Black Panther (Vol 9) #1

As any one knows, I'm a huge Black Panther fan. As far as the comic books, I have all the issues from each volume of his solo series. This may exclude a mini-series here and there. This book and the Fantastic Four are the only books I buy, regardless of the creative team. Other books I drop in and out, but these two are my constants. 

Before I dive in, let me say this about the Black Panther comics and I will be honest. They are hit and miss. There is no consistency because each writer wants to put their own spin on him. Sure, some grand ideas may carry over, but that is it. I will say that the Christopher Priest run is the definitive run of Black Panther and it was that run that made me love the character. I didn't care about Black Panther before reading that run in the mid-2000s.

The past few years, Marvel has done right by the Black Panther by having black writers handle his solo series. The last couple of years were written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It started out as an intriguing look into the politics of Wakanda and was actually really interesting. He had a problem of overwriting for about the first twelve issues until he settled in. He built a fascinating world and I think if I re-read his run, it will stand up over time.

Then he took a wild swing and created an intergalactic empire of Wakanda, which seems like it is here to stay. That arc also lasted a while, kind of overstaying it's welcome, but it was also equally interesting and ambitious. I liked that he took risks. We were also blessed with some good artists such as Brian Stelfreeze and Daniel Acuna.

Now we have this issue, which is starting a new volume written by John Ridley, a black screenwriter that has a lot of notches on his belt. He's also been writing the "I Am Batman" series over at DC. Or to simplify it, "The Black Batman". That series has been good, so does that translate to the Black Panther series? Was it everything I hoped and wanted for?

No. No it was not. There have been times in my life where I tried to make myself like a comic because I thought I should. Over the years, with so much out there, I realized that I don't have to like everything and that is okay. I like what I like.

Let me get into what I didn't like about this comic. Keep in mind, it is the first issue and it can only get better. First off, T'Challa is not like many other black characters in Marvel or DC. He is a king of an entire country and he should be written as such. Yes, he hangs out with super hero teams, but he needs to have an heir of detachment from them. He is a king hanging out with a bunch of knights. The way Christopher Priest wrote him, he was kind of an asshole, which worked. He is a guy that is five steps ahead and always planning. 

In this issue, we're dealing with the fallout of the Coates run, where Wakanda is moving to become a democracy. So now T'Challa is Wakanda's protector, but not necessarily it's king. Given how he's been the leader of the Avengers for the past few years, it makes sense that Wakanda would want someone to actually be there to lead them. I don't have a problem with this and will see how long we go before we revert back to him being the king.

With that being said, first and foremost, the dialogue in this book feels off. I mentioned before how you can tell who's a black writer by what and how people say things. To go a step further, you can also tell who has researched or experienced African culture and those that did not. Past writers I feel like had a feel for the rhythm of the language without sounding like Americans. This is what I'm referring to when I say the dialogue doesn't sound right. It is the the equivalent of an American trying to do a foreign accent. They say stereotypical things they think fits the accent, completely missing the mark. Ridley does not have a handle on T'Challa's voice yet. He does not sound indistinguishable from any of the other characters in the issue.  I can't hear Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa with the way this dialogue is written. Given time, I'm sure this will get better.

Over the past few the years, Shuri has seen a lot of progress. In this issue, she seems locked into the version of herself that appeared in the movie. That does her a huge disservice in the comic books. She has since risen past being merely T'Challa's sister and his "man in the chair." I don't know if this choice falls on editorial because they want to remain as close to the movies as possible or if Ridley simply didn't do his research on the past few years of Black Panther. It could go either way.

I don't know what Steve Rogers is going through, but in this issue he comes off as a condescending asshole. He continuously questions T'Challa's heart when it comes to leading the Avengers as if that is the most important thing in the world. His self-righteousness was dialed up to an 11 and it is extremely off putting. T'Challa is still essentially a king and doesn't have to answer to Captain America. Cap spent the entire issue talking down to him. That doesn't line up with their relationship at all. It's disrespectful. 

The cold open of this book is also uninspiring. I don't care that they are fighting a nameless foe. It was this scene that set the tone for the book and made me feel like it was going in the wrong direction. A team of Doctor Strange, Thor, Black Panther and Captain America feels weird. None of them sounded like themselves either.

To me, this book feels like Marvel wants to get away from the political intrigue of the past few years and just make this a good ol' super hero comic. However, it starts off clumsily. This is the book where Marvel could go Afro-futuristic, but they have chosen not to. It could push that concept more into the mainstream, so this is a continued, missed opportunity.

Let me comment on the art real quick. Juann Cabal is supposed to be one of the rising artists at Marvel. His work here was competent, but not spectacular. I'm holding judgement until I see more in this book from him.

Of course, I will keep reading. You saw what I said at the top of this post. However, this book will not be immune to whatever daggers I want to throw it's way. I demand better and we deserve better than a half-assed effort.

The Thing #1

Welcome to a special post of Into the Longbox. Why is this special? Well, this mini-series starring the Thing combines two of my favorite things. The Thing from the Fantastic Four and one of my new favorite writers, Walter Mosley. A few years ago I read "Devil in a Blue Dress" and was so impressed that I've been working my way through his books. Specifically the Easy Rawlins novels for right now. I bring this all up because he is a black author of well renown, writing a comic book about one of my favorite characters. I couldn't have paired this combo any better than if I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I might have mentioned before that I am always hesitant when an author or a celebrity steps into the comics world to write a comic book. Before getting my hands on this book, I read an interview with Mosley which you can find here. What impressed me is he spoke to why he liked the Thing and something clicked inside me that explained why The Thing appeals to me so much. I've thought it, but never had written it out. I have always thought of him as the black character of the Fantastic Four. The guy that was different that never fit in anywhere and was always feared based on his appearance alone. Mosley more eloquently states that in his interview.

To add to this, he also did an intro AND afterward to a book on the Fantastic Four. So he has more than earned his chops and shown a genuine passion for this particular comic series.

Anyways, when I found out months ago this book was happening, I was super excited and even marked it on my calendar! So what did I think? I thought it was pretty good. It didn't blow me away, but that is because I placed unrealistic expectations on it. It was a very respectful homage to the earlier era of the Fantastic Four. 

A few things stood out to me. First of all, Mosley is a pro, but new to comics. You wouldn't be able to tell here. Most new authors tend to overwrite and fill the pages with a bunch of exposition. Mosley does not do that here. He wisely lets his artist do some of the heavy lifting to convey what he wants to get across. Side note, Tom Reilly does a really good job on this book. Also, the dialogue is never cringy. I thought it was spot on and felt like Mosley has the voices of his characters. At least importantly, Ben Grimm's. This is another problem with unfamiliar writers to the comic character. 

Mosley manages to drop in a lot of familiar touchstones of the Fantastic Four. The mailman Willy Lumpkin. They're in the Baxter Building. Reed Richards (of course) shows up and is preoccupied. The Fantasti-Car and Alicia Masters. There's even a guest appearance by Hercules. This feels very old school Marvel in a good way. You can tell he has a respect and reverence for these characters. I feel like he wrote what he loved as a kid.

This is a first issue, so there is a lot of moving all the pieces around. What is established is that we get sad-sack Ben Grimm, a staple of that era. Nothing ever goes right for the guy, even when he sometimes has good intentions. There's a mysterious villain lurking behind the scenes doing villainy things, but that will get revealed more as we go. Right now, his intentions are not clear. 

When I read a book by black writers, there are certain things that are said or shown that helps me tell, even if I didn't know their race. There are a small voices here, like showing more black and brown characters in the background or featuring them more prominently in the story. At one point, Ben identified himself as non-white. Some may hate that moment, but in the context of that moment in the story, it made sense. Even the idea of introducing a black love interest to Ben. It's these little things I appreciated.

