Retro Thursday: Legacy of Star Trek continues
Larry Young, comic-book publisher and writer of “Astronauts in Trouble,” poses in a prop spacesuit from the movie “Mission to Mars.”
As part of “Star Trek” week, I’m doing a Retro Thursday posting from 2006. This is a story I wrote in September 2006 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Star Trek.”
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“Star Trek” fans can celebrate this month, as the science fiction legacy commemorates going boldly into the future for 40 years.
“Star Trek” first aired on NBC in September 1966, and despite middling ratings that caused the series to be canceled after three years, the show became a cultural force.
Since, “Star Trek” has spawned 10 motion pictures, five television series and millions in merchandise sales and inspired thousands of fans.
Dara Fogel taught several courses on the philosophy of “Star Trek” while completing her doctorate in ethics and social-political philosophy at the University of Oklahoma.
” ‘Star Trek’ shows a society that has overcome its fears and differences in order to create a world where hate, fear and disease are aberrations rather than the norm,” Fogel said via e-mail.
Further, “Star Trek” forecast several developments in society and technology.
As explored in a recent History Channel special, “Star Trek” influenced technology on multiple fronts.
Graphic novel publisher Larry Young, who wrote the comic-book series “Astronauts in Trouble,” talked about the various kinds of technology ” Trek” pushed forward.
“The Emmy-nominated special ‘How William Shatner Changed the World’ (credits) ‘Star Trek’ with influencing everything from cell phones with their snap-open, commmunicator-style form to Palm Pilots, which echo the functionality of the series’ tricorders, to, dang, laser technology and deep-space probes,” Young said in an e-mail interview.
“Many, many scientists, engineers, doctors and other professionals exposed to (’Star Trek’) at a young age can’t help but see those adventures and think it might not be a bad thing to address those disciplines in the real world.”
Fogel said “Star Trek” helped promote space travel.
“The exposure to images of space travel invigorated and sustained support for America’s space program, indirectly helping to inspire all the technology developed as a result of that program. The Very Large Array (VLA) program, which scans the skies for signs of extraterrestrial life, has also drawn much support from ‘Star Trek’ fans.”
Young’s background as a “Star Trek” fan paid off for him in 1992, when he worked on “Star Trek Logs: An MTV Big Picture Special Edition” around the release of “Star Trek VI.” The show starred Marina Sirtis as Counselor Troi, showcasing the events of the film.
“Back in 1992, my childhood pal Rick Austin was a producer for MTV’s movie show ‘The Big Picture,’ ” Young said. “Rick called me to help him write the bridge-shot framing sequences and be an all-purpose ‘Star Trek’ encyclopedia – just one of those things where all the Star Trek lore and trivia I’d collected in my brain over the years was vital to a project.”
“Star Trek” broke ground in gender and race relations, as well, Fogel said.
“In the original series, we saw female crew members (not just passengers), something quite rare in the mid-1960s. The character of Lt. Uhura was especially inspiring to young women, including comedian Whoopi Goldberg, who later became a returning character on ‘The Next Generation,’ ” Fogel said.
Capt. James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Nichelle Nichols (portraying Lt. Uhura) shared the first interracial kiss on television in the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” by Meyer Dolinsky.
“I think it was Eddie Murphy who famously remarked that Kirk had been kissing green girls and blue girls and robot girls and all, so why would he balk at kissing Uhura?” Young said.
“Star Trek” continued to promote equality in sequels to the original series.
“With the spin-off series ‘Deep Space Nine’ and ‘Voyager,’ ‘Star Trek’ introduced the first African-American and female captains on an ongoing sci-fi TV series,” Fogel said. “This all stems from ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry’s personal philosophy of equality and faith in humanity.”
Norman filmmaker, artist and screenwriter Eric Webb, co-founder of Obviously Unrehearsed Improv! at OU, has been a ” Trek” fan since seeing “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” in his youth.
” ‘ Trek’ was, at its core, about telling a story about a possible future that would reflect back on our contemporary world. Through allegory and metaphor, it allows us to confront a variety of relevant social, political and ethical issues,” Webb said. ” ‘Star Trek’ utilized this tool again and again: The Federation/Klingon hostilities become a metaphor for the U.S./Soviet Cold War; the Maquis: The Palestinians; the Cardassians: Nazi Germany; and the Bajorans: Jewish victims of the Holocaust.”
