Geekomancer Under Glass: Beyond the Capes (Part One)
Hello, my lovely Skiffys and Fantys! I just got back from a delightful evening of talking about comic books at Atomic Books in Baltimore, so I was inspired to start a Geekomancer Under Glass sub-series about comic books. To start, I want to highlight some comics series outside the superhero genre. A lot of people still conflate comics with superheroes, but there’s incredible storytelling being done in the sequential art/graphic novel form outside the supers genre, in and out of SF/F. Hopefully, this series will expose people to some new titles and expand their horizons. It also gives Shaun a chance to come into the comments and tell me how I’m wrong about everything I say about comics. 🙂
Confessions of a Comics Junkie: The Racial Politics of Mutations (or, Mutant Passing)
One of the reasons I have always preferred Marvel over DC is the fact that it’s world, however absurd at times, at least tries to explore what might happen if a bunch of people with extraordinary powers popped up in our neighborhoods. In short, humans have a tendency to freak out. In a weird, unexpected way, the Marvel Universe (Earth 616, not the other versions, which I’m not currently following) is an exploration of evolutionary change, the likes of which we haven’t seen because the last major change in our species “group,” as far as we know, was before written records. I’m talking about the Neanderthals.[1] We’ll never know exactly how humans reacted to those funny-looking humanoids, though we’re pretty sure there was some violence, some sex, and probably some group hugging in certain parts of the world. And in a similar way, we don’t know exactly how humans would react to the rise of mutants; instead, we
Confessions of a Comics Junkie: Rooting for the Underdog (or, Characters Marvel Forgot to Love)
Readers of my personal blog will recall that I recently got back into comic books. And by “got back into” I mean “I now have almost three long boxes full of comics.”[1] It’s an obsession. So sue me. One of the things that has been most interesting to me on this journey back into comics is discovering how much has changed since I was a lax reader in the 90s. I don’t mean in terms of the narratives, mind you (though those have changed, too), but rather in terms of the characters who have stuck around, moved to the background, or (supposedly) left us for good.[2] Things have really changed. The most alarming change for me was the realization that some of the characters I loved as a kid have since taken a sideline to more “popular” folks. Oh, hell, let’s face it. The characters I liked as a kid, and the characters I have since started to cling to in the now, will never be as popular as Wolverine or Batman or Captain America or Iron Man or most of the folks gracing our movie screens these days. They are, and probably always have been or will be, the underdogs. But they’re also the characters for which I can’t help rooting.
#03 — Man of Steel — A Shoot the WISB Discussion w/ David Annandale and Michael R. Underwood
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/ShootTheWISB3ManOfSteel2013Reviewed/Shoot%20the%20WISB%20%233%20–%20Man%20of%20Steel%20%282013%29%20Reviewed.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSuperman is back! For this episode of Shoot the WISB, guests David Annandale and Michel R. Underwood join Paul and I to take on Man of Steel. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Download the episode here. Spoiler Alert: the following podcast contains spoilers for the film being reviewed; if you wish to see the film without having it ruined for you, download this podcast and save it for later. Show notes: Man of Steel (IMDB) Shaun’s post on why he hated Superman Returns Paul’s Website Paul’s Twitter Functional Nerds David’s Website David’s Twitter David’s Books Michael’s Website Michael’s Twitter Michael’s Books Michael’s post on Man of Steel Note: We’re shifting over the Shoot the WISB segments from my personal blog to The Skiffy and Fanty Show. Why? It just makes more sense, I suppose. If you’ve never listened to the Shoot the WISB casts, you’ll likely see them pop up in your iTunes or RSS feeds over the next few weeks.
Guest Post: “Superhero Ethics” by Myke Cole
I grew up on comic books. By this, I don’t mean that I grew up standing on piles of them (although, now that I think about it, I probably did that a few times); I mean that I grew up reading them. I thrilled to Superman reversing the earth’s rotation in an effort to turn back time to stave off disaster. I loved it when Batman crashed through a window to save a sleeping couple from a would-be marauder. The X-Men kept us safe from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Avengers did that when Hydra and AIM came calling. The Justice League? Always on watch. From space. Seeing all. I was a kid. I never asked why. They did it because they were “good guys” (and by “guys,” I mean some of them weren’t). They were genetically driven to do what was right, which always happened to coincide with my desire to sleep safe and comfy in my bed at night. As I grew up, I began to understand that human interests are sometimes at odds with each other. Two different people can both want the same thing, a
China Mieville to Write Comic for DC Comics!
Word comes from the grand bats themselves (i.e., DC Comics) that China Mieville, author of Perdido Street Station, Embassytown, and the upcoming Railsea, will pen a comic book to be released as part of DC’s “New 52″/”Second Wave” comic “line.” What will Mieville be doing? This: DIAL H – Writer: China Miéville. Artist: Mateus Santoluoco. The first ongoing series from acclaimed novelist China Miéville, this is a bold new take on a cult classic concept about the psychological effects on an everyman who accidentally gains powers to become a hero. The concept may not sound original, but if we know anything about Mieville, it’s his gift for finding the unique, unusual, and weird in practically every “cliche” he takes on. Dial H is likely to be one of the most interesting visual creations to come this year. Who else is looking forward to Dial H? ——————————————- Update: Mieville did an interview with USA Today here (which might be of interest to everyone). It includes some juicy bits about the comic above.