I mentioned the art earlier and I wanted to point out something that varies depending on who's drawing the Fantastic Four. Does the Thing have teeth or not? Some authors draw him with teeth, others do not. In this case, Reilly draws the Thing with no teeth, so we just have a rocky guy and a cavernous, open mouth. The art is beautiful and the colors work very well here. There's a specific color palette used for dream sequences and featuring the cloaked villain. 

With the resurgence of the Fantastic Four, I hope this book sells well enough that they let Mosley have more work. He is probably too busy to ever do the main series, but I think letting him play in his own corner of the sandbox would be a good idea. I recommend checking this out. I'll report back on each issue!

Eternals

My review will be as lazy as this movie. Zing.

As sure as the sun will rise everyday, I will go to see a Marvel movie. This was only the third movie I've seen in theaters this year and since the pandemic started. It's no surprise that those three movies were "Black Widow", "F9" and now this. 

I was EXTREMELY skeptical of this movie. Marvel is now navigating the fringes of their catalogue since they burned through all their top sellers. This is minus X-Men and Fantastic Four properties, which they now own now. This movie seemed like way more of a reach than Guardians of the Galaxy. I was not going to see it, but of course, like I said before, it's a Marvel movie. I have a moral obligation to go see it.

So how was it? It was fine. Not great. Not terrible. There was some marvel-ness in it with the humor and the wise cracking heroes. I'll touch back on this a little later. It also was a movie that was a good stand alone. It's in the Marvel Universe, but they don't bring in any cameos or really rely on anything that has happened before. So that in itself is refreshing. However, this movie also feels pointless. I know it is setting the stage for big things in the next phase, but I don't know how many of these characters we'll actually want to see again.

I will say that this is an extremely beautiful movie. I have never seen a Chloe Zhao movie, but she was the right choice. Also, Marvel never passes an opportunity they couldn't milk. Having an Oscar winning director for their movie is sure to attract a different audience.  Since no one really knows these characters except for their tens of fans, this gave her the space to do whatever she wanted. The visuals of Celestials are striking, especially near the end of the movie. There are some wow moments there.

I think the action was standard Marvel fare. After watching the martial arts mastery and some of the hand to hand stuff in Shang Chi and Black Widow that I truly enjoyed, it's a shame I'm subjected to laser beam fights again. I may have said before, but that type of stuff no longer thrills me. Give me some good hand to hand fighting any day of the week.

I truly don't get the hate for this movie that I have heard about. I think this is an inoffensive film as far as movie watching goes. When I peel back a little deeper, there is something else that bothers me and this is where I put on my tin foil nerd hat. The problem with this movie is that Marvel has painstakingly built up this shared universe and every movie has to somehow fit into it. They act as if any of them could show up anywhere. This movie does not feel like it fits. They will now have to back pedal and explain how it is important. It is getting harder and harder to justify a lack of cameos from any of the heroes we've seen from all the movies. When you have world ending stakes as shown in this movie, it is hard to believe that not ONE of those heroes would show up here. What's the point of Avengers if no one is avenging anything? Also, these last few movies exist on a very undefined timeline, so the completist like me has their head exploding trying to fit this movie in.

The only other thing about this movie is the characters are fine. I found myself liking the actors more than who they were portraying, because with so many characters, we don't spend a lot of time with them. They all end up being archetypes anyway. You got a smart guy, a super strong guy, a flying guy, strong woman, strong man, etc. You might as well call this the legion of super tropes. Because these characters are essentially blank slates that don't get too much done with them, it is hard to root for each of them. We do see some interpersonal relationships form, but some are told better than others.

I want to touch on one last thing. I mentioned before about wise cracking heroes. I know that is Marvel's bread and butter, but it's got to stop. Not EVERYONE can be a wise guy. You can have compelling heroes without them having to hurl zingers all the damn time. I don't need everyone of my characters to be funny. In this way, this movie broke me. I finally reached my limit. They need to save the wise cracks to someone like a Spider-Man or Deadpool. The ones where that is something inherent in their character. Whew, okay. Rant over.

I've rambled on enough ,but would I recommend anyone see this movie? I think there is some merit in seeing some of this scenery on a big screen, but ultimately? Save your money. Watch it when it comes to Disney Plus and call it a day.

What If...?

I have no excuse for why I haven't talked about this up until now. I watched each episode as it came out and it definitely left an impression. Now I have to sit here and try to think about how I felt a few weeks ago, but I will do my best.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. It took me a while to get into the animation style, but after a while, I accepted it. What helped was having a strong voice acting cast. They included as many as the original actors as they could legally get. The most touching for me was hearing Chadwick Boseman reprise T'Challa a few more times. I felt those performances.

This show is in the tradition of the comics, with the twist being that it is focused on the movie properties. I get that because that is what people know and is the best hook for drawing people in. In the comics, it is a concept that allowed Marvel to take some wild swings at pivotal moments in their history. In this show, they cherry pick what they think are some big moments from the movies and go from there. I'll be honest, some of them don't make a lot of sense, but I like the story that comes after. For example, Yondu abducting T'Challa instead of Peter Quill. Not something you would have thought of, but the episode works. Sharon Carter being Captain America instead of Steve Rogers worked better in that vein, I feel. I could go on and on.

In the first few episodes, I felt they didn't take the concept far enough. Everything seemed to be tied up in a bow or ending on a kind of happy note. As they went along, they got darker and more real stakes appeared. The Doctor Strange one in particular. It culminated in a crossover of all the characters we met at the end in what was a satisfying finale.

Not every episode is a winner. Although kind of fun, I didn't really enjoy the episode about Thor where the premise is, what happens if he didn't have a brother (Loki). I liked they had the principal cast from the first movie, but that is where my enjoyment of it ends. It felt like it was positioned in the lineup as a palette cleanser after seeing so many episodes that got super dark. 

Like the other couple of Marvel shows, it became appointment television. Also, doling out one episode at a time is a way to sustain the excitement. If they all came out at once, I would have binged them in a weekend and promptly forgotten them by the week's end. This way you get to sit with each episode for bit.

If you have watched all or most of the movies, you can watch this show. I will warn you, since it is so heavily reliant on the movies, if you didn't see them, you will be lost as to why some of the episodes are important.

X-Men: Anime Series

Look, I realize this show is like ten years old. However, Netflix saw fit to inform me of it being available a few months ago and I had to watch it. I vaguely remember this being some kind of experiment that Marvel and Madhouse embarked upon back in the early part of the LAST decade. Anime was getting even more hot, you see and Marvel had to get a piece of that action. Cause...Marvel. I definitely dismissed it then and I kind of dismissed it now, but given my uncanny (see what I did there) ability to watch just about it anything, I made myself watch this.

If nothing else I was curious. Well, it's definitely an anime. It made me go through some complex feelings that I'm going to work out here.

First off, I didn't like this. At all. At first I was trying to think, "Am I just not that into anime any more like I used to be?" or "Would I have liked this ten years ago when it came out?" I still like anime, but I don't consume it as much as I used to and I am now super picky about what I watch. All I have watched the past year was either Dragon Ball Super (DBZ holds an untouched place in my heart), Lupin III (I'm a huge Lupin fan. Maybe I never said that out loud before) and that's it. Oh, I did watch Yasuke on Netflix as well. That gives you an indication of my limited palette lately.

Anyways, back to the X-Men. It felt like run of the mill anime from that era. It's technically sound, but you take off the X-Men title and the character names and this could have been anything. If a studio gets the Marvel license to go nuts, I expect them to grab a few toys out of the toy box. In the very least, I expected Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Or Sentinels. Hell, ANYTHING X-Men related.

Instead what we get are some random ass, made up anime villains that stay with us for all twelve episodes. I was hoping this would be episodic, not a full serial. To me, it was slow moving or non-sensical. It jumped back and forth between the two.

Let's get to the X-Men they chose because I have THOUGHTS. It has inspired me to do a separate post eventually about my favorite team of X-men or who I would put on a team. As any fan knows, there have been so many different configurations over the past forty years.

