Sunday night movie: Flatliners
Available on Hulu til the end of November is “Flatliners,” starring Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts. A group of medical students attempt to discover what lies past death.
– Matt Price
Is this the end for Dick Tracy?
The Gaylord Herald-Times, quoting from R.C. Harvey’s site, indicate that “Dick Tracy” writer-artist Dick Locher may retire at the end of this year. Tribune Media Services has made no official announcement, but speculation is that the service may end the strip.
“Dick Tracy” was created by cartoonist Chester Gould, who was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma.
Comics vodcast: Justice Society Kingdom Come Special Superman 1, Wolverine 69, Last Reign: Kings of War 1
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New “Watchmen” trailer
The newest “Watchmen” trailer, out today with “Quantum of Solace,” courtesy Yahoo! Movies.
“Faces of Evil” comes to DC in January
ARLINGTON, Texas – The economic downturn will force comic book companies to focus even more on great stories, story editor Ian Sattler said at the DC Nation panel at Wizard World Texas last weekend.
“It’s something we take into consideration, that we’re aware of,” he said. “It motivates us to tell the best stories possible in 2009, so that if you’re spending your money on comics that it’s worth it for you.”
DC Comics is kicking off 2009 with an event focused on the bad guys of their fictional universe.
Sattler promoted DC Comics’ “Faces of Evil” as a tour of the DC Universe from the villains’ perspective, shipping in January.
Writer Sean McKeever said classic “Teen Titans” villain Brother Blood would return as part of the event, which will also feature Deathstroke and Catwoman. University of Oklahoma graduate Sterling Gates will write the “Prometheus” one-shot as part of this event.
“DC Comics is doing a company-wide event … really trying to pump up the villains of the DC Universe,” Gates said in a recent e-mail. “Prometheus (is) kind of this ‘anti-Batman’ character – his criminal parents were gunned down by policemen when he was a kid, so he swore to take down all law-enforcement agencies, starting with the Justice League.”
But DC isn’t leaving its heroes behind. Artist Ethan Van Sciver was also on hand at the panel, promoting his upcoming revival of the Flash in “Flash: Rebirth” with writer Geoff Johns. He previously worked with Johns on “Green Lantern: Rebirth.” Asked what he might tackle next, he suggested Aquaman.
“The original Aquaman, the one where he first appeared,” he said. “With the orange shirt, maybe with green gloves. Keep it as classic as possible. Like ‘Super Friends’ Aquaman, but cool.”
WORD BALLOONS
by Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Retro Thursday: Superman’s enduring status
The following is a piece I wrote for the release of “Superman Returns.” It’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve written for The Oklahoman. It’s about the legacy of Superman, and why he still matters.
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“There’s one thing that I know for sure, son. And that is, you are here for a reason.”
- Jonathan Kent (Glenn Ford), “Superman: The Movie”
“They can be a great people, Kal-El; they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.”
- Jor-El (Marlon Brando), “Superman: The Movie”
The fantasy born in the minds of two teenagers during the Great Depression is still touching the hearts of dreamers in the 21st century. While most of the fads of 1938 have disappeared, Superman is proving he still has the power to fire imaginations.
Kurt Busiek, the current writer of “Superman,” says the strength of the basic idea of Superman is what’s led to his endurance.
“I think Superman’s enduring popularity comes down to the fact that the character is so primal, such a clean, stark, simple idea that resonates with the audience in all kinds of ways,” Busiek said via e mail.
“Whether it’s the fantasy identification of feeling that people see us as Clark, but if only they knew our true hearts, they’d know we’re Superman, or the mythic ritual of the powerful son sent to us from the heavens to save us all, to the simple joy of imagining flight, unsurpassed strength and more – Superman touches something deep in our dreams and on such a basic level that it withstands all the societal changes that come with the passing decades.”
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two mild-mannered teens from Cleveland who started the legend of the first superhero. Their character seemed larger than life, but the two were not afraid to infuse themselves into the character. Superman’s meek identity of Clark Kent was inspired by the real lives of the timid teenagers.
“Superman would lead a double-life,” Siegel wrote in “Action Comics” in 1983, for the character’s 45th anniversary. “As headline-hunting newspaper reporter Clark Kent, he would hide behind a false front of pretended timidity, so that no one would suspect that he was secretly the crusading, all-powerful Superman. As a furthering disguise, meek, mild Clark Kent would wear eyeglasses, which would give a somewhat intellectual, inhibited appearance.
“Much of that premise came out of my own personal frustrations,” Siegel wrote. “I wore spectacles and was a high school boy who wrote for the school newspaper. Introverted, my thoughts kept dwelling on science-fiction, thriller pulp magazines and the movies.”
Comic-book writer Geoff Johns, who wrote both the older and modern versions of Superman in DC Comics’ “Infinite Crisis,” as well as co writing the recent “Up, Up and Away” story line in the Superman books, says Superman’s status as the father of American superheroes has had a hand in his popularity.
“Superheroes are the closest thing America has to its own mythology, and Superman was the character that started it all,” Johns said via e-mail. “His iconic and classic origin resonates with what America was built on – a foreigner coming to a new country to find a new life. It’s iconic, simple and powerful.”
As reflected upon by both of his fathers in “Superman: The Movie,” Superman has the power to inspire, to make us try to become something better.
As Brandon Routh, the actor now playing Superman, told darkhorizons.com: “If Superman just saves things, he just saves things, and people feel like he can do everything for them. That’s all they get from him. But if he can influence and say, ‘Hey, you can aspire to be better in your life’ or ‘different in your life,’ you know, that’s a great thing. And I don’t know if I’ve made that evident by anything speaking in the film, but that’s what I’m working on portraying.”
Johns agrees with Superman’s inspirational status.
“As they stated in the very first film – Superman has the power to light the way. He inspires. And with a world full of antiheroes or dark vigilantes like Wolverine, the Punisher and Batman (not to mention our real-life problems and people), we need someone who embraces truth and justice more than ever.”
With great power, comes great responsibility
The motto behind Spider-Man is “With great power, comes great responsibility.” President-elect Barack Obama has just been given great power – and, it seems he should know the other half of the quote, as well. According to the Daily Telegraph, Obama collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics. I think applying the lessons of “Spider-Man” to the White House could be a good thing.
– Matt Price
Wizard World Dallas video
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Check out some video highlights from Wizard World Texas. In the video are Scott Chitwood from Red 5 Comics, Robert Luedke of Head Press Publishing, “Love and Capes” creator Thom Zahler, as well as a spokesman for the Heroes 4 Heroes charity.
- Matt Price
Mike Baron’s Flash
Today’s really quick update brought to you by Wally West, who became the Flash following the death of his mentor Barry Allen in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” I think the first year of the new “Flash” series, written by Mike Baron (“Nexus”) did a good job of setting up Wally for solo success, even if he was sometimes unlikeable. Baron did a good job of setting up a Flash that was going to be different from his predecessor while still trying his best to honor the legacy.
– Matt Price
Karate Kid cartoon
I had completely forgotten that there was a “Karate Kid” cartoon, but now you can enjoy “minisode” versions of four of the episodes on Hulu. The show’s premise was that Daniel and Mr. Miyagi were criss-crossing the globe searching for a shrine with healing powers. Joey Dedio, who I don’t think sounded much like Ralph Macchio, voiced Daniel. He’d go on to greater voice-over fame as the voice of Wheeler in Captain Planet.
Enjoy a five-minute version of the “Karate Kid” episode of “The Tomorrow Man,” below.
