TV's Batgirl, Yvonne Craig, Dead at 78

It seems like bad form to think of yourself and your own mortality when someone dies. But the death of Yvonne Craig, best known as Batgirl from the 60s TV version of Batman, does just that. It makes me sad for a piece of my childhood dying. It makes me realize how old I am, given that the youthful and vibrant actress I remember was 78 years old at the time of her death. But mostly it just makes me sad.

Image from source, MSN

I was surprised to find out that Craig only appeared on 22 episodes of Batman, given her impact on my childhood memories. Unknown to me at the time, was that she was added in season three of a very short-lived fad of a show.  To me, a child of the 70s, pretty much at the birth of cable TV (when that meant simply having channels 2-13, rather than just 3 or 4 stations), I knew the show from reruns. There could have been hundreds of episodes, I had no idea. They aired them out of order, showing two-parters (from seasons 1 and 2) Monday through Thursday, and then a Batgirl episode on Fridays. I didn't know at the time that she had been added to boost already flagging ratings, and that they'd pared down to a single episode per week in season 3, rather than the cliffhanger and resolution from the first two years. But I did realize that Craig was also the green slave girl that wooed Captain Kirk on Star Trek, another relatively short-lived faddish show.

To me, and many of my era, Craig will remain that beautiful girl, who made a splash that had many ripples beyond the relatively scant number of episodes we watched her in. That's more than most people can claim. RIP, Ms. Craig.

[Excerpt]

TV’s Batgirl Yvonne Craig Dies at 78
 
Yvonne Craig, the actress best known for her role as Batgirl in the 1960’s “Batman” TV series, died on Monday. She was 78. Craig passed away at her home in Pacific Palisades surrounded by her family, according to her spokesman. She had been suffering from breast cancer that metastasized to her liver. . .

Read more at: MSN

Sneak Peek of The Flash

"My" Flash, from the 60s, vs. The Flash on CW.
Honestly, I'm a little worried.

As a comic book fan since I could pick one up, I've written many times about my frustration that DC Comics (my favorite) has lagged so far behind Marvel Comics in getting their characters to the big or small screen. I honestly can't figure out how DC, which is owned by Warner Brothers, has such a hard time with such iconic characters in its stable. Superman had to be rebooted because of a lackluster installment (though honestly, I liked Superman Returns), they got no love for Green Lantern (I liked that one too), and the less said about Catwoman, the better.

But on TV, DC has had a bit more luck. Smallville ran for 10 years. Arrow has been getting rave reviews, but I've been leery of getting attached. Now that it's spinning off The Flash, though, I'm taking notice. The Scarlet Speedster is one of my very favorite characters. At one time I had an unbroken string of Flash comics, from the mid-70s to its cancellation in the 80s. But I'm worried that WB is going to muck it up.

Marvel has managed to have three simultaneous movie universes going at once (though they'd love to have them all under one roof, I'm sure). There is some attempt made within them at some internal consistency, especially in the Marvel Studios movies, with Iron Man, The Avengers, Thor, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man, The Incredible Hulk and even with their TV shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the upcoming Daredevil. DC, on the other hand, has usually had stand-alone movie and TV universes. Lois & Clark was its own thing, the original Superman movies are their own thing (with Supergirl), the original Batman movie series stands alone, and the Dark Knight Batman movies are a self-contained trilogy. Smallville seemed to be going somewhere with a Justice League, but when it ended, so did that universe.

DC seems to be going somewhere, tying things together. Man of Steel will have a spinoff that includes a new Ben Affleck Batman and Wonder Woman. But will it tie to Arrow and The Flash? Will the new Gotham have anything to do with any of them? Does Warner have somebody helming these different projects, to try and create synchronicity? If not, why not?

The Flash is Likely Coming to Television (Again)

Grant Gustin, cast to play The Flash, image from Huffington Post.

I'm not sure I can figure out what DC Comics is up to. As a long-time fan, I've watched with jealousy while Marvel Comics fans have reaped most of the rewards, with their ultra-successful string of superhero movies. After failures (Daredevil, Electra, The Punisher), middling successes (The Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider), and mid-sized hits (The X-Men series), and blockbusters (Spider-Man, two series) Marvel's own production house has had the Midas touch with everything from Iron Man through The Avengers, and on to even more sequels.