In this series they chose Wolverine, Beast, Storm, Cyclops, Emma Frost and then added Hisako Ichiki (aka Armor). Hisako plays the Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, etc. role in this series. You know, the new X-man that gets introduced into their world and has to learn on the fly. As teams go, this one feels basic. Their power sets kind of compliment each other. There isn't much characterization to be found here as they are basically boiled down to their power set and a few tropes. Wolverine is the hot head, gruff one that is nearly indestructible. Beast is the smart guy. Cyclops is the all too serious leader. Storm is...just there. White Queen is the mean lady with a soft spot for her students. Armor is the newbie.

They don't even use their powers in compelling ways. Wolverine's claws are almost as long as his body, which is patently ridiculous. Storm simply shoots lighting for the most part and so on. The color palette feels muted in mostly dark blues and blacks. This show is just so boring an uninteresting. We don't see any of the trademark team up moves from the team. In fact, even the action is kind of boring and stilted. As anime fans, we have seen more and DEMAND more. This show does not rise up to meet the challenge. It does a disservice to the X-Men. 

The animation is good, I mean, that's what you expect. Without a compelling story or characters to drive it, it's just not worth it. At least in this show, I don't think it was a good mix. 

Unless you are like me and curious, I would avoid this show. 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Once again, I know I am late on sharing my thoughts. Anyways, let's get on with it. I saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings almost two weeks ago, on a temporary release from child care that my wife gave me. I picked a theater where I knew there would be no one and at a time no one is going. I'm still not comfortable going to a theater full of people. 

In case you didn't know, this is the latest Marvel movie in the long running cinematic universe. Did I like it? Is the sky blue? Yes, yes I did. Not because I'm a Marvel zombie, but because I legitimately thought it was a good film.

When I was finished, what struck me the most is how different it felt from other Marvel movies. There are small ties to the larger MCU with some cameos here and there, but otherwise it is detached from all that continuity. That makes it refreshing. We also get some straight up Martial arts which puts it in the league of Captain America: Winter Soldier as the best hand to hand action we've seen in these films. Easily.

Also, in the name of representation, I am glad to see another part of the Marvel Universe represented here and that the cast is predominantly Asian. Hopefully it proves to be a big hit with Asians, as Black Panther was to black people. It shows the powers that be that, "Guess what? People want to see stories about other characters of other ethnicities."

So back to what I was saying before. This movie just feels different. It still has the Marvel kind of humor, but it feels unshackled by the weight of all the movies that came before as far as the style of movie. I have been watching a TON of Martial Arts movies on my Paternity leave and some of the imagery and the way the fight scenes are filmed feel like those kind of movies.

I am happy for Simu Liu and he was great in the role of Shang-Chi. He's a great addition to the Marvel Universe. For you martial arts fans, I didn't research it, but at least to my eyes, he did most of his own fighting here. That is also equally impressive. Once again, those fight scenes were GOOD too. That subway car scene is one example.

This next part sounds weird to say, but Awkwafina was less Awkwafina in this. She starts off that way, but mellows out and she grows within the story. I also loved her relationship with Shang-Chi in this. A couple of buddies going on a while adventure. She gets in a couple of good jokes throughout the movie, which I won't spoil. One that stands out is how she gives Shang-Chi crap about how he changed his name when he escaped to America.

I won't go through the rest of the cast, but we get the wonderful Michelle Yeoh, a surprise from Ben Kingsley and the introduction of Tony Leung to the Western World. 

In addition to the martial arts, this movie is definitely centered around some daddy issues that Shang-Chi has and how he navigates that while trying to figure out who he is and who he wants to be. I think we can all relate to that. This certainly touched me.

One last thing I want to mention before I get to something I didn't like. The music. I love orchestrated scores and prefer those to big moments of action over some cutesy song that is over the action (re: Captain Marvel, The Suicide Squad). The music here is very good and also reminiscent of these kind of Martial Arts movies.

If I have one nitpick with this movie, is I don't love some of the final fight scene. I don't want to go into details, but let's say that it gave me Animality vibes from the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation movie and that is not a good thing. Nor do I love fight scenes that have people shooting laser blasts at each other, which sorta, kinda happens here at the end. 

I know people are burnt out on Marvel movies and I get that. HOWEVER, I think you should definitely check this out. You don't have to have seen any of the other movies to appreciate this one. It stands alone, but best believe he will get integrated into the other Marvel movies.

Marvel Voices: Identity #1

I'm back again to talk about a book that covers an identity I am not a part of. Look, I read things and I want to talk about them. My hopes is that they will interest you in them too. With that being said, let me talk about "Marvel Voices: Identity #1". There has been a number of these kind of issues and there will be more. I will attempt to talk about each of them.

So this particular issue focuses on characters of Pacific-Asian-Islander descent. Let's not ignore the fact that Shang-Chi is out in theaters, so the time was ripe to do something like this. Understandably, he gets the opening story in this book.

There are other books I need to pick up in this Marvel Voices line, but at least with the Pride on and this one, I feel like they are getting better curated. My main complaint about the Pride issue was how many characters they packed in and how it felt like Marvel was going to pull a muscle in their shoulder from patting themselves on the back so much.

The entire package for this issue is so much better. In addition to the stories, there is an excerpt of an interview from the great Larry Hama (who wrote Wolverine for YEARS and was the writer when I got into comics) that is a great read. He's done many other things, but it is Wolverine that is near and dear to my heart. There are also an open question posed to a number of creators about "What does identity meant to you?" and you get to see a wide array of answers to this question. Finally, the start of the book has a heartfelt note from the cartoonist, Rina Ayuyang. All of this helps to really sell the idea behind this book.

Now I will say this, Marvel does not have a wide array of characters to choose from historically. The past few years have seen a large uptick in these characters, which is a welcome change. The problem posed for some old school fans like myself is this: If you have not been reading in the past ten years, you will not recognize any of these new characters.

What we have here though is very good. Good writing and great art. We get stories about Shang-Chi, Jubilee, Jimmy Woo, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Wave (newer character), Silhouette (Deep cut if you read the New Warriors in the 90's), Armor and Brawn/Silk. If you don't know any of these characters, don't worry. You get a little bit about them through each story.

I want to give a shout out that it is great to see Whilce Portacio (old school 90's artist) drawing a story here.

As you can see, I didn't have any bad things to say here. I think it is refreshing and I'm glad I could learn a little bit about some other characters I may get more interested in. I wholeheartedly recommend picking up this book and giving it a shot.

Superman and Lois - Season 1

Wow. Let me tell you why I feel that this show has the best Superman we've had on screen.

Initially, I was not sold on Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as Superman and Lois when they first appeared in Supergirl and during that big Infinite Crisis crossover event that ran through all the CW shows.

I am glad that I was so wrong. 

If there is one problem with Superman, is how can you have him be threatened when he is so powerful? One answer is to give him a family. Now, given all his power, he can't be there ALL the time and he has to juggle between saving the world and his family. That struggle becomes very apparent early and often in this series. I think that choice makes Superman instantly more compelling. I won't rush to say relatable, but it gives him more real world problems that he can't punch his way through. The fact that I recently became a father also probably plays into why I love this take on Superman. It lines up with what I think was the best run of Superman in a long time with the volume that Peter J. Tomasi wrote about a years ago. It is now the status quo in DC Comics continuity.

There is enough Superman-like action to balance out some of the typical CW drama. Since he has teenage sons, you know that will be part of the package. Fortunately his kids are likeable. Not at first, but they each grow throughout the first season. For a TV show, the action is surprisingly good and they display his power set well. He also gets villains on his level.

Lois Lane is also equally strong here. This is going to be a bold claim, but I think this is one of the best portrayals we've ever seen. I just like her that much. She is kind of a bully when it comes to her news stories and that shines through here. Making her bulldoze her way into the local Smallville paper backs that up. She was played with equal amounts of "go get em" and humanity that she doesn't become instantly unlikeable, a balance that can be hard with her.

