Through the Ages: Transition in Comics – Part Three
Through the Ages: Transition in Comics – Part Three
by Jerry Whitworth
(see Part One and Part Two here if you haven’t already)
DARK AGE
X-Men #1
During the Bronze Age, comic books began to make the transition from being sold at newsstands, convenience stores, and supermarkets to a direct market in comic book shops. As people began to stumble upon these stores, they would also discover that comics could be worth quite a profit as some books could be found selling for thousands of dollars. Word would spread and people began seeing comic books as savings bonds, buying and storing them like rare collectibles. Unfortunately, they failed to realize that those books going for thousands got that way because of managing to survive fifty years of being treated as disposable entertainment that was often thrown away or burned (with issues that survived generally being horribly mangled). Still, the industry took advantage, printing issues with multiple covers, sometimes with different cover art, other times with gimmicks like hologram stickers, glow-in-the-dark images, 3-D plastic pop-out items, foldout covers, and more. People were compelled to form “complete sets”, one book notorious for this was Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 (1991) which to this day remains the highest grossing single comic of all time making nearly seven million dollars and selling over 8.1 million units (and printed with five unique covers four of which had different versions such as newsstand and direct market editions). The phenomenon was a boon for the industry, with new publishers popping up all over the place and comic companies in many ways couldn’t print enough books. However, as with roller coasters, this success was bound to crash when the people who became collectors realized not only were the conditions not right to make the huge payoff for their investment they believed they would get, but with so much product overproduced, the books they did buy were virtually useless as a collectible because everyone had it. To this day, you can still find comic shops with dozens of copies of X-Men #1 they can’t give away. The comic book industry nearly went out of business again roughly four decades after Wertham and Congress left it crippled.
Read MoreThe Avengers: Who are Those Aliens?
The Avengers: Who are Those Aliens?
by Jerry Whitworth
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The upcoming Avengers film is with little doubt going to be the blockbuster of the Summer 2012 film season. Sewing up Marvel’s previous films together to make a mega-film, Avengers follows the events of Thor (2011) where Thor’s shape-shifting, Frost Giant foster brother Loki fails to destroy his adopted home of Asgard and retreats to Earth, where he manipulates Thor’s ally and brilliant scientist Dr. Erik Selvig as he’s brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. to examine the Tesseract/Cosmic Cube. While Loki is the main antagonist of the film (shadowing a similar scenario that played out in the source material when the Avengers formed and the alternate comic series Ultimates 2), the trailer for the movie also depicts some foreign species battling the heroes. Much debate has been had as to who this species is and if they even have origins in the source comics. Some even question if the aliens in the trailer won’t have a different appearance in the actual film, a means to surprise viewers in the theaters. Lets take a look at some species that could represent the threat the Avengers will face.
Read MoreAmerica, Japan, and Korea: A Cycle of Animation
America, Japan, and Korea: A Cycle of Animation
by Jerry Whitworth
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The United States of America was one of the world’s leading developers into creating hand drawn animation, with Walt Disney an early visionary. Characters like Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, and Popeye just a few examples of a new form of media brought to the big screen and later, when it was invented and made available to the public, for television. Some of the action provided viewers would partly be captured in the emerging American comic book market around this same time (developing into its own phenomenon with the release of Action Comics #1 in 1938), using deliberate sequences of juxtaposed images (phrasing coined by author Scott McCloud). Studios caught on and comic books became another medium to sell their cartoon characters to youths. Comics and cartoons would have a longstanding relationship present today and for the foreseeable future.
Read MoreNinja Turtles: A Space Odyssey
Ninja Turtles: A Space Odyssey
by Jerry Whitworth
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With the upcoming Ninja Turtles film mired in controversy after producer Michael Bay (director/producer for the Transformers film series) was quoted as saying the stars of the popular franchise were going to be aliens and may not even be teenagers, dropping both terms from the film title of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title, we will examine some of the origins of the franchise and its Science Fiction ties.