Fogel said “Star Trek” can be credited with advances in technology and inspiring a new interest in science. But science isn’t the only legacy of the series.
” ‘Star Trek’ presents an optimistic view of the future, where technology and power are used to heal and explore, not to destroy and dominate,” Fogel said.
- By Matthew Price
Retro Thursday: Hawkman
Given Hawkman’s appearance as a semi-regular in “Trinity” and his (SPOILER WARNING) probable demise in Final Crisis #7, now seemed a good time to look back at Hawkman’s rebirth. Geoff Johns and David Goyer fixed the confused continuity of the character in “JSA.” Then Johns and James Robinson launched him in his own series in 2002. That series ran with Hawkman as the star until issue #50, when it became “Hawkgirl.” The series was cancelled in 2007 with issue #66.
Here’s my article on the character and the Johns-Robinson series launch, from March 8, 2002:
Retro Thursday: 2004’s top comics
Despite not really taking off as much as “Hush,” by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, “Superman” 204, kicking off the Jim Lee era of ”Superman” (with writer Brian Azzarello) was the best-selling comic of 2004. This article, from January of 2005, gives a rundown on what was big in comic books in ’04. An oversized “Absolute” edition of the “For Tomorrow” storyline is due this spring.
By Matthew Price
The Man of Steel’s first issue by comics’ hottest artist was 2004’s best-selling comic book. “Superman” No. 204, the first issue by the creative team of Brian Azzarello (“100 Bullets”) and Jim Lee (“Batman”) topped the recently released list of the top-selling comics of 2004 through Diamond Comic Distributors.
Diamond is the exclusive distributor to the comic-book specialty market of the four largest publishers: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics.
Diamond does not release actual sales numbers, but industry Web site www.icv2.com estimated the sales of “Superman” No. 204 at nearly a quarter of a million copies. Diamond measures sell-in to stores, but not sell-through to consumers.
Jim Lee topped the charts in 2003 as well, as “Batman” No. 619, the conclusion to the “Hush” storyline, hit No. 1 for that year. Lee has a reasonable shot at the three-peat, as advance buzz is strong for “All-Star Batman” No. 1, written by Frank Miller (“The Dark Knight Returns,” “Sin City”) and drawn by Lee.
At No. 2 is “New Avengers” No. 1, a revamping of Marvel’s “Avengers” concept by writer Brian Michael Bendis (“Ultimate Spider-Man”) and penciler David Finch.
“New Avengers” finds Captain America reforming the Avengers after a crisis disassembled the team. This new team features fan-favorite characters Wolverine and Spider-Man, as well as Spider-Woman, Luke Cage and The Sentry.
“Superman/Batman” No. 8, written by Jeph Loeb (“Batman”) with art by Michael Turner (“Fathom”) holds down the No. 3 spot. This issue introduced the new Supergirl.
“Identity Crisis” No. 1 holds down the No. 4 slot. This murder mystery by novelist Brad Meltzer and artist Rags Morales was one of the most talked-about comics of the year, as a family member of a Justice Leaguer was murdered, and other heroes found their families at risk as well.
The first Marvel comic book written by Joss Whedon (creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) was the No. 5 best seller of the year. Whedon and artist John Cassaday launched “Astonishing X Men,” with the team returning to a more superheroic look.
The remainder of the top 10 include “Superman” No. 206, “Superman/Batman” No. 10, “Identity Crisis” No. 2, “Superman” No. 206 and “Superman/Batman” No. 9.
Despite DC’s relative dominance at the top of the list, Marvel Comics remained the No. 1 publisher.
Marvel had 36.54 percent of the dollar market share for comic books, graphic novels and magazines in 2004, while DC followed with 30.63 percent.
Lee’s “Hush” was a sales success for DC in the collected format as well, as “Batman: Hush Vol. 1” was the top-selling graphic novel or trade paperback collection for 2004.
