"These are the things that keep him sane, these are the things that aggravate."
So far, 2009 is looking pretty rough for DC. The Bat-books as we know them are coming to an end (not to mention the Caped Crusader himself), critical and cult favorites Blue Beetle and Manhunter are being canceled, and...Superman is being exiled to space? WTF? The most disconcerting thing, however, at least for me, is the sense of stagnation that pervades the January and February solicitations. With a few exceptions, it seems like all of the remaining titles are marking time. Treading water. Holding their breath. Waiting for their real life to begin. Is it because, as reported by Lying in the Gutters:
A familiar source known collectively as "New York comics industry employees talking in bars" tells me that the last issue of "Final Crisis" is further delayed as it is suffering from serious rewrites.
I was under the impression that the DCU would undergo a significant post-Final Crisis status quo shake-up, similar to what occurred after Crisis on Infinite Earths. If that is truly the case, DC might be delaying any story lines that could give away the ending of FC until they are sure the last issue will be on the shelves.
LitG goes on to say:
It appears that DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio was unhappy with the way the story concluded and the implications for the DC Universe for a while and had ordered changes from a, naturally, rather unhappy Grant Morrison. Considering this is the way he wrote the pitch for the book.
As a result, creative teams working on a number of spinoff and affected books have also had to stop work while the “Final Crisis” ending is reworked.
Expect more lateness, more annoyance and less likelihood of Grant Morrison doing DCU work in the near future.
Well, that's no good. But look on the bright side! Rich Johnston also reports:
I understand that James Robinson and Dan had a stand up argument that led to Robinson quitting the Superman books and the DCU in general.
God, I hope so! In case you didn't know, I very much dislike the way Robinson has been writing Superman, but I could have lived with it. What really annoyed me was the pitch for Justice League EXTREME! or whatever Robinson was going to call the secondary League book he was writing. This article especially bothered me. I keep meaning to write a post about it, but... Oh, what the hell. I'll do it now.
Robinson’s concept for “Justice League” is fuelled [sic] by the notion that while some of the world’s greatest heroes react in perhaps a more methodical and pensive way to the murder of a DCU character in “Final Crisis,” others, namely Hal and Ollie, are ready to strike down with great vengeance and furious anger as if Samuel L. Jackson was calling the shots.
Does that mean this League will be using lethal force? I can't be the only person who doesn't think that's okay. There's a reason they're called the Justice League and not the Revenge-Motivated Killing League. And then there's the issue of characterization. Everything I know about Ollie tells me that he wouldn't go around killing people, even villains. I know he's killed in the past, but that was during a very dark period of his life, under the influence of Shado. I'm almost certain that he hasn't killed anyone since coming back from the dead. As for Hal, I could imagine him using lethal force in extreme circumstances, but not so cavalierly the way this article seems to indicate. In Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns, it was bothering him that the Guardians were executing Sinestro.
Then there's the rest of the team's roster.
Take Supergirl. So far so good. I'm always for more women on teams, even if they're underweight blonde teenagers in skimpy clothing. Not that's there's anything wrong with being an underweight blonde teenager in skimpy clothing. She's just hardly a progressive choice, you know? And taken in the context of the rest of the team...
Then there's Batwoman, the "lipstick" lesbian. No butchies here, yuck! Here's what Robinson has to say about her:
“To be honest with you, I am a little hands off with that character. She’s Greg Rucka’s character. She’s in the book to give the book a ‘Bat’ emblem. I don’t really have the greatest handle on her. She’s going to be more off to the side.I don’t want to offend Greg Rucka! Truly, I think he’s a great writer that I respect immensely but Batwoman is his baby to run with. She isn’t going to be as big a personality on the team as Ollie, Hal and Kara."
