Batman Sues DC!

Yep, that's right. Batman has sued DC Comics. But no, before you get all 'Grant Morrison was right, comics are gaining sentience' on me, it's not quite how it sounds. Unfortunately.

The real story is almost as bizarre though. Apparently, in a story found in greater detail here, the oweners of the Batman character, that would be DC Comics, are being sued by the mayor of the Turkish city of Batman. Yeah, there's a city of Batman in Turkey. Who knew?

Even better, according to Wikipedia, the city of Batman is situated on the Batman river, and is the capital of the Batman Province.

Holy geography Batman!

Seriously, does this have any (legal) legs whatsoever?

Know This Site: Atlas Comics

Atlas Comics is apparently a comic book store in Chicago. Apparently. I don't really know.

...So, you're wondering "Why is this website one that I would want to go to if that's the best endorsement he can muster?" Well, I'll tell you! Atlas' website, found here, is a rather unremarkable website. Very Web 1.0, if you will. What Atlas does have however, and is reason to recommend to anyone with a passing interest in comics, is three 'All Time Greatest' lists.

The last of the bunch is the 25 Best Covers, which is decent; but that one doesn't hold a flame to their fascinating lists on the 50 Greatest Inkers and the 100 Greatest Artists [Pencilers]. These are serious lists, the best that I've ever seen, and a very solid place to start when talking about any kind of Comic Canon. These lists are Wizard fluff. These are insightful, engaging and reasoned lists, full of artists you might not know but will come to love. I guarantee it. I'll not spoil their picks for the greatest in each respectable category, you should just go check out the site for yourself.

One thing to note: As I can tell from various references on the Atlas website, the lists were made at the beginning of the decade, or possibly at the end of the last. A bit of time has now elapsed since then. I ask you, intrepid readers (Readers? Reader? Anyone out there yet?): What are your 'crucial' additions to the lists as they stand? I don't mean what don't you agree with, or even which veteran artists do you believe were wrongly left off the list. I mean, which artist do you think have made the jump in the last seven or eight years to qualify for inclusion on the list?

Wonder Woman Zeitgeist?

Two bits of interesting Wonder Woman news today. The first, and less interesting to me, is the Wonder Woman hoax that was started by a site calling itself Wonder-Who.com. Basically, the site was a fake viral marketing campaign, which seems like a bit of post-modern cannibalism, where actress Megan Fox was 'revealed' to be the new Wonder Woman. Ho hum on the choice, but it'll be interesting to see where this goes: questions like who was responsible for the site, and what's to be gained, if anything, other than a bit of notoriety. (There's more info on this story here if you're interested) I'm a bit bored with Wonder Woman speculation, especially since it seems less about who would play a good Diana of Themyscira (that's right, I'm going full nerd on this one bitches! I didn't even need the wiki for that...) and more about who looks like this generation's Linda Carter. Like I said, ho hum.

Second, more intriguing bit of Wonder news is that it appears that Beyonce Knowles (she of Destiny Child and "... and Jay-Z" fame) is interested in playing the role. I came across the story over at Newsarama this afternoon. It's an interesting thought, and I have to say that I think Beyonce could pull it off. Beyonce's a moderately talented actress (I'm much more impressed by her singing and dancing skills, of which she has plenty) and I think that she would work as long as she had a very strong director to both help push her and keep a unified vision for the film. It's funny, but (stealing this thought from my wife) I've always thought that tennis player Serena Williams would make an amazing Wonder Woman, at least physically. Williams is not a terribly talented actresss, and I don't think that she's right for the role. Except physically. I mean, look at the woman! She's got the build, as few women do, to be Wonder Woman. Being specific, not many women are that muscular and athletic while still retaining, to be blunt and to the point, the "tits and ass" of a typically sexy woman.




That said, Beyonce is not a bad choice either, again, physically. There's a bit more that I find interesting about this story of Beyonce possibly playing the Amazonian princess and of contemplating the idea of Serena Williams being "Wonder"ful, but I'll leave that for another day. It's worth watching to see if either of these news item pans out in any meaningful way in the coming weeks...

Top Five Fantastic Four Artists

This is a feature that I did intermittedly in my last blog. Thought I'd make my first actual blog post about the same subject. The comic medium is talked about often, but the establishment of an actual canon for the art form is really young and underdeveloped. Here's my take on the top artists on a singular title, character or story (in this case the Fantastic Four). Funny how something that seems like a given as a choice now, a year and a half later, seems crazy. (All these photos come from the amazing Grand Comic Book Database)

Honorable Mention
Art Adams



What a short run, but what a beauitful run! Few artists would be able to make this where they did work on a book barely featuring the main team, but Adams 'gets' the FF in a way that few people do. Amazing monsters and detail work. Has also done sporadic covers and posters.


Steve McNiven



Coming from CrossGen in the early aughts, McNiven made his name at Marvel with his lush, Art Nouveau inspired approach to the Fantastic Four. Brought an illustrative softness to the book, which is not an easy feat.


John Buscema



In the 'wasteland' between the historic peaks of the Fantastic Four (more on that later) there was the swipe-tastic run of Rich Buckler and... not much else. Except of course for Jolly John Buscema, who had a good run on the book in the early seventies. This run is not one of John's absolute best, but this is John Buscema, meaning it's still better than most everything out there.

Top Five

5. Alan Davis



Alan had two great runs on Fantastic Four, the first coming in the latre nineties, revamping the book after Marvel got the books back from Jim Lee, and the second was a mini-series a few years back which took place in the hypothetical future of the FF. Both runs showed off Davis' lush figure work and dynamic storytelling.


4. Mike Wieringo



Mike Wieringo has a cartoony, loose style not at once evident as being compatible with a book like the Fantastic Four. But with writer John Byrne he helmed one of the more memorable runs on the book, including possibly one of the best Dr. Doom stories ever, "Unthinkable". Mike died a couple years ago and is sadly missed.


3. Walt Simonson



When fans and critics site artists capable of returning a book back to its 'glory days' one name pops up more than most, and that name is Walt Simonson. Simonson is an artist who understand how the Fantastic Four works, what makes them tick, and what stories work best with them. His run in the late eighties reignited a passion for the book unseen since, well... since our next guy!


2. John Byrne



I said before, and I'll say again: There are our next two guys, and then there is everyone else, at least when it comes in regards to the Fantastic Four. John Byrne took over the book (as writer, penciler and inker!) in the eighties, fresh off his star-making run on X-Men. He revitalized the book, told exciting imaginative stories, and also added now-classic elements of his own. Terrax, Nova, "The Trial of Galactus", Invisible Woman... all of this is Byrne's legacy.


1. Jack Kirby



Really, can there be any other choice? A run that helped jump-start the Silver Age and solidfy Marvel Comics at the forefront? A run that is in contention of the greatest comic run of all time? A run responsible for the existence of Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Annihilus, the Black Panther, the Inhumans...and oh, the Fantastic Four themselves and Dr. Doom. A special mention goes to Joe Sinnott, who's inks helped make this arguably the best work of Kirby's career.


That's my list. Thoughts? Comments?

My New Blog

I've been meaning to get around to this for a while now. This is my new blog, replacing my more informal one which I had as part of my MySpace account. This blog will serve as my commentary and criticism on popular culture, specifically comic books, art history and music; and in addition I'll be using this space to show everyone the exciting stuff I'm working on. Please leave comments as you feel the desire, for the blog posts or for the art.