These CW shows tend to overstay their welcome with each season, so the fact this was only fifteen episodes is a blessing. I hope they show restraint and stick to this number going forward. There was a season long plot thread that builds and builds, but at least we had some short arcs in between. 

I'm trying not to give too many spoilers here, but I did like the inclusion of John Henry Irons here. His origin is vastly different and that is okay. He has motivations that you see play out and I got excited when his hammer finally makes an appearance.

As first seasons go, it was one of my favorites out of all the CW shows. I don't believe I ever said this out loud, but Superman is my favorite DC character after Batman. It's just never cool to say that because he is corny. I can admit that. There has always been something about him other than his power set. I always felt he really does do things with the best intention and stands up for the little guy.

I absolutely recommend checking this show out.

The Suicide Squad

Ah yes. The Suicide Squad. I know it did well at the box office, but I'm shocked they got another go at this particular set of characters. Even more surprising is that they lured James Gunn over to direct. Clearly they wanted some of that Marvel-ness injected into their movies. I don't think that is debatable. Did it work? Well, to me, not really.

This is a vastly superior movie to the first Suicide Squad, but I have a couple of problems with this film. I'm going to go in no particular order.

Scope. I don't like the scope of this movie. When this particular set of characters are squaring off against Starro, you've gone in the wrong direction. That is a Justice League level villain, not the Suicide Squad. These movies are better served with the characters doing black ops operations against more normal humans. The final battle is ridiculous in all the wrong ways, I feel. 

Last movie they fought a powerful witch, this movie a five story tall alien. That does not fit at all.

Another point. Harley Quinn. She's a fantastic character and I love Margot Robbie truly embracing and advocating for the character. She doesn't belong in the Suicide Squad in the movies or the comic books. By it's nature, the Suicide Squad as a concept was a way to kill off Z-List characters, which this movie does. The problem with Harley Quinn is she is surrounded in plot armor. There is zero chance that she actually dies in these movies and they power her up and down depending on the situation. I think her inclusion is a fundamental flaw. Also, to be honest, she is above this. I know she is here because she is a beloved character and meant to elevate this movie, but I think it brings her down. She can carry her own movie, so she does not need to be part of this stitched together cast.

I think with this movie, I am now seeing the James Gunn formula for success and I think I am tired of it. He was hired to bring his brand of filmmaking and he does that. The problem is, we've seen this same sort of thing too many times now. It feels like a lesser Guardians of the Galaxy. He has his cutesy, on the nose musical choices which is exhausting. It takes me out of the movie. Everyone is full of quips, which is the Marvel bread and butter. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting tired of that in the Marvel movies too. This just felt like Guardians Vol. 2 and not the first Guardians of the Galaxy. He is trending in the wrong direction.

The principal cast was good and there were some funny jokes. However, they definitely showed all the best bits in the trailers. 

Did I like this movie? I thought it was okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I'm not going to recommend it though. Do so at your own risk.

Milestone Comics Returns

This is another post that is going to feel very dated because this is already happening. The imprint, "Milestone" is back at DC and after years of talking about it, they have finally brought it back. In a nutshell, Milestone was created back in 1993 by a couple of black artists and writers as a way to diverse comic books, which was severely lacking at the time. I had a long post talking about my complicated history with Milestone. I have scrapped that and will spare you all of that. In summary, as a kid getting into comics, I didn't give it a chance because while I wanted more black super heroes, I wanted them in one of the big two, Marvel or DC. To me, they were not legitimate enough. So I never gave them a chance until I was much older. It is something that I regret. 

As an adult, I got into them and realize how special it truly was. I could also trust that because it was created by black creators, what I was getting was authentic. Not some white guy's interpretation of black people based on a movie or two he just watched. There are obvious influences from where they came from, but as a whole, I thought they were all good. They will feel very dated, because they are very rooted in the culture and language in the mid-nineties. The themes, however, still play well today.

Taking us to the present, I was excited when DC was finally going to actually have this happen and announced creative teams on the books. It was a mix of some of the creators that were part of the original launch and up and coming or established black creators from today.  We still had to wait a while for them to come out and right now they are happening as "seasons". This is comic book talk for limited series. I don't like this approach because I feel like it gives you too easy of an out to cancel them.

At this point, three issues of "Static" and two issues of "Icon and Rocket" and an issue of "Hardware" have come out so far. Static feels very much rooted in today and gives a more updated take on the character. The backdrop for all of this is with racial protests and how experimental gas was used on the crowd. That is how the various characters will develop powers. It is something that feels very relevant while trying to be socially conscious. In this respect, I think the series has been good so far. I think the dialogue is authentic, the characters feel real enough. Vita Ayala (writing) and Nikolas Draper-Ivey and ChrisCross (artists) did a great job. I have found myself reading more and more of Vita's work and I will now actively search out more of what they have been working on.

"Icon and Rocket" on the other hand feels a little dated. It feels exactly like the original "Icon" series, even if some subtle changes were made. That is not a good thing. This is supposed to be an update that is modernized for the now. Not a series that is just drawn differently, but still essentially the same. As first issues go, it was kind of dull. The second issue did get better. It's a disappointment to me, given the team that is on it. Reginald Hudlin and Doug Braithwaite are industry pros, so my bar was set a little higher. I think there is still a chance to turn it around, so I'm not giving up on them just yet.

I was probably looking forward to Hardware from Brandon Thomas (who I have recently discovered over the years) and industry vet and original artist, Denys Cowan the most. With the first issue, it didn't disappoint. I will say that as a first issue, it is only setting up the status quo.

I will definitely write again when all the series have concluded.

Here's my hot take though. I am afraid that the books will not do well enough to warrant more coming out. DC will get to say, "Well we tried" this diversity thing and that will be that. I just don't have enough faith in the fans of the big two to actually support diversity in comics with their dollars. So I hope people go out and buy these books so that we can get more. I think having books like these in the big two will help the creators get noticed more and then they can get more opportunities to work on their own creator owned, passion projects. It can only be good for the business in the long run. I do recommend giving these a shot.

Hulu's M.O.D.O.K.

Once again, life has gotten in the way and I have yet to give my thoughts on this show, which I finished months ago.

I will summarize this show. It is show created by Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt. It also starts Patton Oswalt as the titular character. 

Think of it as being in the same vein as Robot Chicken. If you're not familiar with THAT show, then think stop motion animation. 

It is ten episodes long and at 30 minutes an episode, digestible enough to make it east to binge in a short amount of time.  

My feelings on it? I liked it, but did not love it. It is  funny given it's tone and the genius of Oswalt's voice acting. They do assemble a pretty good voice cast around him and it is fun to watch the shenanigans of a super villain and his villainous empire or lack thereof. 

There are definitely a good amount of funny gags, but at ten episodes, not everything is going to be a winner. I mentioned before how you could binge it, but I found myself only being able to do two at a time at most. Still, I didn't find this show completely exhausting. It is weird that this show didn't get a lot of advertisement from Marvel or Hulu. It just kind of appeared. In that way, I don't think this show got a fair shake. 

If you're a Marvel fan, it is definitely worth your time. There are some deep cut jokes to be found here. Sometimes they will take the piss out of some of the Marvel Heroes. Modok is such a ridiculous character, it is best he is played for laughs like he is here. The show at least recognizes that and tries to humanize him a little bit.

I would say it is worth checking it out as a palette cleanser to something else you are watching.

New Mutants

A few weeks ago I finally got around to watching, "The New Mutants". As it is a comic book based movie AND in the X-Men universe, I am obligated to watch. This is the service I provide to YOU, dear reader. I will spare you all the details about how troubled the production on this movie was and dive right in.

Right off the top, this is a bad movie. It's a shame because you have some good actors that have gone on to become bigger names. In this movie, you have a mutants with varying powers and they are confined to a house to make it a like a locked room mystery. This is a gross misuse of these characters to confine them to a setting like this. I didn't look into it, but I can suspect that maybe budget was one issue. If you don't have the money to do these characters right, you shouldn't do them at all. I say this because they chose the characters that have different iconic displays of powers. 

