'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

On January 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared on television to deliver his farewell address. Broadcasted from the Oval Office of the White House, Eisenhower framed his closing remarks as “a message of leave taking and farewell” to his countrymen. Far from a nostalgic reminisce of national service, Eisenhower provided a cautionary narrative about the dangers of military buildup in the United States.  Eisenhower's remarks frame a debate about U.S. defense policy since 1945. Namely, he spoke openly of the need to find balance between forces that desired to spend, at all costs, to secure the United States from attack and those forces that advocated for negotiation and disarmament. These ideas inform the meta-textual narrative found in the pages of Iron Man. Debuting two years after Eisenhower's address, Iron Man can be seen as continuation of the pro-American and anti-communist dialogue found throughout Marvel's Silver Age revival. Yet, the narrative als...

The new trailer for Iron Man 3 features a not so subtle engagement with post 9/11 geopolitical uncertainty. Will Iron Man win? Of course, the trick is how the narrative handles the complexity of applying U.S. values to global landscape where issues of race, class, and power are not defined by American views alone.

Fearful Symmetry: John Carter and the Struggle of the Individual

'Green Lantern' is opening. Does it appeal only to white American males? Green Lantern is the second major cinematic superhero coming to audience. As my comments indicate, I think Green Lantern represents a problematic perspective. While other comic characters are born with powers (mutants in the X-Men) or are supernatural beings (Thor), Green Lantern differs from other characters because he is picked to serve as a representative of law and order. While many can be dismissive because it is a summer film, we should also examine the story we tell about ourselves.

'Thor' comes to the big screen: What's a Norse god doing in a Marvel comic? Some quick reflection on Thor by me were incorporated into this Christian Science Monitor article by Gloria Goodale . All in all, I think Thor is significant success for Marvel. Satisfying on its own as a summer film, the elements of the cinematic universe Marvel is building are on display in this film. Like the print universe before it, the idea of a shared universe provides the kind of excitement for film goers that it has long provided to comic book fandom for decades.

In the aftermath of yet another confrontation between Republicans and Democrats over budget policy and the promise of future conflicts, it is worthwhile to step back and consider the traditionalist appeal in the context of superhero comics. The “traditionalist appeal” in this context is the resurrection of classic characters in recent comicbook superhero stories. While the political debate rarely directly spills onto the comic page, the sense of the political environment does, and often with startling results. Whether pro-war sentiment associated with Captain America’s first appearance punching Adolf Hitler or a flurry of President Obama appearances , comics are not divorced from the political climate. Superhero comics and society inform each other, contextualizing values, delineating beliefs, and highlighting concerns associated with political debates. Thus, feminist critiques elicit change in the status and action of female characters, and concerns about racial equity trigger...

It begins when you walk in the door.........

This year I am on the ground at MegaCon with the intention of trying to understand the event from a broad cultural perspective. MegaCon 2011 requires me to up my technical game. It is time for mobile blogging!!

Orlando MegaCon begins today and I am making a commitment to try to document the event without hauling around my laptop. It all about the iPhone and mobile uploads.

With a new Venom comic debuting today, and Spider-Man featured in the new FF: Future Foundation comic, I'm taking a moment to reflect on Spider-Man's live action effort on Broadway. The recent critical thrashing of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is more than the story of a troubled Broadway show. As any number of Broadway professionals can tell you, many shows have been marked by soaring budgets, deep-pocketed backers, and mercurial creative minds coming to a sad end. Indeed, other rock musicals, Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair prime examples, faced similar problems. Yet, few have received the rancorous focus associated with this comic book-inspired show. Even before the critical onslaught, the cultural fixation on Spider-Man: TOD was severe. Spider-Man: TOD is a natural target for unfavorable scrutiny in part because it is about Spider-Man. This to me is the core issue. Spider-Man: TOD has generated so much press because unlike other dubious productions, Spider-Ma...

Jack Kirby was a legendary comic innovator. While known for his superhero creations, he made his mark in numerous genre, including the Romance comics genre which he pioneered in the late 1940s. Blank Panther?: Jack Kirby, Blackness and the American Dream As you know, I am aware it is Black History Month. I wrote a short piece exploring Jack Kirby's take on race and identity for the good people at PopMatters.com. The short written assignment is the most difficult. Still, I think there is some merit in an honest reflective piece consider Jack Kirby take on race and identity. Perhaps no creator was as prolific creating black characters and unlike other creators, I don't think Kirby's intention was tokenism. Indeed, characters he created remain central to Marvel. The Black Panther's recent centrality is a testament to the character symbolic important and the lack of substantive new characters created since Kirby's actions in the 1960s and 1970s.

David Gabriel, VP Sales at Marvel Comics announced at the ComicsPro retailer summit, Marvel's intention to kill a character every quarter. As I mentioned before, the value of killing any character in comic is not about that character's death, but about the aftermath for those left behind. This is why some comic deaths are sacred and others not. Gabriel insisted that plan to kill characters is not a cheap ploy to sell comics. This, despite the fact, that Fantastic Four #587 was the highest selling comic in the last six month. No, Gabriel insisted , as I suggested , that the point is to established a new status quo like the one we are seeing coming out of the dissolution of the Fantastic Four and the creation of the Future Foundation. Still, the timing is suspect. Marvel has committed to the 3.99 price point (versus DC holding the line at 2.99) and they are also gearing up for a new major event- FEAR ITSELF. In concept this could be a creative too...

In the midst of my morning survey of pop culture landscape and I come across this story on the failure of Tron Legacy , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Watchmen , and Kick-Ass and the role of San Diego Comic-Con in creating or failing to create a success. Since I think seriously about comics and popular culture I have already thought about this. I know, very self serving, the professional media types at blastr.com write a story and I reply I have already thought about it /:-) Still, the analysis of the failure of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World after the great buzz at comic-con touched on these issues already. There are several factors playing in the background here. Still my reaction to this story is...duh its comic con!! If you have a comic or pop culture related movie bringing it to comic-con is the equivalent of bringing water to a person dying of thirst in the desert. Yes, he or she will be happy to see you. That doesn't mean he or she will let you move into their house ...

From Comic Book To Small Screen Jessica Jones Series In The Works I'm intrigued by the idea of a Jessica Jones series because of three things. First, the idea of female character linked to Marvel's superhero universe, but not in costume would work well on television. For the most part, that has been the successful model for shows like Smallville and Heroes. Despite NBC's The Cape coming to the small screen in January, the usually approach is to avoid the costume even if the hero has superpowers. Second, a female character has a better chance of picking up a big audience on television, especially if they follow Brian Michael Bendis great characterization. Finally, and most importantly, Jessica Jone is married to Luke Cage in the current Marvel Universe. If the series is successful, even a modest success, more people will get a chance to see Bendis' revamped and modernize version of Luke Cage on television. This would open the door to getting the character into a ...