So...since she was created by someone else (unlike, presumably, all of the other characters on the team), Robinson needs to be "hands off" with her? She's just going to be put "over to the side?" Robinson basically admits that including her was an editorial mandate. Could it be that instead of being afraid of "offend[ing] Greg Rucka," Robinson is just uncomfortable with writing an LGBT character? Even if that isn't the case, he's being lazy. Instead of doing some research in to Women's and LGBT Studies or perhaps asking Rucka about the character, he's just not going to focus on her as much as the hetero characters.
Next up is Ray Palmer! Robinson says:
"I defy you to tell me what Ray Palmer’s personality is? There has never been a personality. So that’s one of things I am going to do with him as well, is give him a personality."
WHEN WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE WHITE MALE HETEROSEXUAL SILVER AGE CHARACTERS?! Ray Palmer is more than just the ex-husband of that lady who went psycho and killed Sue Dibny and became Eclipso! He has a personality! He's not just the token white guy on the team, he's an individual.
God bless you, James Robinson, for rectifying this injustice.
Then we have Freddy Freeman, a.k.a. Captain Marvel or whatever variation he's calling himself these days.
“Anyways, it’s not for me to criticize what people are doing but I think in ‘Justice League,’ we are going to find who Freddy Freeman is."
Another straight white guy who needs to find himself. Yawn.
Congo Bill. Er, Congorilla. Big game hunter turned in to a magical gorilla. Shades of Imperialism! Goody!
Finally, there's Mikaal Thomas, one of the Starmans.
A blue alien stranded on Earth, Mikaal Tomas has a gem embedded in his chest that grants him the ability to fly as well as other special powers.
I'm sorry, but blue aliens do not count as diversity. Of course, I haven't read Robinson's Starman, so maybe Mikaal is queer or physically handicapped or Jewish or something. I guess I can't complain about this one without being better informed.
So there you have it. No races besides white ("blue" and "gorilla" don't count). Only two women, one of whom is usually drawn like a fetish object, and the other of whom is going to be "off to the side." There is one Jew, but she's also the lesbian, who, as I've mentioned, is going to be "off to the side." And they're apparently going to go around killing people that they believe deserve it.
“I don’t mean to be facetious. I really want to make this different than any other book out there. And so far, based on the editorial comments, I have succeeded. And I hope to continue to do so.”
Right on, James Robinson, right on.
And that is why I hope that book doesn't get published. I was going to do a review of DC's February solicitations tonight, but I obviously got sidetracked. I'll do it tomorrow. This I swear!
A familiar source known collectively as "New York comics industry employees talking in bars" tells me that the last issue of "Final Crisis" is further delayed as it is suffering from serious rewrites.
I was under the impression that the DCU would undergo a significant post-Final Crisis status quo shake-up, similar to what occurred after Crisis on Infinite Earths. If that is truly the case, DC might be delaying any story lines that could give away the ending of FC until they are sure the last issue will be on the shelves.
LitG goes on to say:
It appears that DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio was unhappy with the way the story concluded and the implications for the DC Universe for a while and had ordered changes from a, naturally, rather unhappy Grant Morrison. Considering this is the way he wrote the pitch for the book.
As a result, creative teams working on a number of spinoff and affected books have also had to stop work while the “Final Crisis” ending is reworked.
Expect more lateness, more annoyance and less likelihood of Grant Morrison doing DCU work in the near future.
Well, that's no good. But look on the bright side! Rich Johnston also reports:
I understand that James Robinson and Dan had a stand up argument that led to Robinson quitting the Superman books and the DCU in general.
God, I hope so! In case you didn't know, I very much dislike the way Robinson has been writing Superman, but I could have lived with it. What really annoyed me was the pitch for Justice League EXTREME! or whatever Robinson was going to call the secondary League book he was writing. This article especially bothered me. I keep meaning to write a post about it, but... Oh, what the hell. I'll do it now.
Robinson’s concept for “Justice League” is fuelled [sic] by the notion that while some of the world’s greatest heroes react in perhaps a more methodical and pensive way to the murder of a DCU character in “Final Crisis,” others, namely Hal and Ollie, are ready to strike down with great vengeance and furious anger as if Samuel L. Jackson was calling the shots.
