'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

  Is the key to greater diversity in comics and related media a change in corporate policy or greater activism by minority creators?  Minority creators can create engaging materials, but the question remains whether or not the public will get a chance to see it.

Brandon Easton's new documentary on African-American creators in science fiction and fantasy touches on a pivotal question about contemporary society. What are the implication of African Americans creating stories rooted in the traditions of speculative fiction?  Does this hold the promise of shattering the perspectives that limit expectations for black people in the United States?  Can these stories move popular culture beyond a moment that replicates narratives that do not allow people of color to cast themselves in a new light?  Answering these questions will have a powerful impact on the United States in the new century.

One element of Iron Man's appeal in print is the armor's continual evolution .  You could look upon it as "boys with their toys," but it runs deeper. Superior technology combined with solid values have always been a part of the American framing of defense . Iron Man's Cold War roots have allowed the character to easily play into this narrative.  With the current focus on anti-terrorism, technology has gotten both praised and scorn in the public discourse.  Our reliance on surveillance satellite and code breaking so well suited for nation states missed the threat of asymmetric warfare posed by terrorist groups.  After a decade of conflict however, the appreciation of technology has returned .  The debate about military drones is the public face of this new engagement, but the impact is widespread.  Iron Man 3 bring these ideas into the film narrative. Like the United States, Tony Stark's victory will likely hinge on superior tech, reinforcin...

Fearful Symmetry: John Carter and the Struggle of the Individual

Green Lantern's opening weekend won the race, but not by the margin Warner Bros. executives had hoped. Some of my observations on the nature of race and identity within the context of Green Lantern made the news. For many, the consideration of a "deeper" symbolism in comic books is complex exercise. While critics have been lukewarm to Green Lantern, for fans I'm sure it is fulfilling. The place of comic books in contemporary discussion of race has been seen as space cultivating and perhaps, promoting stereotypes. The comic book genre, especially it most popular aspect, the superhero uses visual cues to reduce individual characters into representations of cultural ideas. From a historical standpoint, this makes perfect senses. The popular media that preceded the comic book, like the comic book themselves, held to the racial conventions that celebrated accepted values and attitudes related to white mainstream society. Like those media, comics have changed as shifts i...

'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...

First Look at Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman - BLTv on Variety.com The buzz on Wonder Woman has been kinda middling in my mind. While the latest photo show a much better costume than the official costume photo, the real issue for me is that Wonder Woman probably isn't served by David E. Kelley's approach. Don't get me wrong, Kelley is a great writer, but Wonder Woman's problem is that writers struggle with the original premise. The reasons for discomfort are obvious. The creator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston, a psychologist and inventor of the polygraph believed in the educational potential of the comic medium. Yet, the ideas he wanted to impart to young impressionable minds were far from standard. Marston had an unconventional home life, living in a polygamy/polyamory relationship with his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston and Olive Byrne. Marston intended Wonder Woman to represent the kind of liberate woman he admire, one that would guide society by c...

Everyday at MegaCon started with the adventure of parking. To be honest, I thought the parking and shuttle service worked fine coming in (I tried to arrive early everyday), going out there was always a line and I walked back. Still, taking the bus in was cool because it helped to create a sense of community. Granted, I don't think very many people on the bus would be willing to articulate it that way, but that is what happen. You wanna feel loved? Dress up at MegaCon and people will love you. If you do a good job they will scream, they will ask to take your picture, they will celebrate your accomplishment and they won't care who you are or where you came from. It starts the second you get out of the car. Despite this truth, MegaCon is not divorce from larger issues of identity. Indeed, academics have written about the sublimation and distortion associated with costuming in fandom. A quick search will lead you to that literature. Indeed, identity always plays in the back...

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...

Comics - News - Writer explains 'Fantastic Four' death - Digital Spy Hickman's run on the Fantastic Four has been good, but I'm not sure if "darker" themes is going to make the Fantastic Four into the "go to" Marvel title. In some way, Mr. Fantastic is like Superman. How do you write a story for the smartest man in the universe? He will invent something to fix the problem. The conflict every writer has brought to the Fantastic Four has been about personalities and relationship. Some of those conflict have been about Reed and Sue, which I think Hickman has picked up on in interesting ways. Some of those conflicts have been about family and responsibility. Some have played with the idea of science versus faith. Everyone plays with the idea of personal honor. Dr. Doom's beef with Mr. Fantastic(and the rest of the FF) is about who is better (on top of Doom wanting to rule the world). If there is an opportunity associate with the death of Johnn...

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 ...