“Hush” was followed by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson’s “Superman: Red Son,” a tale of a Superman who crash-landed in the Soviet Union rather than Kansas. “Spawn: Simony,” featuring the Todd McFarlane character, was third, and “Hellboy Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction” ranked fourth, building on the “Hellboy” movie buzz in 2004. Rounding out the top five was another title by Millar, “Ultimates Vol. 2: Homeland Security.”
Retro Thursday: 2002’s hot comics
How has the comic market changed in the last six years? Well, let’s take a Retro Thursday look at 2002 for a comparison. This article ran Dec. 26, 2002, and was a look back at the biggest hits of the 2002 direct market. Note that “Daredevil: The Target,” mentioned as a strongly ordered book in November 2002, has still not been completed. Kevin Smith, the writer of “Daredevil: The Target” did return to comics recently as the writer of “Batman: Cacophony.”
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Comics in 2002 showed a strong market for nostalgia books that was showing signs of waning by year’s end.
Popular creators writing and drawing adventures of established characters were popular with comics fans. This was perhaps a reflection of the overall national mood for a return to the familiar.
“Batman: The Ten-Cent Adventure” started the year strongly, selling more than 650,000 copies.
The return of Frank Miller (”Sin City”) to Batman in “The Dark Knight Strikes Again” also was a hot title in early 2002.
The motion picture “Spider-Man” broke box-office records and reminded some readers to follow tales of the Web-slinger in comics shops.
The Kevin Smith-penned “Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do” was June’s second most-ordered book, at more than 100,000 copies.
Filmmaker Smith (”Clerks”) also wrote “Daredevil: The Target” No. 1, November’s second-biggest book.
Robots in disguise proved a midyear powerhouse in new comics from DreamWave.
“Transformers” was a 1980s toy line that featured alien robots who could change into vehicles.
Comics based on the toy line hit the No. 1 position four times in 2002, though by year’s end, “Transformers” titles had fallen from the top 10.
Other retro books with strong orders in 2002 were “Battle of the Planets,” “Thundercats,” and “Masters of the Universe.”
Artist Jim Lee (”X-Men,” “Wildcats”) and writer Jeph Loeb (”Smallville” TV series) took over “Batman” with issue No. 608. This sold out of two printings from DC and topped October’s orders.
Marvel Comics finished strong in December, with four of the top five spots going to its “Ultimate” line of comics. The “Ultimates” versus “Ultimate X-Men” crossover, “Ultimate War,” grabbed the No. 1 and No. 2 slots.
Sales of graphic novels, the term for larger collections of comic books, increased throughout the year, with the “manga,” or Japanese comic, “Lone Wolf and Cub” being the most consistent performer. The monthly collections of the samurai epic were the most-ordered graphic novels nine times.
DC Comics had strong showings for two “Justice League” graphic novels – “JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice” and “JLA: Secret Origins.”
The DC “Vertigo” imprint for mature readers also had a graphic novel hit in “Fables: Legends in Exile,” No. 2 in orders for December. “Fables,” written by Bill Willingham (”Elementals”) features the modern-day predicament of fairy tale characters such as Snow White and Prince Charming.
Sales were determined from ordering charts of Diamond Comics Distributors, North America’s primary comic book wholesaler. Numerical estimates are from www.icv2.com, a Web site aimed at pop culture retailers.
– Matthew Price
Retro Thursday: The Punisher
Written for the April 2004 release of ”The Punisher,” starring Thomas Jane, I thought this article might be an interesting recap for “Punisher War Zone,” opening Friday. And look for a similar article, updated for 2008, in Friday’s The Oklahoman.
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When the mob killed his family, Frank Castle became the vigilante known as The Punisher, becoming judge, jury and executioner for those who crossed ways with the law. Thomas Jane brings The Punisher to life in the film this weekend, but the character sprung from the pages of Marvel Comics, where he was first introduced as an anti-hero to serve as a foil for Spider-Man.
In 1974, writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru introduced The Punisher in “Amazing Spider-Man” No. 129. The Punisher’s death’s-head costume, with the teeth of the skeleton formed by his cartridge belt, was designed by then-Marvel art director John Romita.
The Punisher declared war on crime, shooting down those the law couldn’t apprehend. He clashed with Spider-Man when the Punisher was misled into believing Spidey was a villain.
The Punisher was a popular guest-star, popping up in the pages of “Amazing Spider-Man,” “Daredevil” and “Captain America.”