Read MoreYoung Justice: Shedding Some Light on the Light
Young Justice: Shedding Some Light on the Light
by Jerry Whitworth
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In the Young Justice television series, the main antagonist of the first season is a shadowy group of villains called the Light (instigating almost every conflict in the series). What makes this organization unique is that it doesn’t exist in the comic books. As in much of the series it is featured in, the Light is instead an amalgamation of several concepts. Likely the most impressionable, and at least an admitted inspiration by series co-creator Greg Weisman, is the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Originally conceived as a group of operatives for Darkseid called the Brotherhood of Crime, they would perform criminal acts to further his control of Earth, unwittingly bringing about the enslavement of humanity with themselves included. They would realize their folly, break free of his command and go out on their own as the Secret Society of Super-Villains. The concept was reworked due to input from then publisher Carmine Infantino into a massive revolving cast of super-villains in a Mission: Impossible or Suicide Squad type manner originally secretly controlled by Darkseid only to break that tie and evolve into what was also a revolving cast of leaders taking over the group or forming separate splinter cells. The group would later evolve into the Society, where a council of six villains controlled a union of super-villains, drafting every villain on Earth (save the Joker, who was deemed too unstable) under threat of execution for defying membership.
Read MoreYoung Justice: Preparing for an Invasion
Young Justice: Preparing for an Invasion
by Jerry Whitworth
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Young Justice: From Page to Screen
Young Justice: From Page to Screen
by Jerry Whitworth
The world of the Young Justice television series is an amalgamation of various elements of the DC Comics mythos, combining the best of the New Teen Titans, Peter David’s Young Justice, and Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans from the mind behind Disney’s Gargoyles and the Spectacular Spider-Man television series in Greg Weisman. As in his past work, the series is a complex web of smaller stories built upon for a modern day mythology borrowing heavily from the source material while making it fresh, new, and custom built for animation. To this end, chronologies of DC characters are shifted to maximize potential for youthful candidates for the series as well as the most iconic samples. Lets examine some of the massive cast of Young Justice:
Read MoreWhat is the Red Lantern Corps?
What is the Red Lantern Corps?
By Jerry Whitworth
In Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kilowog must face an army of Red Lanterns out to kill every member of the Green Lantern Corps. But, what are Red Lanterns? In the comic books, the Red Lanterns are closely tied to the Green Lantern Corps and Sinestro Corps.
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The planet Maltus is one of the earliest worlds to develop intelligent life in the universe. Over the millennia, this race grew and eventually split. One group went on to form the Controllers, a race dedicated to the advancement of science (regardless of the cost). The female of the species formed the Zamarons, representing the passion and love of their people as the remaining males became stoic and sought the very mysteries of the cosmos. This male component moved to Oa, the planet at the center of the universe, and became the Guardians of the Universe. The Guardians saw the universe consumed by chaos because of the actions of Krona, one of their own, and would bring about order.
Read MoreJustice League: Origins of Doom
Justice League: Origins of Doom
by Jerry Whitworth
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The DC Universe animated film Justice League: Doom bears a rather significant distinction: it is the final work in the field of animation for writer Dwayne McDuffie. A visionary that was instrumental in the creation of Milestone Media and story editor for Justice League Unlimited (among many other accolades), McDuffie was a no-nonsense visionary, a brilliant mind in the fields of character development, plot, and script, and a kind and forthright human being. McDuffie died February 2011 due to complications from heart surgery. The film was his third such piece in the series of original animated features from DC Comics having previously written the adaptation of All-Star Superman and Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.
Read MoreYoung Justice: We Want You!
Young Justice: We Want You!
by Jerry Whitworth
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While the Young Justice television series has perhaps the largest cast in a comic book adapted series, at least giving Justice League Unlimited a run for its money, it doesn’t mean it can’t get bigger. With the team sporting around nine members with more on the way and the Justice League as a supporting cast, it has to be a challenge to work with so many pieces on the board. However, with the upcoming second season Invasion where the Earth is attacked by an alien threat (signs putting to a certain stone-faced despot with a penchant for shooting zig-zagging eyebeams), the first season seems more like a set-up for bigger things to come. So, what new recruits could make the roster for Invasion? Lets look at some of DC’s young heroes yet to appear in the series.
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