“I think we used the wrong lightbulb.”
Michael Turner’s Fathom: Beginnings vol 2 #1
Aspen MLT (digital copy–February, 2011)
WRITERS: J.T. Krull & Michael Turner (creator)
PENCILER: Koi Turnbull
INKER: Jason Gorder
COLORIST: Christina Strain
LETTERING: Dreamer Design
DIGITAL EDITORS: Frank Mastromauro & Vince Hernandez
You know, I was wondering how I was going to do my annual Black History Month list of black heroes I either grew up with or think are better representations than the stereotypes their creators insist was the “first ever black hero”. The problem is finding a hook or something in one of my preferred genres, and I’m the only person who treats the hero support as being important. So then this controversy hits the internet and I have my hook. Even I know when to bank on a trend. On the other hand I actually watched the episode, so let me provide some context.
Hey AJ is one of those shows where kids use their imagination to get through some situation and teach both the characters and kids at home some valuable life lesson. In the second story of the eighth episode, “Don’t Mess With AJ”, our plucky young heroine just wants to watch a marathon of her favorite superhero before the next movie comes, but her mom insists she has to clean her room. Since the hero is a self-proclaimed “grimefighter” instead of a crimefighter, she imagines that he helps Super Duper AJ (she’s like 5) and her loyal sidekick Wonder Hare (her stuffed bunny rabbit Theo, because toys come to life in these fantasies) clean her headquarters and learn the importance of keeping her room clean before fighting one of his arch-enemies, the trash-spewing Dumpster.
Said character is Captain Durag (formerly the worse named Durag Man, so smart move changing it), a character who’s identity is based on a piece of “black folks” clothing (as if they alone invented the head scarf), has been seen by even black critics as a “trash man”, or as I’ve called him “ghetto Captain Planet”, and is more about black stereotypes than black culture. He has no superpowers but he does have a few cleaning up gadgets and a declutter method that wouldn’t even rank among the ones I’ve reviewed over at the declutter site I do on the weekends. He also has some killer dance moves for the animation style but he’s not winning any friends on Black History Month, where he made his debut.
So I thought I’d go through and find better examples of superhero shows for the same age bracket whose identity wasn’t based on a piece of fabric. That means no adult heroes in this one, but some ideas of better hero types than Captain Durag Man up there.
“We’re busting out of this comic!”
Sonic Universe #8
Archie Comic Publications (November, 2008)
“Mobius: 30 Years Later” finale: “The Freedom Fighters Of The Future”
WRITER: Ian Flynn
PENCILER: Tracy Yardley!
INKER: Jim Amash
COLORIST: Jason Jensen
LETTERER: Teresa Davidson
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Paul Kaminski
EDITOR: Mike Pellerito
Due to necessity of being in “speed mode” again, the original review doesn’t say much. So welcome to a brand new and proper review of the comic.
The original Space Sheriff Gavan had the same idea, that the transformation itself took milliseconds, with the first episode showing the transformation in real time then going back to show the sequence. I only got to see the first episode of that so I don’t know if they kept the suit-up transformation in the rest of the series, but the change doesn’t happen in real time, like other Japanese and Power Ranger “morph” sequences in tokusatsu and anime. This is my theory on why the monsters never attack them mid-transformation, because it doesn’t last long enough in real time.
So Bob Iger is on the way out and Josh D’Amaro is in. Ask Bob Chapek how that went.
By now I think we’ve all come to realize that sending the wrong person out doesn’t mean the right person is coming in. Dan DiDio left DC but Jim Lee hasn’t fixed any of his mistakes outside of what minor repairs Rebirth already did to the New 52 while he was there. Joe Quesada left Marvel Comics but none of his replacements since have changed much of anything in Quesada’s “lifestyle brand” and I’m debating discussing the doubling down on One More Day. The list could very well go on throughout the entertainment industry…like taking Star Wars from George Lucas and giving it to Disney made it worse instead of better.
I wasn’t sure how to approach the future of D’Amaro’s Disney. I didn’t really follow his running of the Disney theme parks. I was neutral about him and the new creative officer as I don’t know her works and can’t even remember her name. I only remember D’Amaro’s name due to making this article. I lacked a good way to go over the situation. Then the following video came out from JesterBell with some good opinions on the situation and it plus a recent interview with a former CEO helped me channel my thoughts. D’Amaro may not be the savior of Disney unless he fixes some of Disney’s mistakes. I’ll let Theresa (her real name according to her X-Twitter) go over everything and then add a few concerns of my own.
At least today’s covers are trying to look like something.
The Doll Man Quarterly #1
Comic Favorites, Inc (Autumn, 1941)
Technically DC owns Doll Man, the pint-sided hero predating the Ray Palmer Atom. All the stories in this comic features Doll Man, so while there are multiple stories it’s not an anthology. That should work into the rotation. I have enough trouble getting time to do everything without all of these anthologies in the retro comic review. They take longer to review than they do to read due to formatting and tagging.
We are, however, ignoring the lame comedy pages, one of which features a midget named Poison Ivy for some reason wearing nothing but a toga and bowler hat, with the gag being about how he has super strength. I didn’t find it or the others funny.
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
BW Media Spotlight 
BW’s Daily Video> Actors Trying To Avoid Politics
Catch more from Disparu on YouTube
It’s a start.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on February 19, 2026 in Movie Spotlight and tagged political commentary, commentary.
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