverts-- so quick and effective they're over before you've fully digested them into your consciousness. Instead, I'm left sitting with my head in my hand, waiting for these assholes to stop bickering and/or stammering, not unlike what I too often had to do in my comic shop days. Come to think of it, one of the main reasons I closed my shop was because my partner and I were so sick of hearing this kind of inane bullshit repeated ad nauseum, at greater length, and on a daily basis. Please, people, get your shit together or shut the hell up.

Matthew McConaughey as Captain America? FUCK NAW!

Look, I'm going to say this plain-- "Iron Man" wasn't all I'd hoped it would be. I'm not trying to disparage the movie, as it was better than either of the Spider-Man movies I've seen, and those made lots of folks really happy. I'm just saying, with that kind of talent, I'd hoped the flick would transcend the boundaries of the comic book movie, as opposed to nestling in the comforting familiarity of that genre's better examples. While the film was exceptionally cast, no one would have thought about Robert Downey Jr. during a fan casting session. However, once the name was uttered, it settled rather nicely in my brain (not to mention the aforementioned bar-raising on the entire production.)

You know who isn't? Matthew McConaughey. I like the guy generally, but let's be honest, the guy stars in light comedies where Kate Hudson has to do the heavy lifting. He appears in "action movies" like "Sahara," where he manages to come off slightly less charismatic than Steve Zahn. I'd have felt better about Luke Wilson being approached to play a super-hero in a serious take, because at least he's capable of something resembling nuance-- for another totally mellow abiding dude. So imagine my horror upon hearing that not only might McConaughey play a long underwear type, but possibly my favorite, Captain America.

Asses need to be kicked as though by a human fighting machine. Iron Man gets to be played by one of the finest actors of my generation, with fine support. Though I think the end result looks awful, Ed Norton and William Hurt seem to have been damned solid choices for the new Hulk movie. And Captain America, the man who's voice can command gods, may well be played by a drawlin' redneck who consistently sounds like he's taking a nip of helium with his drag off the bong? Can you imagine Cap's storied speechifying as interpreted by this dipshit? Did you not see "Reign of Fire?" It's not like picking a well bit young brunette to play Colossus with a handful of lines... this is the Sentinel of Liberty!!!

Also, the proposed new Captain America film, already assigned a 2011 release date, does not yet have a director. Can you imagine a talented craftsman signing on to this movie with Matthew McConaughey anchored to it? Hell, even a hack director would have to give serious consideration to following in the wake of Iron Man's good fortune with the high probability of box office poison Matt brings to the table. Added bonus: the movie is in pre-production under the title "The First Avenger: Captain America," with an Avengers film set for release a few months later. Gee, that's worked out so well for pictures not directed by Peter Jackson, I'm sure Marvel will be beating off prospective filmmakers with a stick. For God's sake-- even Paul Walker would be better, and my understanding is that his abs came at the his immortal soul, which explains his lack of any discernible personality.

The two names that tend to pop into people's minds when Cap comes up, myself included, remain Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. One was Tyler Durden, so you know he can inspire legions, while the other exudes intelligence and strength in a manner most becoming. Both are also getting their middle age on, so it's important to take advantage of these guys physiques and chops while they're still viable. Both are also new fathers, so you've got to figure kid-friendly fare and their immortality are fresh in mind. As they're both serious actors, it will take that sort of motivation to get them into a funny costume to sling a rather cumbersome shield.

I expect those two would come with a rather sizable price tag as well, so I recognize some discounted choices may be necessary. You can still find some bargains in their age range that I could get behind, like Brendan Frasier or Ewan McGregor. Sure, both are aging with less grace than the A-listers, one's a brunette, and the other's Scottish. Both are charming, can affect strong heroic voices, and can still get physical when necessary.

Okay, I'll admit I see the same problem as you-- the first film has to feature the origin. That means a young, 4F Steve Rogers on display, a suspension of disbelief that gets highly problematic after 40. Sure, but we don't won't Chad Michael Murray or any other WB/CW types doing to the Living Legend of WWII what George Miller nearly did to the Justice League. How about some guys who can play young? I don't care how often he works with Martin Scorsese-- Leonardo DiCaprio is gettable. Any actor who's shorter than Tom Cruise and still looks like he's working his way through puberty at 33 is dying for the chance to play a super-hero. Ryan Reynolds can't seem to avoid getting attached to super-hero movies with is physique, and shouldn't Cap be made a priority over a friggin' "Deadpool" movie? Didn't Clint Eastwood already make one of those anyway?

I've got a couple more for you that I doubt have ever been much considered: Joaquin Phoenix, who's both respected and a draw, plus brings a lot of the same gravitas as Damon to the table. Alternately, if you're just set on getting an Oakie type for the role and want to save every dime for those Avengers special effects, how about Nathan Fillion? He's far from ripped, but he's one of those guys everybody just loves, and can be commanding when the role calls for it. So what if he's Canadian? Given a choice between Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Hounsou, and Jessica Biel-- well, let's just say the casting would become festively imaginative...

The Vice Guide To North Korea: Final Episodes, 13-14

This is an outstanding documentary in which a crew of counter-culture types manage to get into North Korea and discreetly film the bizarre world of Kim Jong Il. Each segment is roughly four minutes, and it runs a great many parts, but the footage is incredible. The documentarians are straight-shooting and keep your attention, and I highly recommend setting aside the time to follow the whole film. I'll help by backdating the last few days worth of missed posts to allow for Sunday spare time...

WARNING: NSFW LANGUAGE

Episode Thirteen: Arirang
100,000 North Koreans participate in the world’s greatest eyefuck.


Episode Fourteen: Anarchy in the N.K.
Bringing the whole trip into perspective.