NewsOK Comics Podcast: Dark X-Men 1, X-Force 21, Batman/Doc Savage one-shot
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price review Dark X-Men 1, X-Force 21 and the Batman/Doc Savage one-shot on the NewsOK Comics podcast.
Character makes Savage return to comics
Doc Savage is making his way back to comics. The once wildly popular pulp character co-stars with Batman in the one-shot “Batman/Doc Savage” this week.
Brian Azzarello (“100 Bullets”) is the writer of the “Batman/Doc Savage” Special, illustrated by Phil Noto.
Doc Savage has a long history in comic books, pulp magazines, radio and even movies.
Moore author Mel Odom said Doc Savage was among his favorites as a youngster.
“I grew up on the character — tougher than Tarzan, braver than Batman,” he said. “(I) took my younger brothers to see the 1975 George Pal ‘Doc Savage’ movie.”
And Doc Savage could return to the silver screen as well. Aintitcoolnews.com recently reported Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon”) was working on a Doc Savage script.
Through his worldwide jaunts, Doc Savage came at least twice to the Sooner State.
“At least two Doc novels take place in Oklahoma, ‘The Secret in the Sky,’ May 1935, and ‘The Derrick Devil,’ February 1937,” said Larry Latham, pulp fiction expert and creator of the “Lovecraft Is Missing” Web comic.
Doc Savage was an adventurer and scientist who had globe-spanning adventures with his band of assistants.
Lester Dent wrote most of the 181 novels featuring Doc Savage, which were released under the Street & Smith “house name” of Kenneth Robeson. And Dent had even closer ties to Oklahoma than his “Man of Bronze” character.
Though Dent was born in La Plata, Mo., Latham said Dent lived and worked in Oklahoma from 1925 to late 1930, in Bartlesville, Ponca City, Chickasha and Tulsa.
“In Tulsa, he worked for The Associated Press office at the Tulsa World,” Latham said in an e-mail. Latham said articles by Will Murray, Dent’s literary executor and biographer and a personal friend of Dent’s wife, Norma, indicated that during this time Dent was an avid reader of the pulp magazines.
“He worked midnight to 8 a.m. and read a lot of pulps,” Latham said. “One of his co-workers, Lester Foster, sold a story, and so Dent took up writing as a way to make some extra money.”
He wrote 13 stories before selling his first to Street & Smith in 1929, living in Tulsa and working at The Associated Press, and also as a telegrapher at a Tulsa stock brokerage until 1930.
Dell Publishing in New York offered Dent a full-time job writing in late 1930, Latham said, and the Dents moved there. Not too long after, Street & Smith hired him to write Doc Savage.
In addition to Doc Savage, Dent wrote a variety of other pulp genres before his death on March 11, 1959. But there was one genre of which he wasn’t particularly fond.
Murray quotes him as saying: “I was raised on a ranch. Now wouldn’t I be crazy to go writing about something I knew all about?”
by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Who is your favorite Robin?
I’ve been thinking about the role of Batman’s sidekick lately. I recently re-read some of the earlier Tim Drake Robin appearances, and was reminded how much I enjoyed that character at the time. There are also some great Dick Grayson stories as Robin. Damian Wayne as Robin co-stars in a top-selling book, and of course there’s something to be said for trailblazers Carrie Kelly and Stephanie Brown. I’m less sure that anyone’s favorite Robin will be Jason Todd, but I guess anything is possible. Share your vote in the poll below, and if you’d like, tell us why you voted for whom you voted in the comments!
Celebrate Halloween with the Dark Knight
Want to have a Batman Halloween? NewsOK’s Nick Tankersley will tell you how. Among his tips: Check out the Jeph Loeb-Tim Sale classic “Batman: The Long Halloween,” and sit down with the Tim Burton Batman films. Check out the full article here.
- Matt Price
Vanishing Batman
Thanks to CJ for pointing out this College Humor video that explores how exactly Batman manages to vanish like that.
