MetaFilter posts tagged with DC and comics

Stop! Don't pass up this thread! The Flash's life depends on it!

Artw — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:03:43 -0800

I guess this post makes it Thursday comics...

Artw — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:25:57 -0800

Wednesday Comics, DC's spectacular new oversize anthology featuring characters from Batman to Adam Strange and Kamandi in one page installments of serialized stories, launched yesterday to much acclaim from the internet. USA Today will be reprinting the Superman story for the duration of the comics 12 week run.

Young Mutants in Love

Artw — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:31:13 -0800

They've been rumoured to be an item for some time, but in X-Factor #45 Rictor and Shatterstar, formerly of X-Force (the most 90s comic of all time), finally kissed - giving the comics world two more confirmed gay superheroes and making the X-Men Universe Relationship Map out of date (Shatterstar creator Rob Liefeld has however vowed to undo it). Meanwhile over at DC flagship title Detective Comics is now fronted by the new lesbian Batwoman - ironically a character who was introduced to make Batman seem more hetro.

These are imaginary stories... aren't they all?

Artw — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:01:18 -0800

Darkseid tries to join the Legion of Superheroes, Batman wrestles the serpent in the garden of Eden, Clarke Kent shoots Abraham (Brainiac) Lincoln... Hall of Silver Age Elseworlds first pages - from DC Silver Age Elseworld stories that never happened, from the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant collection, which was pulped after controversy surrounding Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter - which later became the only story in the collection to see print again.

Hey, kids! Comics!

kimota — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:30:39 -0800

Just imagine! Coming Super-Attractions features vintage DC comics in-house advertisements spanning the decades. Enjoy!

Free Online Comic Books for All!

Effigy2000 — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:34:37 -0800

Fans of both Dead Space (and comic books in general), will be happy to learn that the first issue of the new comic book mini-series based on the game has been released online, in full, for free here. Not a fan of Dead Space but like comic books? There are lots of other comic books online that can be viewed for free, like stuff from DC Comics, Marvel and Image. There's also a few Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who comics online for your viewing pleasure (in fact you can even make your own with the latter).

Here’s sand in your eye

Artw — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:58:42 -0800

Neil Gaiman celebrates 20 years since the first publication of Sandman. Yes it’s that old. Io9 lists five ways in which Sandman changed the comics world.

Flashed by Rorschach

Artw — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:13:45 -0800

Original character designs for Watchmen, including a (dropped) full body suit for Rorschach, by Dave Gibbons. (Also it looks like the movie version will have a different ending, so fears of a non-sucky Alan Moore film can be put to rest.)

Sinestro had the script printed on YELLOW PAPER.

Artw — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:45:05 -0800

The Green Lantern movie is back on! Minus Jack Black! Early concept art is looking exciting, though sadly we’ll never see Paul Newman in the role of Hal Jordan.

Man of steel, woman of retcon, kid of non-existence

Artw — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:24:11 -0800

Superman rebooted! - The next Superman movie will be ignoring 2006’s Superman Returns, something that has been suggested by comic book writers when asked how to save the franchise. Mark Millar has his own idea of what Superman needs: Mark Millar.

Previously on Superman...

Artw — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:38:23 -0800

All Star Superman in eleven panels

No, it won't have the pirate comic...

Artw — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:00:58 -0800

Who watches The Watchmen? Kevin Smith has, Dave Gibbons has, Alan Moore won't (Gibbons hopes he'll watch the DVD), and if Fox has its way maybe YOU won't either.

Why is the Joker Batman's archenemy?

painquale — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:34:52 -0800

The Joker is Batman's main nemesis. Why him? Why not some other villain?

This is the way the world ends

Artw — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:53:59 -0800

Superstar Scottish comics writer Grant Morrison is about to tear the DC Universe apart again with Final Crisis, the latest in a series of apocalypses and world ending events he's inflicted on various comics worlds over the years. But there was a time before fame when he wrote the tie-in comic for ZOIDS, the robot dinosaur children's toy. So what did he do? Ushered in the apocalypse, in the form of THE BLACK ZOID.

Biff! Pow! Copyrights Aren't Just For Conglomerates Anymore!

Alvy Ampersand — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:48:48 -0800

"In a possibly historic ruling, a federal judge Wednesday determined that the heirs of Superman co-creator, Jerry Siegel, are now the rightful owners of one-half of the copyright of Superman, and have been since 1999."

Once More the Engine of Her Thoughts Began...

robocop is bleeding — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:50:58 -0800

For over the past year, John Seavey has been reading through Marvel's Essentials and DC's Showcase Presents reprints in order to examine the title comic's storytelling engine. From classic characters to barely-footnotes, much of the bedrock of Silver Age heroes are represented in the column's archives. A storytelling engine is here described as the status-quo (characters, both good and bad; setting; mood and tone; etc) that helps to provide comic writers with story ideas. This was much more important in the Silver Age from where the Essentials and Showcase reprints get the bulk of their material. Back then comics were more episodic, self-contained, and often had two or three stories in a single issue, so writers really needed all the help they could get to churn the tales out! Of course, prevailing wisdom at the time suggested that the entire readership turned over every two years, so there was little need for things like continuity or logic, but there was a big need for a stable engine that could help produce new (or gently used) stories week after week. And because I find blogspots tagging hard to search through, I provide links to individual comic titles for you, dear reader! Adam Strange Ant-Man Aquaman Batman Brave and the Bold Captain America Challengers of the Unknown Classic X-Men Conan Daredevil Dazzler Doctor Strange Flash Ghost Rider Godzilla Green Arrow Green Lantern Hawkman House of Mystery Howard the Duck Hulk Iron Man Jonah Hex Killraven Man-Thing Martian Manhunter Marvel Horror Marvel Saga Marvel Super Villain Team-Up Marvel Team-Up Marvel Two In One Ms. Marvel Nova Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Phantom Stranger Power Man and Iron Fist Punisher Savage Dragon She-Hulk Silver Surfer Spider-Man (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) Spider-Woman Supergirl Superman Family Superman Teen Titans The Atom The Avengers The Defenders The Elongated Man The Fantastic Four The Haunted Tank Thor Tomb of Dracula Uncanny X-Men (Part One) (Part Two) Werewolf By Night Wolverine Wonder Woman World's Finest X-Factor

