But when I stopped and thought it through, I realized [...]]]> So, it made some major waves last week that Marvel Comics was being bought by the Walt Disney Company. A lot of comic fans started immediately being afraid, and even I was initially terrified. When I heard the story, this was my initial reaction:

But when I stopped and thought it through, I realized something: it’s actually not as bad as we think. In fact, it’s probably a GOOD thing. Before fanboys and girls start worrying as to whether Goofy will start appearing next to Wolverine (that would be an awesome team-up, though), here’s why it’s a good thing. First of all, a rep from Disney has already said that they have no plans whatsoever to mess with Marvel’s day to day operations as a comic book publisher. That’s an immediate sigh of relief. The next reason it’s good is because this is strictly a movie deal. No, seriously, it is. Marvel is essentially running out of money for its films. Iron Man 2, while a guaranteed success, is breaking the bank, and Disney is stepping in to deepen pockets of the company. That’s it and that’s all. It’s just like when they bought Pixar. Pixar’s operations have hardly changed, if at all, since Disney bought them. If anything, this means that Marvel will have more money to play around with for their movies. So odds are, this is a positive thing. But we’re just going to have to wait it out and see what happens.

Ok, for those not in the know on comics, Mark Millar is basically the shiznit. He’s the guy that wrote Wanted (I’ll never understand how anyone could justify calling the film they did an adaptation), Superman: Red Son, and a few billion other stories that are just plain good. His most recent work [...]]]>

Ok, for those not in the know on comics, Mark Millar is basically the shiznit. He’s the guy that wrote Wanted (I’ll never understand how anyone could justify calling the film they did an adaptation), Superman: Red Son, and a few billion other stories that are just plain good. His most recent work Kick-@$$ (the censoring is an attempt to keep it PG, lol) is no exception. For censoring reasons, let’s just call it K-A.

K-A tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a typical comic fan/pop culture junkie. He’s an obsessive fanboy who questions “Why hasn’t anyone ever dressed up like a superhero and fought crime in real life?” So he puts on a costume, grabs a couple of fighting staffs for weapons and heads out to fight crime….only to have a massive beatdown uncorked on him and then get hit by a car. You’d think that would put an end to his dreams os superheroism, but nope. He keeps at it, and finally builds a reputation as the superhero K-A (still censoring, lol) after he’s caught on video keeping some people from beating a guy up in a parking lot long enough for the cops to arrive.

It’s not long before he’s an internet sensation and sets up a myspace to help people. Upon investigating a myspace message from someone needing help, he finds it’s a trap, and is nearly killed before a little girl dressed as a superhero leaps into the room….and proceeds to decapitate and dismember everyone. Calling herself Hit Girl, she is teamed up with a large superhero named Big Daddy. And not long after this encounter, K-A teams up with another wannabe hero who calls himself the Red Mist.

I will say that this is hands down one of the more brutal comics I’ve read in a long time. John Romita Jr.’s artwork is gorgeous, as always. The book reads like R-rated Stan Lee. There is only one major problem I have with the book. Dave just isn’t a very strong character. I mean, yeah, he’s an everyman sort of a character, which is fine. It’s just that Big Daddy and Hit Girl are the more interesting characters. When two supporting characters feel like they deserve their own book more than the main character deserves his, there’s a problem. Another problem is that Dave isn’t entirely likeable. I know what you’re thinking, “who is?” but how can we sympathize with a character whose sole reason for trying to be a hero is simply boredom? I understand that the comic comes with the learning curve for him, but he just doesn’t seem to be growing as a character. Maybe if Millar does a sequel story, that part can be fixed.

I’m not saying I don’t like the book or characters, mind you. I think this is one of the most inventive and fun comics to come out in a very long time, and I definitely reccomend it to any comic fans of any kind (except maybe the squeamish).

I feel I should also go on to mention that the comic is being turned into a movie (what comic isn’t these days?) directed by Matthew Vaughn, who directed Layer Cake and Stardust. Mark Millar has been very heavily involved with the film’s production (unlike with Wanted) and it is being very closely adapted from what I’ve read. The movie’s already been given an R rating for the script alone, which is to be expected. It’s expected sometime later in 2010, and I’m looking forward to it. It looks like a mix of the first Spider-Man movie and Superbad, which should equal some genuine hilarity. After seeing some footage with Nic Cage in it, I think this will be his comeback.

The first, and most important thing, is that [...]]]> Ok, the past week and a half had some very big announcements happened in the comic industry, with one of which being the biggest comic book related news in years as it has the potential to END the current DC Universe and any or all related media.

The first, and most important thing, is that the Siegel family has just won the rights to Superman’s origins. To those not plugged into the comic world, here’s what the hap is. In 1938, not long after Superman debuted, Jerry Siegel (the writer) and Joe Shuster (the artist) sold their joint creation Superman to National Allied Publications (later to be known as DC) for $100 apiece. They were given such a little amount for two reasons: 1. During the depression that was a nice chunkachange. 2. They were screwed over big time. The publisher told them that Superman’s success was only a fad and that they should cash in while the character was worth anything. Since then, the rights of the character has been disputed in court numerous times. Gradually the Siegel family has gained more and more control over the character, and winnning the origin of the character may as well be considered winning the character himself. For those who still aren’t quite clear on what I mean, this is it in a nutshell: DC comics cannot mention Superman’s origin in any form or fashion unless they pay a licensing to the family. Normally not a big deal, right? Well, a few weeks prior, a judge made the decision that DC/Warner Bros. had to begin production on a new Superman film by 2011, otherwise the family would lose money, and would be able to sue, where their lawyer vowed the family would gain full creative control of the character. Once again, DC could simply pay a licensing fee.

But in the back of my mind is a terrible thought. What if the family does gain the full rights to the character? What happens if they do that, and then decide they don’t want DC to publish the character any longer? Superman is the flagship character at DC. There isn’t a comic series they’ve published that he hasn’t starred in or guest starred in. Granted, if that were to happen, they could probably end their current universe and start one without Superman. But that would feel empty. Batman would then be their flagship character, but a DC universe without Superman isn’t a DC universe at all. Now like I said, they’ll probably just pay a licensing fee for the character, because Marvel couldn’t buy the character, because that would mean a major rewrite in their own universe. He doesn’t belong anywhere but DC. I can respect the family’s decision to try to gain all of the rights, because after all, Jerry and Joe got screwed something fierce. But it would ruin the character that I, and many many others well before my time, grew up with if they took the character elsewhere.