Meanwhile, DC fans had to be happy with various versions of Superman on the small screen (Superboy, Lois & Clark, Smallville) and big screen to varying degrees of success, and two successful Batman movie series. Most everything else has been a flop or at least didn't land in the public I liked Green Lantern and Superman Returns, I would seem to be in the distinct minority. Even Man of Steel, which made 2/3 of a billion dollars, was seen my many as a "disappointment," leaving many DC fans in the doldrums. Recently, that's changed with Arrow, oddly another DC Universe similar to, but different from Smallville, this time centered around the Green Arrow character. Like Smallville, Arrow is showcasing other DC heroes. But this time, one of them is getting a spinoff.

Last time The Flash came to TV (1990), he was John Wesley-Shipp.

consciousness as a "DC Comics" success story. Even though

I've been a Flash fan as long as I've been a comics fan. He was always my favorite, probably because of his wacky "rogues gallery," and the fantastical, bizarre situations he'd find himself in. Even as a kid, I'd seek out back-issues, as far back as I could afford. When a customer on my paper route volunteered that she'd sell me her son's old 60s Flash comics, it was like winning the lottery for me. So, a TV adaptation of my favorite hero is quite exciting. It's been done before, of course, in 1990, in a fun but quirky one-season run (pun intended). But I'm hoping that they do it right, and manage to work the Arrow/Flash universe into the Man of Steel/Batman universe. Otherwise, a future Justice League could be very confusing for consumers. Though I'm sure there are a few Smallville fans who are a bit confused by the new Arrow universe anyway.

[Excerpt]

'The Flash': Grant Gustin Cast As Barry Allen For 'Arrow' And Potential Spin-Off

"Glee's" Grant Gustin has been cast as Barry Allen (AKA The Flash) on "Arrow," The CW announced Friday. He'll appear in episodes 208, 209 and 220 of "Arrow" Season 2, and if the character is well-received, headline the proposed Flash spinoff. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Blast from the Past: Saturday Morning Super Heroes

I've been kind of sick over the last week or so, with a combination of allergies and/or head cold plus the added attraction of some sort of intestinal bug. Lovely, right? Consequently, not only have I been out of the blogging habit (this time with an excuse), and also out of the exercising habit. Instead, I've been indulging in binge viewing of a series on DVD. In this case, my series of choice was Smallville.

I'm a superhero fan since practically infancy, so a show about Superboy/Superman should have been appointment viewing for me. But for some reason (probably because we didn't used to get The WB--now The CW--on our cable service), the network it aired on is always off of my radar. I simply forget it is there. I missed almost all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of Angel too, originally. Those were other binge parties. Anyway, it got me to thinking that superheroes ought to in some way figure in to my feature for the week.

So, why not the ones I grew up with? Superhero cartoons are some of my earliest memories of television, and Saturday mornings were event viewing at my house. Sugary cereal and the big three networks had more than enough.

 

And oddly enough, that's pretty much it for my era of Saturday morning TV. I guess I could have thrown in Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, but nah. That'll wrap it up for this week. Happy Monday, everyone. Wish me well with my intestinal woe!

Ben Affleck to Play the Next Batman

So, Warner Brothers announced on Thursday night that Ben Affleck has been signed to play the next version of Batman in the sequel to Man of Steel. He'll be playing opposite Henry Cavill's Superman, in what will probably amount to a VS. that segues into a team-up. It's an important piece of DC Comics' puzzle on the way to a Justice League of America movie, to rival the movie universe of Marvel Comics.

Warner Brothers may be having a bit of a panic at the moment, because the announcement has been instantly and overwhelmingly negative, at least in the internet quarters I've been visiting. It's a big "Noooooooo!" even from my sister. I have no idea how ironclad the contract is, but I wonder if either WB or Affleck is feeling a bit bruised already. My advice to the fandom: calm down, and let it settle in. Daredevil was a long time ago. Not only has Affleck's craft improved, so has the entire genre of superhero movies. And while I've dissed the handling of DC's properties in the past, they got the Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel mostly right. So who knows?

The way I see it, Affleck is the right height, has the right hair color, has the lantern jaw, the ability to beef up when necessary, and is a fairly decent actor. I'm keeping an open mind. And hey, it's not like it's "Nicholas Cage as Superman," right? When you think about it, who was thinking, "Yeah! Michael Keaton as Batman!" until they saw him in it?

