'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

A conversation with Amanda Murphyao from Women Write about Comics .

The Superman Fan Podcast: Episode #296 Part IV: MegaCon 2014: The Capes, Cow... : (L to R) Julian Chambliss, William Svitavsky and Thomas Donaldson.   Download Episode 296 Part IV! This panel was the first one I...

Superheroes made real? #WetheGeeks Google Hangout from the White House.

Star Trek Into Darkness seems well on its way to box office success. I'm not surprise. Since J.J. Abrams took over the franchise reigns, he and his collaborators ( Damon Lindelof ,  Roberto Orci and Alex Klurtzman ) have deftly managed to stop the franchise's decline. Of course, as is the way of modern media, a comic book series continuing the movie universe continuity has been a big success .   Like many film and tv series, Star Trek has used an ongoing comic to "continue the story" for diehard fans.  Arguably more engaging than other efforts, the producers of the film are using the comic book series to retell classic stories.  Indeed, any fan of the comic series already read " Where No Man Has Gone Before ," the Gary Mitchell centric storyline that was focus of speculation as the inspiration for Star Trek Into Darkness.  The producers are using the comic book to keep interest high among diehard fans, rewarding them with insight to the new ...

The trailer for CW's Arrow is pretty good. The production team cut its teeth on Smallville, so that is not a surprise. Still, the meta-narrative of Arrow, based on DC Comics Green Arrow is a very interesting choice with a big election looming in 2012. As any (some? a few?) fan of comic books knows, the Silver Age story of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow started out as a Batman replica (instead of a Batcave, you have an Arrow cave...you get the idea). The character did not inspire a rabid following:-) All that changed in the 1970s when writer Denny O'Neil rebooted the character and paired him with Green Lantern. The legendary Green Arrow/Green Lantern run featured a Green Arrow re-imagined as a socially conscious activist who challenged Green Lantern's simplistic "law and order" worldview. Since that transformation, Green Arrow has kept a focus on challenging authority and fighting for the "have nots" in society. In an era of uncertainty a hero out to ta...

As a professor and comic book fan, I love the current fascination with comics and related media. Blockbusters like Thor , Captain America , and Green Lantern offer fun adventure, but they also speak to heroic aspiration within the American character. These films offer a reflective glimpse into U.S. psyche, which is why controversy erupts over question of identity in comic mythology. Indeed, with the United States struggling, superhero mythology offers affirmation. The 247 million dollar global success of Captain America highlights this point. A celebration of “old fashioned” heroism, the film provides a fictive narrative of a racial integrated U.S. military with African American and Asian soldiers serving in Captain America’s handpicked unit. While it is easy to be dismissive of concerns about “historical inaccuracy” in a film with magic cubes and suspended animation, the convergence of media linked to comics offer other racial controversy. Indeed, Marvel’s announcement that th...

The ruminations over new activity to bring Wonder Woman back to the small screen once again remind me of the unique place DC Comic characters occupy in our collective mind’s eye. The struggle to produce a Wonder Woman film says much about the challenge represented by the Amazon Warrior/Princess who does not need to be rescued. Despite the growth of women’s role in society, we still assume a paternal and maternal model for men and women's in society. While Wonder Woman is not barred from motherhood, she is not seeking to place herself within the familial framework in an obvious way. Indeed, the recent runs of Wonder Woman have been better in part, because they have embraced the character as who she is--warrior, diplomat, and leader. Wonder Woman is one of the key characters from DC, yet she has not had the iconic stories similar to Batman ( The Dark Knight Returns , The Killing Joke , or Year One ) or Superman ( Greatest Stories or Red Son ) in print. Instead, many people k...

The kids are heading back to school, traffic is getting worst, and tax holidays are everywhere, it must be fall. I know, you asking yourself how this relates to comics !?! For comic fans, this is an interesting historical moment. After another summer of big live action comic films, the comic media convergence has achieved success, but now must assess the future. This summer, comic inspired movies delivered big box office (Iron Man 2) and critical appeal (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), but not, in the mind of many, both. In many ways a summer with bigger announcements about comic films (Captain America, Thor, The Avengers, and Green Lantern and so many more in development) than films, the comic fan looking for a live action fix might seem out of luck and forced to wait for months. This is not true, the end of summer also marks the beginning of the new fall television season. In years past, we could look forward to many an action adventure television show that might reference comic...