I still say it's basically the A-Team

Artw — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:57:52 -0800

The Losers Cover Gallery showcases the bold design sense and unique art style of UK comics artist Jock, who also produced much of the interior art for the VERTIGO series. Losely based on a WWII comic of the same name it became a fast paced action caper with a political edge under writer Andy Diggle, and the covers reflect both the themes and the cinematic style of the comic.

Who Is Steve Ditko?

Alvy Ampersand — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:03:21 -0800

Co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko is famous for weird, distinctive art, his 1966 departure from Marvel Comics, and granting very few interviews in the course of his decades-spanning career, preferring to let creations such as The Creeper, the Objectivism-inspired Mr. A, and Squirrel Girl speak for him.
Okay, Squirrel Girl not so much.
Jonathan Ross turns the spotlight on the artist in the BBC4 documentary, In Sea rch of Steve Dit ko. Did they find him? Well, that's The Question, isn't it?

Face Front, True Believer!

EatTheWeak — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 23:22:34 -0800

Polite Dissent rings in the new year with the best and worst in comic book medicine from 2006. While this entertaining blog's subjects are not limited to four color minutiae, it is the source of some of the most entertaining posts. Please to enjoy Flatlining, Hippocrates, Originitis, and the scourge of a generation, Metal-Eating Disease!

He shall be fire and life forever...

mephron — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 16:49:17 -0800

David Cockrum has passed on. The cause of death was apparently complications from diabetes; he died peacefully, in his sleep. Comics fans would know him from a number of projects, amongst them Giant Size X-Men #1 where he helped introduce Colossus, Storm and Nightcrawler to the world, his run on the Legion of Super Heroes, and possibly his self-published work The Futurians. You can find some nice retrospectives on his career and what he did for Marvel and for DC Comics.

And now for the Marvel haters :-D

Kickstart70 — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 08:20:30 -0800

IGN's top 50 DC Comics covers should satisfy those who didn't like the Marvel covers posted yesterday. Great art, traditional themes, and strange psychadelia.

"As an alienated syn-man who was created by gamma rays, I find myself confused by mankind."

grabbingsand — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:40:43 -0800

Just Imagine Stan Lee's Watchmen! Back in 2002, DC Comics extended an olive branch of comics industry peace to Stan "Excelsior!" Lee, the founder of rival Marvel Comics. The result was the Just Imagine line, wherein we find several DCU heroes reimagined in one-shot comics as only Stan Lee could. Some titles were good. Some were okay. Most were just so. But never in a million issues would DC have let him take on Watchmen -- perhaps the most critically-acclaimed and analyzed series this side of Maus. So since Stan couldn't or wouldn't, Kevin Church has.

The Wacky World of Comic Book Propaganda

jonp72 — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:59:57 -0800

An official comic book adaptation of the 9/11 commission report is due to hit bookstores this month. The U.S. Army seeks an Arabic-speaking comic book creator. Meanwhile, an Israeli blogger suspects a Kuwaiti company of misusing Marvel and DC comics. These are just the latest incidents in a long-running history of using comic books for propaganda purposes, ranging from Mussolini and Hitler to Captain America vs. the Nazi-affiliated Red Skull to anticommunist comics for Catholic parochial schools to a phony Black Panther comic book created by COINTELPRO to a comic book of the American invasion of Grenada. However, my favorite site of comic book propaganda tends to focus on more innocuous domestic issues such as bicycle safety, USDA nutrition standards, and fighting crack cocaine. (OK, that last issue isn't so innocuous, but comic book propaganda about health & safety issues still generally blows.)

Girls read comic books?

FunkyHelix — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 08:34:13 -0800

Girl-Wonder.org is a new site tackling the portrayal of women in comics, written in the same vein as Women in Refrigerators and sequential tart.

"Holy Queering of Pop Culture, Batman!"

bardic — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:49:49 -0800

"And on the rare occasion when nonwhite heroes were included, names like Black Panther and Black Lightning telegraphed the difference" (NYT). Nonwhite and non-traditional superheroes aren't new, but a "lesbian socialite" Batwoman is. How about "The Great Ten," a "Chinese government controlled superteam" also to be featured in the ongoing "52" Series from DC comics (an alternate superverse bereft of A-league stars like Batman and Superman)? When I was a kid, it was pretty shocking to know of at least one gay superhero (and a Canadian to boot), but I wasn't aware that there were actually so many. Of course, the irrepressible Stan Lee claims he created the first gay superhero in the persona of Pvt. Percival Pinkerton. (Previous mefi discussion of Pavitr Prabhakar, the "Indian Spiderman" here.)