I don't have a problem with the characters they chose. I actually love the choices. They are all new mutants I recognize. We have Sunspot, Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Dani Moonstar and Magik. The problem is the following: Sunspot becomes a being of solar power. Think of him as a low rent Human Torch. Cannonball turns his lower body into combustion so that he can fly around like...a cannonball. Wolfsbane is practically a werewolf. I'm being reductive, but just stick with me. Magik can warp around and has a gigantic sword. Dani can create psychic illusions of someone's worst fears. As I name these off, you can see how a lot of special effects would be required of each. The movie gets around this by having them use these RARELY. A no-no in a super hero movie.

Let me stress this again. For a movie, you should not confine characters like this to one static setting. This movie has a bland and dreary color palette that doesn't allow anyone to shine. Also, the mystery isn't all that great and is resolved rather quickly. This kind of thing works in the context of one episode of TV show.

There was also one deep cut X-Man, Cecilia Reyes that included in this movie. She is more of an evil scientist never feels quite right. She also has a power that would be more useful if she used it more, but that isn't that kind of movie.

Outside of the cast, the only thing this movie gets right is that it is short. It clocks in at a little over an hour and a half. Unless you're curious or a completionist in the worst way like me, you can avoid this movie. It is clear it will have no impact on anything for any of the eventual X-Men movies we will get. 

I DO think it is something that should be a TV show.

What if T'Challa became a Star Lord?

Marvel has been pumping out the content on Disney+ this year and right on the heels of Loki finishing up, we get the animated, "What If...?" series. The first episode explored the scenario where Sharon Carter became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers. It was pretty good. However, I don't think they went far enough with the premise. It didn't feel different enough from the first Captain America movie.

I'm happy to report that the events of the second episode, "What if T'Challa became a Star Lord?" was very different and more fully realized the potential of this show. I will do my best to avoid  spoilers.

At first, the idea of this premise seemed dumb to me, not going to lie. A few minutes in, I immediately accepted it and was all in for this ride.

I want to start off by saying this episode was a little emotional for me. Not cause of the content, but because this is the last time we hear Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa. He recorded this before he died, so hearing his voice in the present day was tough. It is just a reminder of the actor we lost. He totally embodied the character of T'Challa. I was afraid that maybe they just took samples, but it is clearly him acting here and it is as wonderful as it has always been.

With that being said, it's even cooler seeing him fill the Peter Quill role as Star Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.  A lot of the main scenes we know and love are spun differently, starting with when he makes his first appearance. Instead of the "Who?" we get from Djimon Hounsou's Korath, we get the adulation that Peter Quill only wishes he could get. We get to follow Korath throughout the rest of the episode as he tags along with the crew. I want to say, keep an eye out for other subtle changes and appearances of different characters.

What makes this episode truly work, is that we get the majority of the actors that portrayed these characters in the movie, reprising their roles here. There are a few exceptions. For instance, Bautista does not reprise his role as Drax. Other than that, this episode makes it feel like it is a different version of the movie and lives and breathes in that expectation. It just sounds RIGHT.

I won't give away any of the plot, but T'Challa's role here dramatically changes the arc of Yondu the most and it was a joy to see. There is still that same father/son dynamic, but T'Challa changed him, not the other way around. There are also other subtle changes to how characters look and act, which I don't want to give away. The biggest surprise is Thanos and his through line in this episode is really funny. I  think you will enjoy it.

I really can't give away more than that, but the story itself was actually pretty good. It is now a heist film, instead of some galaxy altering event. That change in scope makes it feel more intimate.

I was skeptical on this animation style, but it has started to grow on me. Marvel's animated style over the past few years has been consistently bland and terrible, so if this is the route they will go, I'm okay with it. T'Challa has a really cool redesign, blending the Star Lord outfit with Wakandan touches. The color palette is not as muted in this ep, so things get to pop.

I highly recommend this episode, because this will be the last time we hear Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and the performance is definitely worth it. In addition to that, it is a lot of fun. I only wish it was longer, but glad it didn't overstay it's welcome.

M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1

In this blog, I try to write about books that I enjoy. I am your resident comic book nerd, so I want to use my tiny platform to speak to that. My favorite thing to do is to give a hot take on something. Most of the time they are positive. In rare occasions they will be negative. This book, "M.O.M.: Mother of Madness" is that book. 

This book is co-written by Emilia Clarke. We know her as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. I am always glad when a famous person wants to come into the comic book world. It can only bring exposure and potentially more fans. It gives us a wider pool of things to read. I feel the same about famous novelists, writers for popular magazines, etc. However, the pitfall of this is that you have these newbies coming into this medium alongside people that trained for it, appreciate it and know how it works. There is a degree of craft that  these new writers will not get. That can become very apparent.

I say all that to temper what I am about to say about this book. I did not like it. I wanted to give it a chance, but it had multiple problems that made it hard to overlook. This is a project that was near and dear to Emilia's heart. The essay she wrote that appears in the back of the issue sums that up. What we got is a mess of a book that is trying to do too many things at once. Let me back my criticisms up with some specific examples.

First of all, the narration is all over the place. At times it is first person. Sometimes it is breaking the fourth wall. One of these is fine on it's own, but when you are trying to mix them all at once? It is nothing but a mess. I think a more experienced writer would know better than to try and cram all this into one story. Now if this will be the tone of the entire book, then this might be forgiven. As a first issue, it doesn't do a good job of setting you up for that. This story jumps back and forth between time frames, so that can be hard to follow.

Next, the dialogue. For those that don't know my reading habits, one of my pet peeves is cultural references and jokes. I feel the more you do those, the lazier your writing feels. It is used as a crutch and forces the reader to get the joke or be left in the cold. This is even worse for me when it is in a world that is not our own or set in the future. In this book, we are talking about forty years in the future. So I expect jokes to be about things happening in the world at that time, not referencing stuff that happened now or ten years ago from our present time. That is lazy. If you had set your book in present day, that makes sense. I doubt those same cultural references would make sense forty years from now. There was a lot of that here and it takes me out of the book.

Throughout the book, you can tell that there is a female empowerment aspect to the story. I get that and I appreciate it. It's just this book handles that very poorly. It is hard to tell what is meant to be satire. Men are still the same trash bags in the future, that comes as no surprise. Is their dialogue supposed to evoke that nothing has changed? Are they caricatures?  It could really go either way.  It is entirely possible that I am missing something here and I can admit that. I feel like this book is trying to be funny and poignant at the same time, but misses the mark. It makes it hard to root out what the message is here.

The main character herself, Maya, has a vaguely described power set. By that I mean, we are introduced to her powers when it is convenient to the story, but done in a ham-fisted way. We know she is a single mother that is also trying to be a hero. Her crusade to stop human trafficking is noble and I'm not opposed to that either. Comic books have always been used as a way to get social messages out there, depending on the writer. You can tell when a writer is passionate about a subject and wants to teach about it. Again, this story does a terrible job at navigating this. It feels very disjointed.

The only reason I know this book is about human trafficking is because Emilia's afore mentioned essay. That is a bad sign because if the book did a good job, I wouldn't need the essay to explain things to me. I'm sure that editorial was more concerned with getting a famous person on a book and getting it out the door than actually editing it. Some feedback could have been given and fixed these issues.

I hate that I'm being so negative on this book, but I was demonstrably sighing a lot while reading this, so I knew this book hand gotten to me. The compliment that I would give this book is that the art from Leila Leiz is fantastic. She is not a name I am familiar with and I will keep an eye out for more work from her in the future. That was the only thing that made this palatable for me. I do not want that to be overlooked in all the criticism I am hurling this book's way.

Now, am I going to read the rest of this mini-series in hopes that it gets better? No. No I am not. I read a lot of comics as it is and I can't waste that time reading  things I am not enjoying. I do hope this book does well and can lure Emilia into doing more work. I think stories like this are needed, they just need to be produced better.

