'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

Jon Favreau will not direct Iron Man 3 and I can't say I blame him. While rumors that conflict with Marvel drove him out, the reality is it doesn't matter. After doing more to build the Marvel Cinematic Universe than any director alive, he has earned some time off. With the 3rd film facing the inevitable problem of trying to integrate multiple Marvel movie narratives, it smart to walk away and let new eyes look at IM3. His relationship with Disney is only going to get stronger and he can provide a lot of creative vision, something the Disney/Marvel fusion needs if it is going to be successful. Favreau is moving on to another major Disney movie and he will likely have a hand in shaping the coming Marvel movies as a executive producer. The future for Disney is the effective use of legacy properties and integrating acquisitions like Marvel in way that expand the entertainment experience on multiple platforms. That future requires creative collaborator who understand the pr...

My op-ed in the LA Times touches on some of my thinking about race in comics, but if you have been reading this blog, you know there is more to my research. Here is a list for those wondering about blackness in comics. Black Panther (1966) 1st Black Superhero Falcon (1969), 1st African-American superhero Eddie March, Iron Man for one issue (1970) Black Racer (July 1971) John Stewart (Dec. 1971, becomes star GL in 1985) Luke Cage (1972), 1st Black Superhero with his own book Blade (1973) Brother Voodoo (1973) Bronze Tiger (1975) Storm (1975) 1st Black Superheroine Misty Knight (1975) Black Goliath (1975) Get his own book in 1976 Bumblebee (Teen Titans 1976) Tyroc (1976) Black Lightning (April 1977), 1st DC superhero with his own book Vixen (1978), 1st DC black superheroine This list is imperfect, but it is telling us something about race in comics. As you can see, after the Black Panther a number of black characters are introduced. The first African-American character, the Falcon is...

When munitions manufacturer and millionaire playboy Anthony “Tony” Stark goes to observe some of his military hardware in action in Vietnam , he is wounded by an enemy mine and taken prisoner. His communist captors threaten to kill him unless he creates weapons, but in a desperate bid to survive (shrapnel from the mine is slowly moving toward his heart) he works with a fellow captive, Professor Yinsen, to create a chest-plate to support his damaged heart and transistor-powered iron armor that amplifies his strength and destructive power. While Yinsen is killed, Stark escapes to return to the United States. Like most Marvel heroes, Stark’s power is as much a curse as blessing. As Iron Man, corporate spoke-man for Stark Industries, Stark battles Cold War inspired foes to protect his company and his country. Yet, his condition has not been cured; he must wear his armor chest-plate to stay alive. Iron Man was the most political of all Marvel comic characters. Iron Man was overtly pro-...

It should not be a surprise that I'm once again returning to discussion of the book. After dealing with a conference presentation on comics at the Florida Conference of Historians meeting in Wakulla Springs,FL I'm thinking about the collection again. The concept is sound, but the publishers' spirits are weak. So, after some consultation among the editors we have decided to revamp the proposal a bit, to highlight the themes we think are important. This is not to say we have not done that before, we have, and now we are doing it again with the intention of making the links clearer to the less comic savvy reader. One thing that came out of the discussion is me moving away from race in my chapter and incorporating an examination of Iron Man. Don't worry, I will send the chapter out to a journal, so eventually someone will read it. Moving away from my exploration of race in Marvel does not mean the book will not address race, in fact we have one article exploring Lat...

These are big days for comics fans. WATCHMEN is coming out and Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men , the edited volume I am working on with William Svitavsky and Thomas Donaldson has reached a major milestone. This year's Florida Conference of Historian(FCH) meeting in Fort Myers, FL marks the contributor's first meeting. Some very smart people came from across the country and around the world to present their research at the FCH. This is not surprising because the FCH has been a welcoming forum for everyone interested in any area of historical inquiry for nearly 50 years. This year, the board voted to create Special Interest Sections (SIS) designed to attract scholars interested in specific subjects. One SIS of interest to me is Media Arts and Culture. This special section will be forum for everyone interested in comics, movies, television, film, and radio who might be interested in presenting research with a historical dimension. The creation of this SIS is linked to Professor Svi...