Catch more of MVPerry on YouTube
For the record Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer is one of my favorite Christmas songs…and he’s not wrong. Also I reviewed the Rankin/Bass special before.
If you saw the video or an article about it, you knew as a Superman fan I had to discuss this latest bombshell.
Said bombshell comes from an interview Grant Morrison did with YouTube poster Daniel Fee33. The website Bounding Into Comics posted the interview, focusing on one particular question involving why Grant Morrison agreed to return to the Man Of Steel in Superman And The Authority and the answer was to fight DiDio’s Darker DC. Not that DiDio-less DC is doing anything to change course. If anything they seem to just be doing a modern version of Future State, which means sticking to the 5G concept of replacing classic heroes with newer, younger, and more politically charged namesakes. Bendis already ruined Jon Kent and I still think it’s all part of a plot to replace Kal-El but hold on to the name because while Batman has overtaken him Superman still has a very strong fan base…and it’s because of the name, right?
So what did Morrison prevent DiDio from doing to Clark this time? Apparently he wanted to turn him into a “right-wing authoritarian”. Superman follows no political stripe. He’s not liberal, he’s not conservative or libertarian, and he’s definitely not in the extremes of either group. Superman saves lives and tries to make the world a better place, even saving his enemies when he has to. That’s what heroes do, that’s what Superman does. This was just DiDio using the 5G project to recreated the DC universe in his image, and WarnerMedia doesn’t really seem to be stopping that from happening just because DiDio’s gone. However, let’s not act like this is anything new. DiDio’s political fanatic type is just the latest in DC’s attempts to get rid of the character that allowed National Comics to be as successful as they are now as DC Entertainment.
Tell others about the Spotlight:
“Watch where you swing that thing.”
Free Comic Book Day 2011 (Thor: The Mighty Avenger)
Marvel Comics (2011)
“Once And Future Avengers!”
WRITER: Roger Langridge
ARTIST: Chris Samnee
COLORIST: Matthew Wilson
LETTERER: Rus Wooton
EDITORS: Sana Amanat & MIchael Horwitz
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Catch more of Wisecrack on YouTube
What’s not mentioned in this piece is the big problem I have with modern Hallmark movies. The plot of these stories are any different from the rest of the romance movies they put out; they’re just set at Christmas. There was a time when Hallmark movies could also be family dramas and period pieces. I didn’t watch them so I can’t attest to how well they used Christmas, but now all they make are romance movies and crime dramas themed around HGTV type businesses or bookstores. There’s no variety and the plots are the same whether it’s Christmas or Arbor Day or Tuesday. They also don’t do any holiday animated specials anymore, even though they were just meant to sell some Christmas-themed stuffed animal. They were still fun for kids, which is how you get them to want what your selling so they can play in that world. It’s really a step downhill for Hallmark Christmas stories.
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Chapter By Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.
Part 3: Talin chapter 9
This chapter is a bit longer than some of the others, coming in at 23½ pages. Last time we saw our displaced band come further together. If this is going to end up a happy ending the rest better come together soon. We only have four chapters in part 3 left plus a handful in the very short final part of the book.
So it looks like we’re not getting a discussion about the actual Prime Directive. That’s kind of a pity and makes me wonder about the name of the book. While it plays a role in the story it’s really not any different than many other pre-contact stories. Not that the story hasn’t been good so far; I’m rather enjoying it. It’s just I expected the title of the book to be the big subject of the story. Maybe these last few chapters will work with it but frankly I doubt it. With that, let’s see what this chapter has in store for us.
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‘Wow, your attic is a mess!”
Gotham Academy #1
DC Comics (December, 2014; as posted to comiXology)
“Welcome To Gotham Academy”
WRITERS: Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher
ARTIST: Karl Kerschl
COLORISTS: Geyser & Dave McCaig
LETTERER: Steve Wands
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Matt Humpreys
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
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Catch more Harbo Wholmes on YouTube.
Just as a reminder, Russel T. Davies’s Christmas stories involved Christmas iconography being the threat or used by the threat, as Christmas was ruined thanks to London being invaded every December 25th. Chris Chibnall ignored the holiday pretty much altogether. Whatever Wholmes may think of the Moffat era, they made the best Christmas stories new and classic (which never had a Christmas story at all, just the Doctor or K9 wishing viewers a Merry Christmas). Points to Moffat and one of the reasons I’m not excited about Davies coming back.
