'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

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    I like this kickstarter for a couple of reasons.  First, I think the idea of pulp adventure stories rooted in the African-American experience can be compelling entertainment while challenging assumptions about African and African-American failure in the 20th century.  Second, the embrace of a transmedia approach allows these creators to build an audience that cuts across fragmented fan communities. I'm wishing them luck!

In a smart move, the X-Men: Apocalypse will continued the periodization established by the X-Men: First Class film.  Setting the film in the 1980s will allow the film to reflect the social issues of the era.

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  Producers and interviewees discuss "Superheroes: A Never Ending Battle" during the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2013.

The book inspired by American Graphic Media: The History of Superhero Comics in the United States is being put to use in that class. Feeling good about seeing the benefits of our scholarship helping students in the classroom.

A great independent project from Robert Garrett's XMOOR Studios. Check it out

  Batman is an enduring franchise.  The iconic nature of character intersects with problem associated with urban life and culture.  The success of the Christopher Nolan's trilogy has been matched by Batman: Arkham City video game developed by Rocksteady Studios .  Since 2008, the Arkham games have given players the chance to live the gritty Batman existence. The Rocksteady franchise has stylized versions of iconic characters, but the game play is engrossing.   The success of the Arkham City series standout in a game landscape full of failed tie-in games and lackluster original content.  The key to Rocksteady's success is that the developers recognizes the core ideas behind the source material and caters to a highly specialize customer's expectation. The Arkham City series routinely calls into questions perceptions linked identity, gender, and community. As has been noted in The Video Game Theory Reader (2003), the relations...

The new trailer for The Wolverine emphasizes the hard hitting action and iconic warrior themes that have defined Logan in comics for decades. 

Is there anything new in these ads? These spots are basically based on what we have already seen. Questions abound driven by plot speculation across the web.  Case in point,  is Tony using Extremis to move the armor in spot 2? I can't be sure and anyone who read the comic book knows the Extremis transformation merged part of the armor with Tony's body. Are we seeing this in the tv spots? This seems to be a modular assembly and not a biomechanical interaction. The armor "working at the speed of thought" aspect so crucial to the Extremis story could be on display or it could be something else.     This reflects a bigger ideological question. Will the audience want to see Tony Stark become part machine? The danger posed by science changing our bodies is a major theme in science fiction today. Will this anxiety inform Iron Man 3 or will The Mandarin as Bin Laden be enough? If the goal was to make me (and you) curious, Marvel Studios is doing...

Marvel continues to infuse the "feel" of comic books into products across platforms.  This tactic avoids alienating long time fans, but opens the door to a new audience excited by film and television adaptations.  While DC Comic struggles with finding the right tone for many of its Golden Age characters, Marvel's Silver Age origins allow better flexibility for adaption.  As creators adapt the stories for new platform, much of the youthful anxiety and societal uncertainty inherent to Marvel's 1960s stories can be transferred to contemporary debates. Something to consider as DC and Marvel bring major movie releases to theaters this summer. 

Rethinking Marvel's Avengers in a bigger sociocultural context We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience

I'm sorry that Static Shock isn't going to continue within the New 52 .  While diversity has been one of the themes of DC Comics relaunch event, it hasn't been successful on all fronts.  Should we dismissed the overall focus on expanding the narrative universe?  I don't think that would be fair. While Scott McDaniel has spoken of classic problems associated with Static Shock's overall placement within the New 52, there is no question the editorial mandate at DC has been to broaden representation. Even with criticism associated with sexism and lack of female creators , in a medium heavily dependent on the visual, there are more characters of color and greater emphasis on diverse sexual orientation for the audience, which remains primarily male and white, to see and reconcile within their worldview. The disappointment in the failure of Static Shock has everything to do with the historic nature of the character. One of Milestone Media's original titles...

Comics - News - Paul Cornell: 'Lex Luthor almost Tony Stark' - Digital Spy Paul Cornell's run on Action Comic has been great. His comment that Lex Luthor is similar to Tony Stark is true, but also points to the subtle shifts in the characterization of Luthor in comics. I'm co-teaching HIS 235 American Graphic Media in the Fall with my colleague William Svitavsky , so I have begun the process of thinking through the course yet again. Luthor is great example of how comic characters link to historical context. First introduced in the 1940s, Luthor was a "mad scientist" that easily reflected concerns about technological innovation creating chaos. A common concern since the mid-nineteenth century as U.S. citizens realized rapid industrial and urban change was driven by technological innovation. In this atmosphere critics charged that technology, then as now, was "de-humanizing." You need only reflect on how the public believed the telephone would le...