June
30, 2017
“
The universe will never be the
same.”
Superhero
comics can be viewed as pre- and post-
Crisis
on
Infinite Earths. In my previous post (below), I talked about
the role George
Pérez had on Crisis, but not his impact or why Crisis
happened.
Comic
books are a mostly visual media. There have been comic books without
words, but not comics without images... those would be called
Books.
Pérez filled the panels and covers with characters from DC
Comics history, making each page of the 12-issue limited series a
treat for the comic book reading eyes. Pérez came
up with
the name Crisis on Infinite Earths and crammed Crisis full of details
and characters in a last hurrah before the DC universe became much more
simple. He made it a visual masterpiece.
It
may have started about the time when superhero comics were new. In the
March 1940 issue of Pep Comics, the Wizard joins forces with the
Shield. Two heroes teamed up. Heroes had teamed up throughout ancient
mythology, but that issue of Pep Comics started the whole problem of
Crisis: both characters exist in the same universe, which is great when
they team up, but not so great the rest of the time. The next time
Shield is in a tough situation, readers would wonder why he doesn't
just call his pal, The Wizard?
Later
in 1940, the Justice Society
became a permanent superhero group, cementing superhero team-ups. DC
superheroes all lived in the same universe. When they got in big
trouble, they had to explain away why other heroes weren't available to
come help save the world.
Each comic book or set of
comic books about a character or team would have a different writing
style and editting style.
One
character might be written to age naturally while another might be
perpetually 29 years old. Team-ups and superhero groups lead to
continuity problems, which were ultimately explained away as happening
on another Earth. (
Another
Earth?!?) Yeah, another Earth in another universe. There
isn't only one universe. There is a
multiverse
of unlimited universes separated by differing vibrational frequencies,
which could be transversed by beings capable of controlling the
vibrations of their molecules, like the Flash(s). Having multiple
Earths in the multiverse became as normal as splash pages, and every
summer in the 1960s, the Justice League of Earth-One would team-up with
the Justice Society of Earth -Two. Each of these universe-crossing
stories were called a Crisis of something or other, but the big Crisis
was caused by success and age.
The problem with the
mid-1980s
centered around the success of the Teen Titans. The revamped sidekick
group were mostly not-teens, mostly-mature, and progressing from being
sidekicks. Time passed for the sidekicks but not for their mentors.
Robin became Nightwing and is in his early 20s but Batman is in his
late 20s. It didn't make sense.
Meanwhile over on
Earth-Two,
writer Roy Thomas showed an aging Justice Society in a new comic book
and a new set of younger heroes, Infinity Inc in another comic book.
What
Roy Thomas was establishing made sense in a continuity and serialized
progression sense. But not in a licensing sense. DC was obligated to
publishing its key characters (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman)
looking the way they were trademarked to look. Character image
licensing did not fit with age progression.
DC
welcomed ideas.
Marvel writer Chris Claremont suggested that the older Earth-Two
(original) Superman be revealed at the end of Crisis as wearing makeup
to look older and would become the only Superman.
It
seems as if Frank Miller's
Dark
Knight Returns story of an older Batman may have sprung
out of Crisis conversations.
If
there were any one DC writer who particularly lost their active
characters and comic books due to Crisis, it was Roy Thomas, who lost
both the Justice Society and by extension Infinity Inc.
Crisis
writer
Marv Wolfman said he had a rule not to kill off any character created
before he was born. He didn't kill off the Justice Society. He just
sent them to limbo, a universe of nothing.
Music Association: Joe Walsh -
Life Of Illusion - “Continual Crisis”Hero Uplifts SuperheroJune
20, 2017
Wonder Woman is a superhero who,
for her first forty-five years, rarely lived up to her potential. In
1986, the talents of
George
Pérez and others uplifted Wonder Woman to her
proper status as a top superhero.
George
Pérez was born in the South Bronx on June 9,
1954 to recently
immigrated Puerto Rican parents. He learned English from superhero
comic books and at five years old, started drawing with the bathroom
hamper lid as a drawing board. After graduating from Cardinal Hayes
high school in 1972, Pérez got a job as a bank teller across
the street
from DC Comics (then at 666 Fifth Avenue, so maybe it was
Chase
Bank across 52nd Avenue), while trying to get hired as a comic book
artist. He was offered some work as an assistant to Rick Buckler at
Marvel Comics, while working days at the bank. When he accidently threw
away $500 at the bank, Pérez became
a freelance
artist, picking up any work he could.