[Excerpt]
 
Ben Affleck to play Batman in 'Man of Steel' sequel

Actor Ben Affleck will play Batman in an upcoming Superman sequel that will see the two caped crusaders face off against each other, film studio Warner Bros Pictures said on Thursday. . .

Read more at: Reuters

Movies I Can't Wait to See: DC Comics Announces Superman/Batman Movie!

Image from source, MoviePilot

ERMAHGERD!!! Talk about a nerdgasm! What comics fan (particularly a DC Comics fan) wouldn't go nuts for a "World's Finest" team-up or battle between Superman and Batman? Ecstatic, even! There are however a few problems, namely, a) having to re-boot the Batman character, since Christian Bale is done with it, b) dealing with recaps or retellings of either character's origin stories, c) clarifying the timeline, as to if Supes and Bats have both been around for a while, or if this is a brand new relationship, and d) bridging the worlds of Gotham, Metropolis, and the larger DC Comics universe (Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Justice League).

With a) and b) I wish they would just dispense with retellings and rebootings. I think with three actors in a row having played Batman in the Tim Burton-started series, same thing with the Hulk, changing actors for the love interest in The Dark Knight, and the continuing changes in the James Bond universe, audiences can handle a loose continuity with these characters, without having to go back to square one. Fanboys might squawk a bit, but we don't have to see Batman's origin story again, we get it! If there's a significant change to the backstory, highlight that in a flashback, and then move on.

With c) and d) there is a more delicate problem. So far, DC Comics-based productions have been all over the place, and their behind-the-scenes pre-productions have been insane. It almost seems like a good movie comes out with a DC character. I mean, they were going to have Nicholas Cage be Superman? REALLY? Anyway, they scored a three-fer with The Dark Knight series, and I think continued it with Man of Steel. Count me as one opinion that just because Bale doesn't want to be Batman, that they could easily keep the continuity of the series with a new actor, whether it's Joseph Gordon Leavitt or a replacement for Bale. I've never understood why those three movies have to "stand alone." Even the naming conventions between TDK and MOS are the same. Why start from scratch.
mistake when a

What not to do. Image from NYDailyNews

Their most difficult task is going to be building this shared universe without going overboard, or screwing up one of the puzzle pieces. How will they introduce the other characters, without diverting from the story, or just throwing too much up on the screen? The Marvel template is there to follow, but you know they're going to want to do something different. Can Warner Brothers sustain the franchise with popular movies based on unproven characters, and keep the hype up until Justice League is born? Marvel managed it. In fact Marvel has managed in across studios, with the X-Men and Spider-Man series running in separate worlds from The Avengers. DC is developing their movie universe in a huge shadow.

But they couldn't wish for better than a Superman/Batman movie, done well. If that is done well, and ably sets up some spin-off characters, they will be off and rolling. Henry Cavill has shown that he's a great Superman. If they do as well with their new Batman, it's going to be some show! Can't wait.

[Excerpt]

Warner Bros. Announces Superman/Batman Movie For 2015

Big news Justice League shippers: Zack Snyder is returning for the sequel to Man of Steel.
Only this time, the aforementioned icon will be joining forces with the Dark Knight. . .

Read more at: MoviePilot

Blast from the Past: Up, Up and Away! It's Superman!

Man of Steel--the latest live-action version of Superman has been out for about a month and made over about $620 million worldwide. Oddly, some movie geeks think that's a lackluster performance. It also got some mediocre professional reviews, but has been generally loved by the public, so go figure. One thing it did is cast a huge shadow over every previous version of Supes, and there have been a lot of them. The Metropolis of Man of Steel for example, is so enormous that even though there is more destruction than has ever happened outside of an atomic bomb blast, 95% of it was left standing! It sort of made Superman II's destruction scenes look puny by comparison.

But as a long-time comics fan, particularly DC Comics and Superman, I'm notoriously easy to please, and like just about any version, cheesy or not. Here is a sampling of each edition I was able to find.