Writer-artist Frank Miller used “The Punisher” to good effect in “Daredevil,” contrasting the Punisher’s desire to see the guilty punished with Daredevil’s desire to work within the law. It’s a contrast future writers of both the “Daredevil” and “Punisher” series have returned to on occasion.
The Punisher first starred in his own series in 1986, written by Steven Grant with art by Mike Zeck. The Punisher is imprisoned as the series begins, but his release by a shadowy organization begins a blood feud among New York’s crime families.
Mike Baron, who wrote several issues of “The Punisher” series, talked about impact of “The Punisher: Circle of Blood” in the afterword in the collected edition of the series.
“The Punisher came into his own in the Grant/Zeck miniseries that premiered in 1986. That first double-sized issue hit fandom with the force of a magnum. Grant put the Punisher in Ryker’s Island and infused him with a new realism. This wasn’t the nostalgic black-and-white prison of old Cagney movies; this was an ugly, brutal terrifying world where the big fish eat the little fish, and big fish get blown away by crazy little fish who have nothing to lose,” Baron wrote.
Baron, Chuck Dixon, Carl Potts and others wrote the Punisher’s adventures throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, with artists including Jim Lee, John Romita Jr. and Whilce Portacio. The Punisher for a time supported three ongoing series and a host of miniseries. By 1996, however, the character’s overexposure led to his cancellation.
Marvel Knights editors Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti thought the Punisher was ripe for a revamp in 1998. They brought on writer Chris Golden and artist Berni Wrightson to create a supernatural version of the Punisher who fought demons. This proved to be too far afield for many Punisher fans, and the concept was abandoned.
Quesada later brought in British writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, the creative team behind the DC-Vertigo mature readers hit “Preacher,” to breathe new life into the character.
Ennis brought back the killing machine of the mid-1980s, but infused the title with a black humor that made the Punisher a must-read again.
Ennis’ first story, “Welcome Back, Frank,” was released as a 12-issue miniseries. It influenced the filmmakers, with characters introduced in that series finding their way into the film that opens this weekend.
Following “Welcome Back,” Ennis wrote 37 issues of “The Punisher” in a monthly series. “The Punisher” was recently relaunched in the “Marvel MAX” line for mature readers, still written by Ennis.
The Punisher’s appearances prior to the first issue of the 1980s ongoing series have been reprinted in “The Essential Punisher.”
“Welcome Back, Frank” is available in trade paperback and hardcover formats.
Retro Thursday: Blue Monday
In June 2001, I talked with Chynna Clugston (then Clugston-Major), of the comic-book series “Blue Monday.” It was one of my favorite comics, mixing influences like “Ranma 1/2″ and “The Apartment” into a witty, oddball mix. The url in the article no longer works for a free sample of “Blue Monday,” but you can download it here, courtesy of Oni Press. A new “Blue Monday” series is scheduled for December.
The following article ran in the Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman on June 22, 2001. I had only been writing “Word Balloons” for The Oklahoman for about four months.
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Fans of witty teen films will be grateful for the comics work of Chynna Clugston-Major. Her “Blue Monday” captures the wit and charm of teen-age life portrayed with an exciting, Japanese-influenced style.
“It’s about a group of outcast kids that are completely obnoxious and find themselves endlessly amusing without being self-destructive,” Clugston-Major said.
“They listen to a lot of music, daydream nonstop, are totally hormonally challenged and have a penchant for mischief and pulling pranks on one another.”
“Blue Monday” features the imaginative Bleu Finnegan, a blue-haired sophomore who is obsessed with Adam Ant and Buster Keaton.
Her friends include the temperamental Clover Connelly, recently moved from Ireland, and the hyperactive Erin O’Neil.
Then there are the slightly voyeuristic guys. Victor Gomez, who is alternately in love with each of the girls, is a music fanatic who writes poetry. Rounding out the cast is the argumentative Alan Walsh, first-generation American son of an English family.
“These were the kids at your high school you thought were big losers because they wore the weird clothes and had the bizarre haircuts, and you figured they were probably on glue or smoking banana peels, or both,” Clugston-Major said.