He became
skilled at
drawing the things other artists didn't want to draw: buildings,
skylines, crowds, superhero teams (with no hope for creator royalties
& more faces to draw for the same amount of money). He looked
for
ways to differentiate characters and how they interacted. His timing
was perfect because Marvel was expanding and had more comic books than
people to fill the jobs. Pérez was getting a reputation for
drawing any project, from Man-Wolf in 1974 to an
Enter the Dragon
knock-off. His growth as an artist, willingness to tackle
tougher assignments, and love for superhero groups led him to Avengers,
then Fantastic Four, then Avengers plus Justice League (DC) and Teen
Titans (DC). His work as artist and co-plotter with writer Marv Wolfman
on Teen Titans caused him to drop Avengers and later Justice League.
Teen Titans were half a reboot team of Justice League sidekicks (Robin,
Kid-Flash, Wondergirl) and half new characters (Cyborg, Raven,
Starfire), plus Changeling (Beast Boy from Doom Patrol). The Teen
Titans were not expected to do well when it launched in 1980, but
they became the most profitable title for DC Comics, and
helped
spark a revolution in creator licensing.
Having
effectively
rebooted an obscure superhero team into top selling comic books, DC
executives wanted the same treatment for the entire company. George
Pérez and Marv Wolfman were tapped for a project to clean up
DC
Comics comic book continuity, 1985's multiverse shattering Crisis on
Infinite Earths. Pérez viewed it as the opportunity
of a
lifetime to draw all the characters in DC Comics history, no matter how
obscure and shape the future of DC Comics. The reboot
led to John Byrne coming from Marvel to take over on two Superman
titles. And Batman was rebooted in part by Frank Miller and David
Mazzuchelli. But what about the reboot of Wonder Woman?
Wonder Woman - Pre-CrisisIf
DC Comics were to stop publishing Wonder Woman, creative control would
revert back to her creator William Moulton Marston (under
the name
Charles Moulton). DC was legally obligated to publish Wonder
Woman
comics or lose the rights to the character.
The new Wonder Woman
DC
comic book writer Greg Potter and editor Janice Rand spent several
months trying to decide what aspects of Wonder Woman history
to
keep, and Potter decided to establish her in his home town of Boston.
Potter conceived the Amazons being reincarnations of women murdered
through pre-history. Months before the launch of the new Wonder Woman,
George Pérez came on as co-plotter and penciller, commiting
for
the first six issues. So the first two issues (comic companies learned
the value of renumbering -- first issues sell extra collectible copies)
of Wonder Woman had Greg Potter scripting (& co-plotting),
George
Pérez pencilling (& co-plotting), Bruce Patterson
inking,
John Costanza lettering, Tatjana Wood coloring, and Karen Berger
editing. After those first two issues, Greg Potter left to focus on
being the creative director for a Connecticut-based advertising agency,
according to Karen Berger in the letter column to issue 5. According
to George Pérez in a 2001 interview with Andy
Mangels, “
When
it became
obvious by issue two that the series was definitely leaning toward my
creative vision, Greg decided to leave the book.”
Seasoned
superhero writer Len Wein joined the team as
scripter. Pérez was now plotter of Wonder Woman in
addition
to pencilling the next six issues, before reducing his artwork to
layouts, with Bruce Patterson doing finishes. Pérez
wanted
to write and he submitted ten pages to editor Karen Berger. Berger gave
them back to Pérez to rewrite. He praises her
editing for
helping him to become a better writer. From issue 17 through issue 62
in 1992, George Pérez was the writer of Wonder Woman.
All
of that is my longwinded way of saying comic books are generally a
collaborative process, even if the collaborators are never in the same
room together. In a moment, I will describe the Wonder Woman of George
Pérez, but when I do so I am in no way slighting the tone
set by
Greg Potter or Karen Berger's editing or any of the artists that
finished the pencils or layouts Pérez put on Bristol board.
The Differences of George
Pérez's Wonder WomanHere
are some of the changes found in the post-Crisis reboot of
Wonder Woman
• The mythology of the goddesses and gods in Wonder
Woman
had their basis in Greek mythology. (Previously it was a hodge-podge of
Roman and Greek mythology.)
•
Themyscira became
the home of the Amazons, named after their fallen Amazon capitol.
(Previously it was called Paradise Island.)
• Amazons wore leather and metal clothes suitable
for fighting, when fighting. (Previously dresses or togas.)
• Many but not all Amazons are lesbians. (Previously
hints
at homosexuality appear throughout the 76 year history.)
• Menalippe, Antiope, and General Philippus were
introduced as
key
Amazons.
• Bondage no
longer causes Wonder Woman to lose her powers.
• Wonder Woman fights with a sword, shield, and
battleaxe.