1. Superman (1948) - Movie serial starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill
2. Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) - Syndicated TV series, starring George Reeves

3. Superman: The Movie (1978) - Movie starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder
4. Superman II (1980) - Movie starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder



5. Superman III (1983) - Mostly bad movie starring Christopher Reeve and Richard Pryor
6. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) - Horrible, cheap movie starring Christopher Reeve



7. Adventures of Superboy (1988-1992) - Syndicated TV Series where Clark is Superboy for (somehow) several years), starring Gerard Christopher, who replaced John Haymes Newton
8. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997) - ABC TV series, starring Dean Cain and Terri Hatcher



9. Smallville (2001-2011) - WB/CW TV series, where Superboy stays a teenaged boy for way, way too long
10. Superman Returns (2006) - Quasi-sequel to Superman II, ignoring III and IV (wisely), and pleasing nobody except me, who kinda liked it




And that brings us up to the present, with Man of Steel, but since it's a month old, I can still put it on Blast from the Past, I guess. Any excuse to feature the incredible Henry Cavill. Sigh. . .



And yes, I'm aware that all of this would have made more sense a month ago. But it's been a weird couple of weeks folks! Hope you liked it, and hope you have a great week. Happy Monday!

Movies I Can't Wait to See: Man of Steel

Henry Cavill looks good, no doubt. But I'm hoping
the costume is an early prototype. Image from
JustJared.

DC Comics has just released The Dark Knight Rises, apparently the last Batman movie we're likely to get for a long time. The movie--despite the tragic opening night fiasco in Aurora,Colorado--is likely to do very, very well. Maybe not The Avengers well, but close. And that's a darn sight better than most of DC Comics' movie adaptations compared to Marvel's.

And for life-long DC fans like me, who actually dug Green Lantern and yes, Superman Returns, it's about time. But, if you think it's weird that I liked those movies, I've also been underwhelmed by Christopher Nolan's modern day Batman series. The second one with the late Heath Ledger as the Joker? Meh. I know everyone liked it, but to me, it was just oversold or something. But then, I wasn't much of a fan of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman series either. Well, I liked the Val Kilmer one.

So, while I don't think it was necessary to reboot Superman only six years after the last one, I am nonetheless excited about Man of Steel. Supes has always been one of my favorites, and it would be sweet if DC finally hit on a non-Batman hero, one that everyone likes, not just me. The overdone "S" shield in this promo is a little troublesome. I am a graphic artist as an adult, and that thing is just too much. But I'll be there. Maybe not on opening night though. . .

Frivolity Break: The Dark Knight Meets 60s Robin!

This may go on a trifle too long, but it's well done, funny and Robin is well cast.

Blast from the Past: Live Action Superheros!

All right, I've had kind of a full weekend, so I'm resorting to a rerun from a year and a half ago. Chances are, you haven't seen it, so it's new to you. . .right? And it's kind of apropos since we're in a political season again. Thanks!

ORIGINAL POST (from October 18, 2010):

This week, I almost did a "classic political ads" theme for Blast from the Past. But, geeze, I'm a little tired of political ads, aren't you? I mean here in Nevada, we're being absolutely bombarded with them.  I already early voted, enough!  We know, Harry Reid is evil according to Sharron Angle, and vice-versa. Anyway, I was stuck for a theme.  Last week, I did Saturday morning cartoons. So this time, how about live-action superheroes? They were always a favorite of mine, but you may have forgotten a couple of these. . .








1. Automan - How's this one for obscure? Obviously inspired by Tron, this one didn't last too long, probably because the pretty girl didn't have much to do. But with Desi Arnaz, Jr. and Chuck Wagner, I didn't even notice there was a girl. Ahem.
2. The Amazing Spider-Man - This 70s version of Spider-Man was low-budget, and you just can't do much with Spidey on a low-budget. The leotard just looked ridiculous. The webs were worse.
3. Wonder Woman - The classic Lynda Carter show's first season had a very comic-book flavored intro, obviously inspired by Batman. They kept tweaking it, and disco-fying it when they moved the series into the 70s from the 40s. This is my favorite version.
4. Batman - No live-action TV superhero retrospective would be complete without this one.
5. The Incredible Hulk - This show ran for most of its existence sandwiched between Wonder Woman and The Dukes of Hazzard. It was better than either, though maybe not as fun.
6. The Greatest American Hero - This theme worked for describing the hapless hero's cluelessness, and also as a love song for a guy who doesn't feel worthy. Loved the show too.
7. The Flash - I really liked this show. Too bad it only got a season. There's a movie in the works, though!
8. Shazam! - They couldn't call the show Captain Marvel due to legal reasons, and they changed Cap's back-story too much, but I never missed an episode! It was basically a ham-fisted "lesson of the week" after school special kind of show, with a superhero. If they ever do a Shazam! movie--and do it right--it will be awesome.