When in high school, she said, outside of the Hernandez brothers’ “Love and Rockets,” Evan Dorkin’s “Hectic Planet,” and Jamie Hewlett’s “Tank Girl,” there weren’t comics she felt were aimed at her age group.
Clugston-Major claims several cinematic and comedic influences in the creation of “Blue Monday,” including John Hughes (”Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles”) and “Savage” Steve Holland (”Better Off Dead,” “One Crazy Summer”).
“Other than Mr. Hughes, ‘Savage’ Steve Holland is a definite major influence! I also like to keep in mind people like Charles Addams with his morbid sense of humor and Billy Wilder and his amazing comedic prowess. When I’m writing about hopeless cases such as Bleu Finnegan, I like to think of Jack Lemmon in ‘The Apartment,’ or with Clover Connolly, I imagine the kind of attitude Lauren Bacall had in ‘How To Marry A Millionaire.’”
Her artistic influences are also a smorgasbord, including one of Japan’s leading manga artists, Rumiko Takahashi (”Ranma 1/2″), the artist responsible for the well-known Archie Comics style, Dan DeCarlo and the Hernandez brothers.
An interesting element of “Blue Monday” is that each issue has a “suggested sound track” of work Clugston-Major recommends to go along with the issue.
“Most of the time the songs alone give me an idea for a scene, so I have to stick them in there just for that person who’s going to look it up and play it while they read or after – it doesn’t matter which.”
The first issue of Clugston-Major’s “Blue Monday: The Kids are Alright ” is available as part of Oni Press’ free comic download program at www.onipress.com/freecomic/.
Upcoming projects for Clugston-Major include the Oni Press Color Special 2001 anthology
In August, “Hopeless Savages,” which Clugston-Major is working on with Jen Van Meter and Christine Norrie, will be released by Oni.
Also in development at Oni is a new series, “Scooter Girl.”
Retro Thursday: Len Wein, Marv Wolfman
In spring of 2004, I attended Planet Comicon in Overland Park, Kan., and heard two of the most successful comic-book creators of the 1970s and 1980s: Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. Julius Schwartz, longtime DC editor, had recently died, and so he was on the minds of both creators. A few things discussed at the show four years ago that still haven’t come to fruition: Wein was working on a “Swamp Thing” movie script, and Wolfman was hopeful his long-delayed “Teen Titans: Games” graphic novel would be finished by George Perez. As of 2005, the “Games” graphic novel was on indefinite hiatus. I haven’t heard any updates recently about a “Swamp Thing” film. The following article was originally published April 9, 2004.
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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Two former editors in chief of Marvel Comics talked about their work in comics and other media adaptations of some of their most famous creations at the recent Planet Comicon. Marv Wolfman created many of the New Teen Titans for DC with artist George Perez. He’s written episodes of the “Teen Titans” series for the Cartoon Network based on his comic and has more episodes in the pipeline.
Wolfman also created Blade, the vampire hunter who will be featured in a third motion picture this year, and Bullseye, a villain in the recent “Daredevil” film.
Len Wein is working on a screenplay for “Swamp Thing,” which he co-created with artist Berni Wrightson.
Wein said the new “Swamp Thing” would be a true horror movie, with the creature done in CGI rather than a “guy in a rubber suit.”
Wolfman and Wein both had hits in the 1970s horror resurgence in comics, following the relaxation of the comics code to allow more horror elements. Wolfman’s “Tomb of Dracula,” with Gene Colan, introduced “Blade,” and Wein’s “Swamp Thing” brought a philosophical slant to a horror staple.
Wein and Wolfman broke into DC in the late 1960s, when Julius Schwartz was one of the top editors at the company.
Wein and Wolfman paid tribute to Schwartz, who died Feb. 8.
Wein told how he received his first assignment from “Julie.” He was waiting in the DC offices to pitch a story for “Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane,” when Schwartz barreled into the office.
“What are you doing here?” Schwartz said.
Wein responded, saying he was pitching a “Lois Lane” story.
“No, you’re not,” Schwartz said, grabbing Wein by the collar.
Schwartz sat Wein down in his office and said, “You’re writing the Flash.”
When Wein protested that he hadn’t prepared anything for the Flash, Schwartz said, “You couldn’t be any worse than that S.O.B. I just fired!”