What's
funny is that Pérez went from drawing vast casts of
characters
in Avengers, Justice League, Teen Titans, Crisis, the History of DC
Comics, many covers to the Who's Who in DC Comics to... Wonder Woman,
an individual superhero without a large cast of supporting characters.
So he developed a supporting pantheon of Greek goddesses (and gods), a
supporting army of Amazons, and many Bostonians. He created a crowd
around Wonder Woman, both in supporting characters and fans.
And much of the tone
and Amazon backstory of the
Wonder
Woman movie came from the Wonder Woman of George
Pérez.
Music Association: Kimberly
Locke - 8th World Wonder
Movie Re-ReviewJune
13, 2017
I held the door for my better
half and two college-aged women at the
Wonder Woman
movie. One of the women asked if it was assigned seats, and I said no.
If this was her first movie theater experience,
wow, good choice.
When
I previously reviewed
Wonder
Woman, I
was uncharacteristically influenced by my better half. I saw it as a 4
star movie. She saw it more like a 3 star movie. This time around we
both saw it as a 5 star movie. And we sat through the credits long
enough to see the thank you's to Lynda Carter, the actress who shined
above the Wonder Woman TV series, and George Pérez, the
artist
and storyteller who elevated Wonder Woman comics to a (Mount) Olympic
level.
The whole
Wonder Woman
movie is greater than the sum of its parts; the execution is superior
to the story. We bow humbly to director Patty Jenkins and star Gal
Gadot.
The movie is a masterpiece. It's the sort of
movie to see
if you are going to a movie for the first time. Five stars (ignore
previous review).
Now,
some rules for the next movie. Whatever Warner Brothers is
paying Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot isn't enough. Do not damage
what has been built by this film. Do not weaken Diana. Do not
destroy
Themyscira. Make the next movie another labor of love.
Music Association: Genesis -
Turn It On AgainMaybe
the next post will be about how George Pérez revolutionized
Wonder Woman. Or maybe it will be about 45 turning 71 tomorrow.Movie Review
(Non-Specific
Spoiler
Alert)
June
2, 2017
The new
Wonder Woman movie
did not disappoint me, which is
sensational.
This
Wonder Woman is heroic and has limitless strength of both power and
character. She is the superhero she should be. When a movie centers
around a 75-year-old character, getting the character right is key.
I'm
not sure she's ever actually called Wonder Woman, not that she needs to
be. No one in
Star Wars
actually called it a star wars either.
The
visuals are strong and nearly period specific. The script does not
suffer from cornball humor. The sword hidden in the back of a
form-fitting dress isn't cornball.
The music could
use some work. Later fight
scenes swipe more than musical cues of Neo's fight music from
The Matrix.
The
first problem with Wonder Woman is how long it took her to get to the
big screen. C'mon. A little late, aren't we?
(Waiting For Gadot.)
The second problem is her
inspiration at the turning point of the story. It seems all good, until
you reflect upon it for a moment, thinking of her backstory and then it
just doesn't fit (a bit too Trevor-based).
Wonder Woman is a
good movie. I have to recommend it (not
have to
contractually, none of my reviews are paid reviews). But my four out of
five stars review flickers somewhat into a three star review due to
excessive
scrutinizing (really wondering).
Music Association: Eric Clapton
- Wonderful Tonight[June 5th - edit: The opening
weekend box-office results has
Wonder
Woman
earning $103 million domestically (U.S. and Canada) and $122.5 million
from 55 international markets, for a global total start of $225.6
million on an investment of $149 million. She's doing great!]
[June
20th:
Wonder Woman
has currently over
$573
million in gross receipts.]
WebbiversaryJune 1, 2017
This
is the
tenth anniversary
of the
Twin
Cities Calendar and the Hopes and Dreams website. Woo-who!
We
hope you've been entertained and informed and maybe your days have been
brighter due to this corner of the Internet.
The
cat that throws its voice just threw up. It sounded like it was right
next to me, but it was several rooms away. Anniversaries like this are
a moment of -
hurrah
- and then it's time to clean up.
Music Association: Badfinger -
Day After DayMovie PotentialMay
31, 2017
Comic
book superheroes are the modern American mythology. Crossing lines
between American mythology and ancient Greek mythology, no superhero
has more potential than Wonder Woman, whose movie starts Friday.
At
her best, she is an Amazon warrior fighting for peace and changing the
world. She is a woman of wonder, a marvel of inspiration, and a hero to
heroes.
Whether formed from clay and blessed by
Greek gods, or
born of Zeus and Hippolyta, she is as strong as Superman with differing
powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men and women.
Her
stories are as varied as the writers who have told them.
May
her movie inspire new generations.
Music Association: Bee Gees -
More Than A WomanClimate
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