Loki

Wow, am I late in writing this. I finished Loki weeks ago, but forgot to mention any of my thoughts on it. I'll save you my usual rambling before my review and just get into it. You can stop when you've had enough!

I really liked Loki and that surprised me. After the first two episodes, I was on the fence because things were moving so slowly. It eventually picked up and concluded with what I thought was the best final episode in all the Marvel shows. This show delivered on the promise to have major implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Let me talk about what this show isn't. There are some action scenes in this series, but this is not an action show, like Falcon and the Winter Soldier was. Not even a little bit. I would dare argue the action in this show isn't really that good, but that's okay. That is not this show's bread and butter.

What the show turned out to be, is a wonderful introspection about Loki himself. Now this is not the Loki we got to know through all the movies that eventually grew as a person. This Loki was plucked from the timeline before all that personal growth. For everyone that saw Avengers: Endgame, I don't need to get into more details than that.

It was fascinating to watch Loki be forced to admit to himself the kind of person he is and the kind of person he wants to be. It also says a lot that the person he finally cares about is another version of himself, Sylvie. Even still, in this series you actually watched him grow and he becomes a more compelling character because of it. This is why these shows need to exist.

I also want to add that six episodes is the appropriate length for a season. I'm sure budget is a factor, like with Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I am glad they get to tell one story that looks fantastic, instead of stretching it out to 13. That was always my problem with the Netflix shows. I feel like if you can't tell your story in less than 10 episodes at an hour a piece, get another job. Don't subject the viewers to a vanity project that no one wants.

Before I get to the actors, I want to mention I loved some of the little Easter eggs in this show. The episode where we meet the band of alternate Lokis was chock full of them. We get classic Loki, Kid Loki, the version of Loki running for president, a black Loki and an alligator Loki. There was a quick shot of the helicopter that Thanos used in a comic appearance in the 70's Yes, you heard that right. Thanos had a helicopter. There was also a blink and you'll miss it moment showing the Frog version of Thor. So many little Easter eggs in one episode.

Finally, let's wrap this up with the actors. It should go without saying that Tom Hiddleston is fantastic as Loki. It feels like he enjoys the role and it shows. This time he gets to explore it more and not have to be the conniving version that we all know. Dare I say, Owen Wilson was really good in this. I normally don't care for him, but here he feels like a seasoned pro and shows a lot of nuance in his performance. I don't know what it is, but there was something mesmerizing about Sophia Di Martino's performance as Sylvie. Also a shout out to Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna, the head of the TVA.

Then there was the magnificent class performance of Jonathon Majors as Kang (who is not named as that in the show, but he's Kang.) Never have I been more impressed by a single performance than what he gave us. It was a master class in how to pull of menacing, slightly unhinged, calculated and relaxed all in the same performance. I was mesmerized and could have watched more of that performance all day. It also gives us a glimpse into the next big threat in the Marvel Universe and it started here. Finally, the cliffhanger ending was perfect.

This show had a slow start, but once it got going, it didn't stop. Like I said before, this is not an action show, so if you don't like watching people sitting around and talking, this is not the show for you. There's your warning. Otherwise, absolutely check this show out.

Marvel Voices: Pride #1

I know that Pride month ended a few weeks ago, but just before that I started to read Marvel Voices: Pride #1. I am just late in making this post. This issue in the vein of the DC Pride book I talked about a few weeks ago. When it comes to Marvel and DC, comparisons are always unavoidable. Like the DC book, I wanted to support what Marvel was doing for Pride month. Marvel has been doing special issues like this to showcase under represented communities via characters and their creators.

So how did I feel about Marvel's foray into this? Let's get into that. 

First off, like I said with the DC book, I know a little something about representation and how it matters. However, I can't speak to how this book will feel to those in the LGBTQ community. I can only speak to what I see here. This issue is massive and I would argue overstuffed. The DC book was a book about their characters as part of a day in the life. There is a deft to the story telling there that I think is missing in this Marvel book. Marvel has a tendency to be on the nose and I think this issue was that. To me, it was the equivalent of someone saying, "I have LOTS of gay friends." as they roll out all of the LGBTQ characters that they could. Mind you, that was the point, but DC showed a restraint that Marvel does not. 

Also, this issue felt very self-congratulatory. The focus was supposed to be on the characters and the creative teams, but Marvel treated this as a way to pat themselves on the back for having so many characters. There's a timeline of "key" issues representing the LGBTQ community. The cynic in me was like, "Hmm, sure was a lot of activity after 2010". So what was Marvel doing in the first fifty years of existence?  In addition to that, the opening of the book shows, for lack of a better term, a gay history of the Marvel Universe. They just need to chill with the back patting because they were late to the party. Yes, they made progress, but independent comics had been doing it for years. A lot of these characters are C-List at best and you would be hard pressed to find them. I would argue that out of their stable of characters, there were some glaring omissions. How do you leave out America Chavez? How do Wiccan/Hulking have only two pages? Where are Rictor and Shatterstar? How has Northstar not surfaced in any of the mainstream X-books in a more prominent role, including this book? They focus on his coming out moment in this book, but he only gets three pages of an original story in here? I also feel like they trotted out some of these characters and unfortunately, we won't follow up or see them again until next Pride month. If Marvel wants to deliver on their promise about being diverse, they need to use them more regularly.

Marvel went for quantity, not quality on this book. There was a great interview with Chris Cooper, a black and LGBTQ former editor of Marvel in the mid 90's which was eye opening. I can only imagine what he went through that he didn't say in that interview. This book even printed a few pages from Alpha Flight #106 to show when the character of Northstar came out. They only took a snippet of the issue, so out of context it feels weird and given the 90's art and writing, it's almost cringeworthy. At that time, people needed to be educated, so the dialogue leans that way and is bad.

I've complained a lot so far, but did I at least like some stories in here? I mentioned before the quality over quantity aspect, so there are a lot of stories jam packed into this and I think Marvel should have given everyone the same page count. Instead, you got some stories that are two pages and some that are like seven. So I question the editing on this book.

Sorry, the stories I liked. Well, I'm a big Runaways fan, so just a few pages of Nico and Karolina was good, especially when it features art from Kris Anka once more. The one or two pages we got of Hulking/Wiccan I enjoyed, but that is because I like them as character. There is a touching story about a cosplayer that went as She-Hulk and the whole story behind that. Finally, I thought the story about Daken and his long lost love was also sweet. So there are some gems in here. I just don't like the package Marvel put this in. Again, it's very self congratulatory, when they are not supposed to be the story here. That's my problem. It takes away from what the creators did.

It pains me to say this, but if you have your choice between this one and the DC one, I would pick up the DC Pride book. I would still say to give this one a shot because Marvel needs to see that some of these characters can sell and deserve a push. If they want to continue to be diverse, they need to show it, not talk about it. 

Black Widow

A few days ago I was able to go back to the theater for the first time since early 2020, the pre-pandemic days. It was nice. I don't have much more to say other than it was nice to watch a movie in a theater. I'm glad that Black Widow was that first movie back. Let's jump straight into it.

I really liked this movie for a number of reasons. Before I get into that, I want to say first that this movie was a long time coming. Even if it came out last year as intended, it was still a long overdue. It is a shame that after Marvel pretty much killed Black Widow off in Avengers: Endgame, that we get this movie. The potential for stories was always there, but Marvel didn't pull the trigger.

This movie felt more in line with Captain America: Winter Soldier. We're back to government run spy programs and intrigue. I will say that it is pretty telling that it's always the Russians that are the bad guy. I would like to see these movies face the fact that the US isn't much better. Need evidence of that? Go watch Falcon and the Winter Solider and the sad story of Isaiah Bradley and you will see what I mean.