Happy Monday everybody!

Wonder Woman Coming Back to TV!

Image from source, IGN

One of the recurring subjects on this blog is the quandary: why is it so difficult for superhero movies and tv shows to get made?  There is in some cases over seventy years worth of source material to draw upon, yet projects languish for years in development hell. Marvel Comics has had an easier time of it of late, though they can't seem to get The Punisher right. But DC Comics, my publisher of choice growing up? Pretty dismal.

Other than Batman, the DC heroes have had a dismal record of getting to the screen. Superman made it a few years ago, but went through such a torturous (and expensive) path, the final result was deemed a failure, even though it was pretty good. Green Lantern is coming soon at least, but there are several of my favorites that have been teasingly, frustratingly promised, and yet they never get going. Shazam!, The Flash, Justice League of America, Firestorm, Metal Men, and Plastic Man are just a few that have been dangled, but gone nowhere. Wonder Woman, arguably the best known female superhero, and third-best known period (after Superman and Batman) may finally make it out of that heap.

Wonder Woman has of course already made it to television before, with probably the best casting ever pulled off in a comic book adaptation. Well, maybe it's a tie with Christopher Reeve. But Lynda Carter's WW will always be in people's minds when they picture the heroine. Casting will be the hardest part, beyond Hollywood's basic problem with getting these things to screen in the first place. WW has made its way through enough cancelled scripts, producers and directors to rival Superman Returns. Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Joss Whedon was attached at one point (and that would have been so kick ass). So Wondy is headed for TV instead of the big screen. And they're changing her locale and her job. And it's just a pilot episode that might not get picked up. Wait, maybe I'm not so excited after all.

[Excerpt]

NBC Orders Wonder Woman Pilot



Looks like Wonder Woman may be back on TV soon after all. It's been a turbulent month for the DC heroine, as Warner Bros brought their new David E. Kelley scripted version of the character to the networks, only to see them all pass. Now though, Deadline reports NBC has made a surprise move and ordered Wonder Woman as a pilot. . .
 
Read more at: IGN

And just for kicks. . .

Movies I Can't Wait to See: The First Avenger: Captain America

Classic superhero? Check. Tied in to other superhero movies like Iron Man? Check. Leading up to a big superhero teamup movie, The Avengers? Check. Chris Evans? Check! (and droool.) I may be a DC Comics fan, but I'm so up for this one.

Source: Bam! Kapow!

The History of DC Comics on TV

Image from source, IGNTV

I've often said in this space that I'm a comic book fan, specifically of DC Comics. I've also often lamented DC's relative lack of product, compared to rival Marvel Comics. But DC has had some success on TV, including the upcoming The Human Target with Mark Valley on FOX. Since the blog has been rather light this weekend, I thought it might be fun to put something non-political up for a change. And superheroes are one of my favorite diversions, so here you go!

[Excerpt]

The History of DC Comics on TV

This Sunday sees the premiere of Human Target on FOX – a new action series based on the DC Comic book of the same name. But Human Target is hardly the first TV version of a DC hero, and we thought we'd take the opportunity to look back at all of the DC heroes who've graced the small screen in the past – or in some cases, never got further than the pilot stage (most of the time for good reason). . .

Read more at: IGNTV

Religion! The Movie.

I've gotten into a huge online argument on Facebook recently. It started out as a rebuttal to a "friend"--actually a high school acquaintance--who was jubilant about the "Yes on 1" victory over gay marriage in Maine. I wasn't pleased, to say the least, and said so. But it devolved, as these things always do, to a discussion on religion. Which also always become a tangled mess.

I don't know why the very religious try to get us to all live by their rules. They'd hate it if we tried to pass pro-Muslim laws or pro-Mormon laws, and they had to live by them (unless they were Muslims or Mormons, of course). But that's what "Yes on 1" boils down to, codifying a religious belief. One that isn't 100% backed up by doctrine, in this blogger's opinion, but I digress (again).