Does that mean this League will be using lethal force? I can't be the only person who doesn't think that's okay. There's a reason they're called the Justice League and not the Revenge-Motivated Killing League. And then there's the issue of characterization. Everything I know about Ollie tells me that he wouldn't go around killing people, even villains. I know he's killed in the past, but that was during a very dark period of his life, under the influence of Shado. I'm almost certain that he hasn't killed anyone since coming back from the dead. As for Hal, I could imagine him using lethal force in extreme circumstances, but not so cavalierly the way this article seems to indicate. In Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns, it was bothering him that the Guardians were executing Sinestro.
Then there's the rest of the team's roster.
Take Supergirl. So far so good. I'm always for more women on teams, even if they're underweight blonde teenagers in skimpy clothing. Not that's there's anything wrong with being an underweight blonde teenager in skimpy clothing. She's just hardly a progressive choice, you know? And taken in the context of the rest of the team...
Then there's Batwoman, the "lipstick" lesbian. No butchies here, yuck! Here's what Robinson has to say about her:
“To be honest with you, I am a little hands off with that character. She’s Greg Rucka’s character. She’s in the book to give the book a ‘Bat’ emblem. I don’t really have the greatest handle on her. She’s going to be more off to the side.I don’t want to offend Greg Rucka! Truly, I think he’s a great writer that I respect immensely but Batwoman is his baby to run with. She isn’t going to be as big a personality on the team as Ollie, Hal and Kara."
So...since she was created by someone else (unlike, presumably, all of the other characters on the team), Robinson needs to be "hands off" with her? She's just going to be put "over to the side?" Robinson basically admits that including her was an editorial mandate. Could it be that instead of being afraid of "offend[ing] Greg Rucka," Robinson is just uncomfortable with writing an LGBT character? Even if that isn't the case, he's being lazy. Instead of doing some research in to Women's and LGBT Studies or perhaps asking Rucka about the character, he's just not going to focus on her as much as the hetero characters.
Next up is Ray Palmer! Robinson says:
"I defy you to tell me what Ray Palmer’s personality is? There has never been a personality. So that’s one of things I am going to do with him as well, is give him a personality."
WHEN WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE WHITE MALE HETEROSEXUAL SILVER AGE CHARACTERS?! Ray Palmer is more than just the ex-husband of that lady who went psycho and killed Sue Dibny and became Eclipso! He has a personality! He's not just the token white guy on the team, he's an individual.
God bless you, James Robinson, for rectifying this injustice.
Then we have Freddy Freeman, a.k.a. Captain Marvel or whatever variation he's calling himself these days.
“Anyways, it’s not for me to criticize what people are doing but I think in ‘Justice League,’ we are going to find who Freddy Freeman is."
Another straight white guy who needs to find himself. Yawn.
Congo Bill. Er, Congorilla. Big game hunter turned in to a magical gorilla. Shades of Imperialism! Goody!
Finally, there's Mikaal Thomas, one of the Starmans.
A blue alien stranded on Earth, Mikaal Tomas has a gem embedded in his chest that grants him the ability to fly as well as other special powers.
I'm sorry, but blue aliens do not count as diversity. Of course, I haven't read Robinson's Starman, so maybe Mikaal is queer or physically handicapped or Jewish or something. I guess I can't complain about this one without being better informed.
So there you have it. No races besides white ("blue" and "gorilla" don't count). Only two women, one of whom is usually drawn like a fetish object, and the other of whom is going to be "off to the side." There is one Jew, but she's also the lesbian, who, as I've mentioned, is going to be "off to the side." And they're apparently going to go around killing people that they believe deserve it.
“I don’t mean to be facetious. I really want to make this different than any other book out there. And so far, based on the editorial comments, I have succeeded. And I hope to continue to do so.”
Right on, James Robinson, right on.
And that is why I hope that book doesn't get published. I was going to do a review of DC's February solicitations tonight, but I obviously got sidetracked. I'll do it tomorrow. This I swear!