Anyways, I liked that this felt more like CA:WS because that was one of my favorite movies. There is no world ending threat, it's just dealing with the past of our main character. We get more development of Natasha Romanoff here than we ever did in any of the movies she appeared in. Again, this is why this movie is long overdue. This would have gone a long way in making us feel more when we lose her. In this movie there's hand to hand fighting, so this movie doesn't go full Marvel with laser beams and crazy energy battles. There are fun car chases. Twists within twists. 

The thing I most appreciated about this movie and didn't expect was its center being on family. We are introduced to Yelena Belova, as the most hardcore of fans know as the other Black Widow. Florence Pugh does an amazing job bringing this character to life in the film. She definitely steals the show and makes me excited for her taking over the role in the Marvel Universe. Their playful banter is definitely a highlight. Specifically Yelena taking the piss out of Natasha's traditional hero pose. She's right, it is silly and I'm glad they play with that here. I also have to give a shout out to David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. They also round things out in a wonderful way.

This movie also finally humanizes Natasha, which Scarlett Johansson finally gets to do more than have weird relationships with people like the Hulk. We get more of her origin, finally. Again, this is something that would have been helpful sooner, had this movie come out at least pre-Infinity War. We also get to see her "family" that was assigned to her by the Russian government and how they all deal with their time together, over twenty years later. They have problems just like any real family and come to realize how much they all mean to each other. I thought they did a great job getting this across. There is a lot of sitting around and talking, which I love. I think most people looking for the action, action, action of a normal Marvel movie will be disappointed. We have to remember this is what these movies used to be until Infinity War and Endgame happened. So I appreciated those scenes.

Now the action is pretty good, but Marvel couldn't help itself with it's overly elaborate ending set piece. Just like they did in Winter Soldier, a movie that was small in scope all of a sudden balloons into this whole other thing to remind you it's a Marvel movie. A sky fortress is cool, but I personally wish it could have been done with less explosions. The movie went from mildly believable to completely over the top in a span of a few minutes.

The other thing I really loved here is there are no romantic interests for anyone. There's no love story. There's no pining for love lost. Ladies, you would know this better, but to me it is nice to see a bad ass woman (two counting Yelena) not having to also chase a man while chasing her bad guy. This movie doesn't give a crap about going anywhere with that. The most we get is the friendship between Natasha and her supplier and I didn't feel like there was any kind of sexual tension there, thank goodness.

I want to close by saying how excited I was about seeing Taskmaster show up here and the way that the villain is handled. This is a villain that on it's face is pretty ridiculous. The costume is a mishmash of different elements, yet somehow perfect. He has the ability to see a fighting move and then can automatically replicate it without issue. They play that up a little bit here, but I wished they had gone further with it to show why he is such a threat. By not talking, Taskmaster comes off even more menacing and was a good unstoppable force for most of the movie.

Would I recommend seeing this movie? Absolutely. It's a spy movie about girls kicking ass. You support this, more movies like this get made. Plain and simple. Where would I rank this in my Marvel movies? I don't know yet, but it will be in the top third.

Representation Matters

 

I think it goes without saying, that representation matters. We all like to see ourselves reflected in the media we consume. Whether that is movies, music, comic books, novels, etc. For me, since this is a comic book blog after all, I'm going to go with comic books. In the past, I've immediately written a post about a comic that impacted me in a specific way that I felt I should share with people. This happened last night and this morning as I read two different offerings from DC.

I know historically, people see me as a DC hater and a total Marvel fanboy. Those descriptions aren't completely invalid, but the misconception is that I somehow hate DC. I like DC a lot. I just prefer Marvel more. The books I'm going to talk about that I have pictured above are some of the reasons why I like DC.

Now they eternal cynic in me would want to dismiss such offerings because a savvy company will have their finger to the pulse of a moment in history and try to capitalize on it. It's no mistake that DC pulled together some of it's writers/artists to put out a book during Pride Month. Nor is it not unnoticed that after the George Floyd murder, they wanted to get a book out there by black creators as well. 

I feel like that kind of dismissiveness is found in the normal comic fan. I'm not immune to that, as I alluded to above with my cynical hot take. However, for me, I will still at least give books like this a chance because they DO matter. I know that the more people buy them, the more likely they will be to publish something else. They are stories that should be told and coming from one of the big publishers means there will be eyes on it. 

So what did I think? Well, the fact that I'm writing this post now means they affected me in some way. I'll start with "Represent". Apparently this is just a physical copy of a digital first series that DC had late last year. It says this on the cover, but I missed that when I picked it up. I never said I was perfect. I realize now why some of the stories felt dated in that they reference stuff that happened in 2020. That is not to take away from the impact of these stories. There are no super heroes here. These are just stories about regular people told from many different black writers. There is an authenticity to the stories that I can relate to as a black person. A lot of the fears and the stories that are told here are things I and many of my community have had to grapple with all our lives. 

I mentioned before how we gravitate towards something where we can see ourselves. I can see myself here. I also can appreciate that this book exists and I only wish that something like this would have been available when I was a kid. I may have talked about it before, but finding representation, true representation when I started reading comics was hard. Also, back then, you wouldn't get a lot of non-super heroic stuff from mainstream comic books. 

So each story is different and has a different feel to them. As I am about to become a father, I empathize especially with the ones about teens or small children. These stories are difficult to read. They may reintroduce trauma, but they are good tools for starting discussions with people. The way the book is laid out, you also get a little bit of information about the writers and I recognized some of the names of the artists that were attached to it. My favorite story was the third one, "Food for Thought". The fourth one, "Believe You" is something that black women have to deal with regularly and is heart wrenching. There are some joyous stories here, but I think the general mood of the material is mostly somber. I highly recommend you check this book out.  If you do not want to buy a physical copy in comic book stores, it is available for about 0.99 for each of the seven stories on Amazon. The first one is free.

Now let's move on to "DC Pride". Where I could see myself in "Represent", I am here to learn more with "DC Pride". I am not a member of the LGBTQIA community, but I would like to think I am an ally and I always want to see what more I can do to help. I hate to pull this card, but a lot of my closest friends are part of this community. Unlike "Represent", this book is completely about super heroes in the DC Universe. I will also say that this book is upbeat and uplifting. So tonally, it is very different than "Represent". 

There's a wonderful foreword from Marc Andreyko, the "gay elder statesman" as he refers to himself, describing why a book like this exists. It's only a page, but I think it is a good precursor to what you are about to read and why a book like this is important. This book is a collection of short stories from a number of different writers. I didn't look up all of them, but I know some of them are openly gay creators. The cover gives you an idea of the characters that are featured here. 

I honestly can't say how true some of these experiences are because they are not my experiences. I would think that since it was in the hands of members of the community and not your typical straight white guys, that it probably is pretty accurate and reflective. If it is, then I feel like I can come away having learned something. Some of the things I read here are not so dissimilar from what I've learned from the important people in my life. There is wonderful art here from some industry mainstays. My personal favorite was probably the story about Renee Montoya, appearing as "The Question" here. As I think about it, I am struck by how "Day of the life" they are. There are super hero things happening, but also very normal things. As the opening says, these are tales about people.

To wrap up the issue, there are a couple of snippets of interviews with some of the actors that portray LGBTQIA characters in some of the CW DC shows. They each talk about how they know they are representing that which they do not normally see on tv and how important it is. One of the stories is even written by Nicole Maines, who portrays "Dreamer" in the Supergirl show. These interviews were a nice bow on the package.

I am very glad to have read this and I would highly recommend this to others as well. I know that for some, a comic book about super heroes will seem to be so basic. Of course a comic book would feature characters in capes and tights, you may think. My hope is that someone will find themselves in this book. Nothing can substitute the feeling you have when you know you are seen.

I'm glad to see comics like this being made and I only hope that they can continue to do so. Comics like these are always a hard sell to the rank and file comic book fan, so I hope there is enough of an audience that is willing to learn or new fans come in that can help support these books. Like any business, if the product is not selling, it won't get made any more.

