'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

The UK trailer for Gotham gives us a few new perspectives on character.  The ideology turn in this show is to focus on Gotham as a character. My forthcoming course, "Creating the Comic Book City" uses this same structural analysis to great effect. To understand comics, you must understand the urban fears and aspiration that inform the character's archetype.  For Batman, Gotham represents the civilizing ethos associated with the frontier applied to the urban experience.  This might make the difference for the Anglo-American audience.

Philosopher, pop-icon, shaman and story teller - as one of the most influential comic book writers in the market today, Grant Morrison is all of these things. His explosive and often controversial 30 year career has made him a household name for comic fans, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Morrison's career is now taking a new turn, as he explores media beyond comic books. Grant Morrison could be one of the most important people you've never heard of, an inventive comic book writer who's practically a god among hardcore fans for spawning titles like Batman RIP, The Invisibles, All Star Superman and The New X-Men. Watch Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods Now

   The trailer for Gotham looks good.  A prequel series linked to a Nolan inspired Batman cinematic universe makes a lot of sense.  I also think creators have learned something from the success of the CW's Arrow.  A rich mythology and gritty realism that keep the central concept in the forefront of the action is what makes that adaptation of the Green Arrow work.  The producers of Gotham have the same look in mind.  Utilizing fandom's knowledge of the mythology to create call outs that will get them excited.  Yet, re-imagining the beginning of the comic book adventures frees the producers from falling into a narrative too insular for the common audience.   I'm looking forward to the results.

The line between cinematics and cinema shrinks every year.  Perhaps the success of Arkham series points to a fruitful avenue to develop other comic properties?

What makes the Arkham franchise so successful?  The answer is easy, the producers concentrate on what is the most iconic about Batman and return to it over and over again.  I risk repeating myself, but this is a point worth noting.  This semester I'm doing the first run of a new course inspired by my constant musing about the intersection between the real and imagine city in comics.  My Comic Book City course leans heavily on first identifying the major theoretical arguments linked to urban development in the United States. Then we chart how those ideas are integrated into the comic medium. The creators working on Batman need not understand the theory, they nonetheless must engage with them.  Moreover, those that successful do so, essential tap a node societal investment, they will draw attention and generate engagement.

Star Trek : Pawn Against Pawn Michael Ansara passed away. You probably don't know his name, but you know his face and voice. It would be hard to imagine Sci-Fi television without his contribution. He was a memorable as Kang on Star Trek (TOS, Deep Space Nine and Voyager), but appeared in Time Tunnel, Outer Limits, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. In recent year, Ansara provided the voice of Mr. Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series. 

  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...