- Matt Price
Oklahoma writer Sterling Gates creates World’s Finest team-ups
World’s Finest #1, kicking off a miniseries teaming Superman and Batman family characters, is in stores today, written by Tulsa native Sterling Gates.
At DC Comics’ official “Source” blog, Gates is called a “writer to watch.”
“Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization,” blogger Alex Segura writes.
Meanwhile, at Newsarama, Vaneta Rogers has an extended Q&A with Gates about the series.
“The Batman universe is so full of change right now. So is the Superman universe,” Gates tells Newsarama. “Bruce Wayne is dead and Superman has left the planet Earth to be with his own people on New Krypton. The world is suddenly without its two greatest heroes. To me, that makes it a very exciting time for the DC Universe. You’re seeing new and different characters come to the forefront and stepping up to fill the void left with Superman and Batman gone.”
Gates talked to Nerdage back in September about the project:
“Each issue focuses on a different Batman-Universe hero and villain teaming up with a different Superman-Universe hero and villain,” Gates said. “So, you’re getting four great characters coming into conflict, and you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks.”
Gates said ” World’s Finest” also has some of his “all-time favorite villains.”
“Catwoman’s in there, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Kryptonite Man, Toyman,” he said. “It’s gonna take all of these heroes working together to rein these supervillains in!”
- Matt Price
Musical episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold airs tonight
Neil Patrick Harris guest-stars as villain “The Music Meister” in tonight’s episode of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.” “Mayhem of the Music Meister” guest-stars Neil Patrick Harris as the Music Meister, whose power makes those around him break into song and do his bidding.
“Brave and Bold” is always a fun half-hour, and “Meister” is no exception. While the plot’s pretty thin, it’s a lot of fun to see the proceeding turn into a musical. Black Canary, voiced by Grey DeLisle, is the show-stopper, singing about her unrequited love for Batman, but NPH gets to show off quite a bit as well. “He Drives Us Bats” is a take on Batman from the villain point of view that’s quite catchy, besides.
The soundtrack goes on sale Saturday on iTunes.
- Matt Price
Check out Neil Patrick Harris in Batman: Brave and Bold
Entertainment Weekly has an early look at Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Music Meister in the Oct. 23 episode of “Batman: Brave and Bold.” Perhaps inspired by the musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Dr. Horrible,” this episode of “Brave and Bold” features hero vs. villain in song. Click the link to check out a clip.
- Matt Price
NewsOK Comics vodcast: Haunt 1, Batman Unseen 1, X-Men vs Agents of Atlas 1
Things get spooky this October week in comics, as Haunt #1 comes out from Image and DC brings forth Batman Unseen #1. Meanwhile, the X-Men face off with the Agents of Atlas in the first part of a two-issue miniseries. Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss these comics in this week’s NewsOK Comics podcast.
DVD review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
The Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader team up in this direct-to-DVD animated film based on the comic books by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Loeb has plenty of screenwriting experience, as the writer of “Teen Wolf” and “Commando,” and his story translates relatively easily to film. The screenplay was adapted by Stan Berkowitz, who also adapted Darwyn Cooke’s “Justice League: The New Frontier” into an animated movie.
McGuinness’s blocky, muscular style is recreated in the style of the movie, which is heavy on action but lighter on character development.
The movie reunites Tim Daly, who voiced Superman on “Superman: The Animated Series,” with Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman in “Batman: The Animated Series.” The two hadn’t worked together since 1998’s “World’s Finest” animated movie. (George Newbern took over the role of Superman for the “Justice League” animated series.)
The United States, in the throes of wars and recession, turns to an exonerated Lex Luthor, who is elected U.S. president. Luthor fixes the immediate problems but also insists all superheroes work solely for him. When a giant Kryptonite meteor threatens Earth, Superman and Batman — now “public enemies” in Luthor’s regime — are forced to come up with their own plan to save the planet.
The first half of the movie zips along, but the ending isn’t as strong.
It’s great to hear Daly and Conroy working together on their signature characters, but the film doesn’t exceed the past decade of animation with Superman and Batman.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