While Schwartz could be gruff, he also was very influential.
“It’s astonishing when you look at one man’s impact,” Wein said, noting that Schwartz’s revival of Flash, Green Lantern and the Justice League motivated Marvel’s 1960s output.
Wolfman and Wein, who each briefly served as editor in chief of Marvel in the 1970s, trail only Marvel’s Stan Lee in the number of characters they have created or co-created that have been adapted into film or television. Besides Swamp Thing, Wein also co-created Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus of the X-Men.
Though these creators appreciate the opportunity to bring these characters to a larger audience, they feel some in comics are trying too hard for movie success without noting what makes a good comic.
“Comics used to be ahead of the curve; now we’re following the curve,” Wolfman said.
Wolfman also wrote the hit series “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” of which Wein served as a consulting editor. The artist was Perez. The landmark miniseries aimed to clear the barnacles off DC Comics’ continuity, which at the time included multiple universes and versions of main characters. The series, released in 1985-1986, will reach its 20th anniversary next year.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” was targeted at hard-core Marvel fans, who at that time didn’t follow DC Comics.
“And wouldn’t,” Wolfman said, “because it was too confusing to them.
“We needed to do something incredibly large and incredibly loud to say to these people, ‘Come on over and take a look. DC has great characters.’”
“Crisis” merged all the continuities into one Earth. In the process, Flash and Supergirl were killed, and the multiple Earths were destroyed.
Wolfman said despite its sales and critical success, “Crisis” didn’t clear up continuity problems as much as he would have liked.
Characters weren’t supposed to remember the Crisis, and all the books were supposed to start new with No. 1 issues, with no recollection of what had gone before, Wolfman said.
“It failed only because the people (in charge) in 1986 and on decided to go in a different direction,” Wolfman said.
However, the books made a mark in sales and in readers’ minds. “The ‘Crisis’ was a way of getting (Marvel) fans over. … We actually succeeded and got them to come over … we were 100 percent successful in that,” Wolfman said.
To commemorate the series, still popular in trade paperback, Wolfman is writing a “Crisis” novel.
Another series still with a strong fan following is the Wolfman-Perez issues of “New Teen Titans,” which DC will release in trade paperback. Also expected late thisyear or next year is the long-awaited “Titans: Games” graphic novel reuniting Wolfman with Perez.
The release date isn’t set yet, as Perez is still recovering from a wrist injury he suffered drawing “JLA-Avengers.”
“Games” was originally set for a 1989 release, but stalled after Perez was “burned out” on drawing the Titans. Now, Wolfman said, the project is back on track.
While DC would like the graphic novel out for Christmas, Wolfman said, he’d prefer it to come out in 2005 for the 25th anniversary of the first Perez-Wolfman issue of “New Teen Titans” in 1980.
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.”
Retro Thursday: Russ Heath
I talked to artist Russ Heath at the Planet Comicon in Kansas City in 2001. This article ran June 1, 2001, about the time that Heath’s issue of Garth Ennis’ “Enemy Ace: War in Heaven” was hitting the stands.
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One of the greatest artists of war comics has returned to the genre with the “Enemy Ace: War in Heaven” No. 2. Russ Heath, perhaps best-known for his work on DC’s “Sgt. Rock” and “Balloon Buster,” is considered among the finest war artists ever.Heath got started in the comics industry’s early days because his “father knew a friend of somebody.”
After the summer of drawing comics, Heath returned to high school and later joined the Air Force.
When he returned from the Air Force, he began working at advertising agencies, “sharpening the art director’s pencils.”
“I started looking for better jobs at lunch time,” Heath said, “which is not the best time to look for jobs, because everyone’s at lunch.”
In 1947, he met with Stan Lee at what was then Timely Comics. Heath was making $35 a week and travel cost him $15. Lee offered him $75, and Heath was back in comics.
He started working in animation in 1978. But in animation, “no body of work exists. You ship it off with a guide overseas.”
Heath also prefers comic fandom, where individual artists often have large groups of fans. When the residual payments in comics got better, he returned.
Heath recently finished a six-page story for WildStorm’s “Tom Strong” title, written by Alan Moore (”Watchmen,” “V for Vendetta”).
The issue, No. 13, is on sale now.