But I got to thinking about religion in general. Everyone believes theirs is the best, the only, the correct one. And without fail, they also believe that everyone else's is wrong. With no evidence. But arguing that point is impossible. You see, people are so convinced that their own religion is right, they find it difficult to put themselves in another person's shoes. They can't step inside an agnostic's shoes (mine are 9-1/2 Ds, by the way) and even see where I'm coming from. So I'll explain it to you.

There are many ancient religions. Most of them have faded away, or morphed into new ones. Many of the newer ones even crib from the older ones, in order to sway new converts (or maybe due to lack of imagination). And nobody in the newer religions gives one ounce of credence to the fore bearers. A religious person is basically agnostic or atheistic as it pertains to all other religions but their own. I simply believe in one less than they do. I posed this little example in my argument, and was met with metaphorical blank stares.

I look at today's main religions as sort of a movie franchise. Judaism was the first one in this analogy, think Superman: The Movie. We've got the origin story, all the set up and backstory. It solidified the franchise, and was a big hit. So big, that somebody decided it would be a great idea to have a sequel.

Christianity is Superman II. It carries over some of the same themes, adds some new bad guys and characters. It fleshes out the story, adds some new elements (some sort of out of place in parts), and turns this baby into a blockbuster. It should also be noted that Superman's mother takes on more prominence in this one. With me so far? Many of the fans of the original aren't moved. They think it betrayed the original, and they just are not buying it. But the fans of the sequel swear by it. It's the best! And the only one worth watching. Until. . .

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut shows us what the story could have been like, with some different scenes (some not fully finished), with a very different interpretation of the story. This would represent the schisms in Christianity. Fans of this different version will swear that it's better than the previous edition, and in fact, the original sucks.

After Christianity came Islam. That's Superman III. Here's where my analogy gets a little bit strained, I'll admit, because that edition wasn't a hit. Pretend it was, and go with me. It was part three of a series, as Islam is. Part I and II had huge fan bases, and were totally put off by part III. It had its cool parts, but it just doesn't work for the Jews and the Christians. They ain't buying it.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was a low-budget, incoherent flop. This we can slot in as the Jehovah's Witnesses, which might be too easy, but you can't say it isn't accurate. Superman Returns would be of course, Mormonism. Pretty popular, but largely not considered to be a "real" part of the series. The characters are there, but they're different, and they don't even try to reconcile the continuity. And don't get me started on Superboy, Smallville, Supergirl, Lois & Clark. . . There you have even more schisms.

My point? Each installment has its fans. Few will like them all. And nobody who thinks theirs is the best can be swayed to accept the others as better than theirs. "Nice story," they'll say. "But mine is the best." Unlike religion, there are those of us who like some or all to a degree, or even none of them. But people like me see them all as just basically stories. Stories obviously told in their own time to their own audience. Stories that were built on what came before with little attention given to internal consistency. Go ahead and believe in Krypton. I'll just consider them all stories.

The Mighty Thor Smokes a Doobie

I'm sure it's just for medicinal purposes. This is very clever, and reminds me of some stop-action home movies I used to try to make when I was a kid. Only this is much better. Posted especially for Stupid Monkey Planet. Thanks for fixing the Jeep for me, Monkey!

Source: BamKaPow

Faceless People: Connection to DC Comics' The Question?

First image from source, Visicage
Second image from source, Daily Mail
Third image from source, Wikipedia

A few days ago, I ran a piece about "faceless" people showing up at various public events. It's creepy and cool at the same time, and it prompted me to wonder if this was some sort of "viral" ad campaign for something.

Friend and contributor, Stupid Monkey Planet may have found a big clue. Below is an excerpt from a comics fan who dreamed up a way to dress as DC Comics hero, The Question. That hero dresses in a 40s style suit and fedora, and has no facial features. Could all of these faceless people be a marketing campaign for a Question TV series or movie? If they're not, could DC Comics sue for copyright infringement? Stay tuned!

[Excerpt]

Morgan Wessler's Question costume

If you should happen to glance over your shoulder at a comic book convention and see a faceless man in a fedora, don't jump to the conclusion that your comics have come to life: it's probably just Morgan Wessler. . .