My intention was not to try and draw such stark comparisons or sow division between people in how I talked about these books here. I did read them back to back on purpose so that I could try and give a little bit of insight into how I felt. I hope that you will give one or even both of them a chance. The more we can learn about each other, the better conversations we can have.

Invincible

I know I am late to the party on this post. I meant to say something sooner, but that's life. So let's talk about the show Invincible, that appeared on Amazon Prime. From what I can remember in reading the comic, it is very faithful. Simultaneously, it evolved with the times in some of the roles of the characters. There are other sites out there to do that work for you. I'm not going to do that here. 

I thought this show is excellent. The comic itself was excellent, so that translated into a great show. I think the biggest thing that will jump out is the great talent they assembled for the voice acting. I'm happy to see Steven Yuen getting his due this year and he was the perfect choice for the main character, Mark Grayson. I am convinced that J.K. Simmons can do no wrong and he is perfect here as Mark's Father, Nolan. He has an underlying menace throughout this whole first season that you can just feel. Also, I'm glad they gave Sandra Oh plenty to do. 

The rest of the cast is great too, but I wanted to call out the main actors. 

The animation was also really good. This show is really colorful, which like the comic, really belies how hyper violent it is. I don't think the cartoony nature makes it more palatable, so I would warn people that if they don't like violence, don't watch this show. There are a lot of truly gruesome scenes. One in particular is in one of the last episodes involving a subway train. That is all I'm going to say. If you've seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. All of the fight scenes are very well done. There are real consequences, so you are on the edge of your seat to see if someone will seriously get hurt because the stakes are that high.

From the first episode, for readers of the comics, one of the big twists of the first arc of the series is introduced right away. That was a surprising choice to me, but I can understand why they did it. I think everything else happened about the same from what I can remember. To be fair, I read all of this about fifteen years ago and I read a lot of comics, so I just can't remember all of it. 

What I loved about this show is how it shows the trials and tribulations of trying to navigate being a super hero in your teenage years. I also like the way they play around with the idea of a secret identity. Unless you wear a full mask, the idea of a secret identity is always flimsy at best, so I'm glad they play with the trope.

A lot of people will want to compare this to the other Amazon, hyper violent series, "The Boys". I think that it is a mistake. These shows are completely different. They only thing they share is how violent they are. I would argue this is the far superior show and would push people to watch it first.

If you have Amazon Prime, I highly recommend giving it a try. At only 8 episodes this season, it's not asking a huge time commitment and all of the episodes move at a good pace.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

 

I just finished the sixth episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier on Disney Plus. I wanted to write this as soon as I could because I want to do this while my feelings are fresh. I had big feelings about the last two episodes. When this series first started, all I wanted was for them to address the impact of having a black Captain American and how Sam Wilson handles that responsibility. We got a snippet of that when Rhodey and Sam speak for a few minutes in the first episode. On it's face, it seemed like a simple conversation. However, it was dripping with a lot of subtext. Basically, Rhodey was trying to tell him that if Sam doesn't take up the shield, that Cap hand picked him for, the Government would get their own guy and it would not be a black man. In the second episode, we meet Isaiah Bradley and we touch on race a little bit more there. We even have a scene where the policy are called and they almost arrest Sam. If it wasn't for his fame, he would have been treated like any of us. They were starting to get to the topic. Instead of digging even more, they decided to follow the Marvel formula for a spy thriller action movie. I enjoyed them, but they did not give me what I wanted at first. They showed that Sam Wilson is more than capable to hold his own and I think that was important for what was going to come later.

Sam's interactions with Bucky were more contentious than they've ever been. You later find out the why for it, but the first few episodes it is exhausting. Like, do they like each other at all? Why even work together?

Then we get to episodes five and six. These were by far my favorite episodes and I'm going to tell you why. Finally, they really touch on the weight of the title of "Captain America" for a black man. You see the pain in the second conversation we see Sam have with Isaiah Bradley. He was a man who was done dirty by the country he serves which hits home because it is all too real. For any black person that was in the military, this resonates. To see it even addressed in a show like this is what I wanted to see. You can't have Sam take up the shield and just ignore the real world that exists around him. To do so would be holding up this idealistic view of the world that just doesn't exist. The scene also displays how this affects Sam and goes into why he was so hesitant in the first place. I keep talking about this scene because it was truly powerful. I'll admit it brought me to tears because this is how it can feel. 

Later in the episode, we get an apology from Bucky and establishes the fact that he and Steve had no idea what it meant for a black man to be Captain America. That admission shows that he opened his eyes and understood Sam's initial decision. He took ownership of that and realized he had been out of line. After all the bickering they did, this was also refreshing to see. Again, this had me in my feelings again.

You see a montage of how Sam trains to use the shield, differently than Steve did, because he does not have the super solider serum to rely on. This only makes you want to root for him more. He is just a regular dude that is putting it all on the line for his country.

Finally we get the sixth episode where he is fully in his new costume and claiming the title. We get some great action sequences where he more than proves his worth. Even though I didn't like the acting of the extras, I loved seeing the black people in the crowd reacting to Sam as Captain American and how proud they were. Then we get the Captain American speech, this time from Sam Wilson. He clearly owns the moment and credit has to be given to Anthony Mackie, which I will talk about later. Again, I was brought to tears because his speech is moving and I loved seeing him give it. All I could think about is how these are the kind of heroes I will want my son to see. Here's a character I want him to embrace. I can tell him that there is a black Captain America too. 

I also want to mention that the scene where Sam walks Isaiah into the Captain America exhibit and shows that he will not be forgotten is also another important scene. Did I tear up again? You're damn right I did.

One last point I want to touch on is how important family was in this show, specifically to Sam Wilson. He showed that he never forgot where he came from and his community returned that in kind. He embodied the best of them and I think it is always a great thing to display positive images of black people in TVs and movies. They did this with Luke Cage as well, but in the MCU, they keep pulling some of the black characters out of their comic origins of Harlem and placing them in the South. For Luke Cage, it was Georgia. For Sam Wilson, it's Louisiana. It's definitely a choice and I don't disagree with it, but I am seeing a pattern. 

The reason I'm saying all this in the past few paragraphs is I do not want to undersell how important a figure Sam Wilson has become. Like T'Challa, it is giving little black kids a hero that they can root for. That they can be the hero. That they can play Captain America.  I always say this, but I truly wish I had something like this when I was a kid. I'm glad that more shows like this exist.

As for the rest of the show, I thought it was well done. It looked slick and well produced. I am so grateful that Anthony Mackie is the Falcon. He has a natural charisma that is hard to replicate. He unfortunately got lost in the other movies, but now that he has his own show, you can see that he can clearly carry it. Like Chadwick Boseman, I think he will be a person that little black boys will look up to. I'm sure he's aware of the weight of carrying something like this and you can tell that is how he approaches it. He has made Sam Wilson a fully believable character. Sebastian Stan was great as well, as his Winter Soldier continued to struggle through his past and finally seems to have come to a resolution on that. 

I loved seeing Baron Zemo, Sharon Carter and the Dora Milaje show up for a bit. I'm glad we get an anti-hero in John Walker. The Flag Smashers, you start to see where they are coming from too. Finally, this one flew under the radar, but this show sneakily introduced Joaquin (Sam's friend) into the universe. In the comics, he also becomes another iteration of the Falcon. 

If I was to say anything bad about this show, it is that it is trying to juggle too many things at once and that leads to a lot of tonal shifts. My favorite episodes are the ones where we spend time with Sam or Bucky outside of the super heroics. When they are just talking. Those are sandwiched in between tense action sequences, espionages and double crosses. When I say this out loud having Baron Zemo, John Walker, the Flag Smashers, the Power Broker and the introduction of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is a lot. Focusing on maybe two of these three and sitting with those would have been good enough.

I liked this show way more than WandaVision and that is for the reasons I mentioned above. It spoke to me and I had been anticipating it a lot more. I look forward to the Marvel Universe now rallying around Sam Wilson as Captain America and I hope they let him have this title for a while. I highly recommend watching this show.