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Like I keep saying, and posted in the comments: “There’s a pecking order to media. Comics are on the low end while TV and movies, the formats Zaslav cares about, are on the top. He doesn’t care about comics beyond what movies and TV shows can he make from those characters.”
“You want to hurry up, Clark? I need to make a call.”
I don’t hate the Christopher Nolan films, but outside of making some of his gadgets more believable having a “grounded in reality” Batman takes all the fun of Batman out of it for me. Superheroes don’t exist in this world, outside of a small group of people who like to dress up and help others community action style because it makes the experience more fun for everybody. Plus do you want to mess with the guy in the padded suit just in case he CAN kick your face in? It’s that unreality that makes superheroes more fun to watch, and through that enjoyment I see what it takes to actually be a hero not because of what toys Bruce Wayne bought but what he does with them.
However, the idea that superheroes need to be grounded in “reality” (read “cynical and depressingly violent”) seems to be prevalent in not only Hollywood but increasingly in the comics. I reject this and two videos by Matthew “MatPat” Patrick and his team over at The Film Theorists kind of prove that Batman can’t exist in reality. This wasn’t his intention of course. Like his other fictional theories this was meant to put the fake world of Gotham City through the real spectrum and see the differences to learn about science, economics, and the legal system. However, the guy who knows parts of every martial art on Earth, numerous languages, and trivia that would ordinarily serve nobody who isn’t playing the hard edition of Trivial Pursuit while having more money than some nations surprisingly isn’t “realistic” at concept. Let me show you.
“These are not the sea monkeys I ordered!”
Prime-8s #1
Monkeybrain Comics (2013)
WRITERS: Michael Moreci & Steve Seeley
ARTIST: Kyle Latino
COLORISTS: Jordan Gibson & Stephen Bobbett
LETTERER: Ryan Ferrier
You wouldn’t think that a movie about the horrors of child trafficking would be something to fight. It’s a horrible situation in our world and any good effort to alert people to this nightmare and what it does to the kids involved should be supported. However, actor Jim Caviezel says during his promotion that when Disney bought 20th/21st Century Fox that they actually took issue with the movie and tried to kill it. Put in one of the 18 other studios, or let Fox release it as planned. It wouldn’t be tied to Disney directly, though given some the actions and arrests of Disney employees involving children Caviezel may be right about the why. Also, much credit for Angel Studios trying to get as many eyes as possible on this thing. I can’t afford to go but consider taking the time to do so if you can.
She’s not the only one. Ever since He-Man.org started working with Dark Horse the site has undergone huge changes. All of their information, including scans of minicomics, are now collected in large hardcovers and no longer on their site, which is just a forum now. Other sites I’ve used for minicomics since Free Comic Inside expanded past my sadly small collection has not yielded much when it comes to series two of Princess Of Power, which is where I am now in those readings. In a last ditch effort I went to one of those…more legally questionable scan sites, a last gasp of research and I only know one with not as annoying ad flooding as the others. At the very least it’s usable until I can appropriate the actual comics for my collection.
So we can return to Etheria and the crazy version of She-Ra given what we’ve seen her do in the past. Our last trip into series two didn’t quite have the body count of “Journey Into Mizar” or the cruelty of cursing a mirror to drive Catra insane (I know she’s the villain, but Castaspella isn’t supposed to be) while fighting over a dress-up set and costume jewels buried in She-Ra’s backyard for some reason. No, the first series two story just went full girly and gave She-Ra and Swift Wind a minor toy variant a sparkly new look. I can’t wait to see what happens when She-Ra goes swimming with her new mermaid toy friend.
Before Ariel there was Mermista–who also got race-swapped in the remake.
Princess Of Power series 2 #2
Mattel (1986)
“A Fishy Business”
WRITER: decided not to admit to making this
PENCILER: Jim Mitchell
INKER: Todd Kurosawa
COLORIST: Charles Simpson
LETTERER: not taking credit either and I don’t blame either of them
EDITOR: Lee Nordling
“Stop hogging the…hog, Steve! It’s Hulk’s turn!”
Harley Davidson Avengers #1
Marvel Worldwide (March, 2012)
“Heroes Arise”
WRITER: Jeff Parker
PENCILER: Manuel Garcia
INKERS: Jay Liesten, Don Ho, Rebecca Buchman, & Dave Meikis
COLORIST: Jay David Ramos
LETTERER: Joe Carmagna
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Jon Moisan
EDITOR: Bill Roseman
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> Forgetting Who The Characters Are
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I wrote the following in the comments: I’d also make the case that the dark and gritty deconstruction has been done. Constantly. The big epic adventures where the fate of all creation (or the hero’s corner of it) has become the norm. Short adventures with a recurring subplot is no longer the norm. EVERYBODY is trying to make the next Watchmen or Dark Knight. Stop looking at what comics were when you were reading it and see what they are now. You aren’t doing something new, you’re doing what every other writer is currently doing.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on May 25, 2023 in Comic Spotlight and tagged comic writers, Comics By Perch, commentary, writing tips.
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