Read more at: Vicsage.com

Featured Blog: Project Rooftop

If you've been to my blog before, you might know I have a penchant for superheroes and comic books. What you might not know is that I used to dream up my own superheroes all the time as a kid. You can't imagine how delighted I was when DC Comics came out with Dial "H" for Hero, and asked for reader submissions of their own superhero creations!

I entered a woman, Bluejay, and a man, Zenith. Neither were used, much to my dismay, but there was a strange coincidence. My Bluejay character had a logo design that was very, very similar to the "WW" that Wonder Woman adopted as her insignia just a few months later. (My Bluejay logo, and the Wonder Woman logo presented here for your consideration).



Coincidence? Probably. And all rights were signed to DC in any event. But I can delude myself into believing that I altered the history of Wonder Woman, right?

This site (I'm not sure it should really be called a blog), Project Rooftop, allows people to indulge in their own fantasy hero creations. Only here, they are giving new looks to established heroes. I may have to revisit my rusty superhero drawing skills, and see what I can come up with!

[Excerpt]
Image from source, Project Rooftop

Superman: Man of Style Finalists!

"I think if Superman were created within the last ten years, this is about what he’d look like. It’s a little on the generic side, but it definitely feels like a Superman to me. I like the wide red bands on the gauntlets, pants, and boots, but the cape-over-the-neck-guard look is a bit cumbersome. I’m also missing the yellow in this normally primary-colored hero."

Read (and see) lots more at: Project Rooftop

And check out the history of Wonder Woman's costume here: Wonder Woman

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Cast Reunites

Photo from source, MTV

Now this is an event that I would have loved to attend. I've made no secret of my love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the blog. It's right up there with superheroes (well, she is a superhero), scary movies and pizza. And to see all of my favorite performers cutting up with one another would have been a hoot. While no news is forthcoming about an actual filmed reunion, I think it bodes well that they participated in this event, and seem to get along so well. Viva Buffy!

[Excerpt]

'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Cast, Creators Reunite To Debate Angel Vs. Spike, Buffy's Same-Sex Romance

"Final analysis, final verdict," TV Guide scribe Matt Roush said to the assembled panel of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" castmembers and creators. "Angel or Spike?"

As Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, looked amused but shocked — and James Marsters, who played Spike, wriggled uncomfortably in his chair — only Nicholas Brendan, who played Xander, had the nerve to pipe up and rephrase the age-old question: "Given the comic book, I think Willow. . ."

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

More (with more video) at: MTV

Movies I Can't Wait to See: The Green Lantern

Image from source, Towleroad

I thought I knew about all of the planned DC Comics movie adaptations, but I was wrong! This could do very well, that is if it is done very well.

The Green Lantern is one of the strongest heroes in the DC Universe, though one of the more unfortunately named. He bares a power ring that can create anything from his imagination, and is only rendered defenseless by the color yellow. OK, that's a weak element too, but that comes from childhood imagination, doesn't it? Didn't you ever try not to touch anything yellow, or wood, or whatever? OK, maybe it's just me. In any event, I'll be there, ticket in hand on opening day. . .

[Excerpt]

Greg Berlanti to Helm Green Lantern Movie

Gay writer/director Greg Berlanti (Everwood, Broken Hearts Club) has signed on to co-write and direct a live-action feature film adaptation of DC Comics' superhero comic Green Lantern.
Read more at: Towleroad

Captain America is Reborn. . .With a Gun?

Image from source, IFMagazine.com

When they killed off Captain America, most comic fans assumed he'd be back. Comics don't ever permanently kill off major characters, not really. Sure, the "silver age" Flash died, but he's made several returns, and was revived with a different secret identity.

And so it is with Captain America, who is now a different character with a different, but familiar costume. And if you think the original one is dead forever, you haven't read very many comics.

The new costume is very cool, and created by one of my favorite artists, the amazing Alex Ross. The one puzzle is why he's outfitted with a gun. I don't think a straight-ahead superhero has carried a gun since the very early 30s Batman. Sure, there are the Western heroes, and the anti-heroes in more modern, edgier comics. But the icons? No way. And Captain America was killed by a gunshot! How weird is that?

Read the story at: IFMagazine.com