“It was difficult,” Heath said. “I’m trying to update my technique.”
Heath said he had adapted a lot of “cross-hatching” into his work while working on DC’s series of “Big Books,” books on a single theme that have several stories. The black-and-white books have lots of nine-panel pages. Cross-hatching is an art technique in which intersecting lines are used to indicate light, shade, etc.
“Most comics have no cross-hatching. It’s all done with color, as it should be,” Heath said. “It worked against Tom Strong rather than for it. Today, the colorists are really good artists who work out the lighting… In my day, the amateur colorists had no idea about lighting.”
Heath said he’s very appreciative of the gains that comic colorists have made during his career. He remembers even as recently as the 1970s, a lot of coloring was subpar.
“I did a job called ‘Son of Satan,’” he said. “I said I’ll do it on the condition that I can color it.”
But Marvel, the publisher, gave the coloring job to someone else, mistakenly believing Heath to be too busy to do it.
“There were so many things that didn’t work without the coloring,” Heath said.
In one scene, Heath had planned to color the figure in the foreground as part of the framing, and bring out people in the background with different color.
But the colorist colored them all, “green hat, purple pants, whatever,” and the effect was lost.
“It evaporates into kind of a paisley print,” he said.
Although Heath has drawn several superhero stories over the years, he’s never been that attracted to the costumed cavaliers.
“I was too literal a person to go along with that,” he said. “I know if Superman jumped over the Empire State Building, I know he would ruin his costume and damn sure crack the pavement when he landed. You’ve left all reality.
“When I did them, I did them too realistically. They looked like someone dressed up to go to a Halloween party.”
Heath considers his best work to be the Sgt. Rock and Haunted Tank stories of the late 1960s.
“It was a period that I went through that I was trying hard to be different. There’s always the best way to tell a story, but you’ve done it 17 times. I thought, ‘How can I do a different thing without sacrificing the storytelling?’”
Heath has more projects in the works, including a Greyshirt story for the WildStorm anthology “Tomorrow Stories.”
He’s also considering doing a series of pinup plates.
“Pretty ladies don’t go out of style,” he said. “The research is fun.”
And he stays busy with cover re-creations.
Heath loves to get the reactions of fans to his work. He attends conventions and is always glad to greet a fan.
“You do it for a lot more than the money,” he said.
Retro Thursday: Marshall Rogers and Steve Englehart
Trying out a new thing here, where I will post an article from the Matt Price archive from before I had a blog here at NewsOK. Today’s article is from April 8, 2005, in which writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers discussed their take on Batman at the Planet Comicon in Overland Park, Kan. At the time of the article, the team was working on “Dark Detective,” a sequel to their classic 1970s “Detective Comics” run.
Marshall Rogers died March 25, 2007, one of the greatest Batman artists of his era. Englehart can be found online here.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The creative team behind the upcoming “Batman” miniseries “Dark Detective” talked about its work on the project, as well as its groundbreaking work on “Batman” more than two decades ago. The Dark Knight will face off against his Rogues Gallery while meeting up again with his former love, Silver St. Cloud.
Writer Steve Englehart, penciller Marshall Rogers and inker Terry Austin will again team to bring life to the Batman. They spoke at last weekend’s Planet Comicon about their first run on the Dark Knight.
Englehart had just left Marvel Comics “on bad terms” and gone to DC Comics. He planned to work one year there before leaving comics entirely. DC asked him to revamp the Justice League; Englehart asked specifically for Batman. His “Detective Comics” run, issue Nos. 469 to 476, started with artists Walt Simonson and Al Milgrom. After two issues, they were replaced with relative newcomers Rogers and Austin.
The Englehart-Rogers run contained the now-classic Joker tales “The Laughing Fish” and “The Sign of the Joker.” Englehart was inspired by the early Batman tales in his “Detective Comics” run.
“I wanted to make Batman much more ‘pulp’ than he had been,” Englehart said. “It had become very ’70s realistic. It didn’t have that ‘pulp’ feel.”
Englehart also wanted Batman’s alter ego to play a larger role.
“I wanted to develop Bruce Wayne,” Englehart said. “To me, he’s essential. His relationship with Silver St. Cloud was something we wanted to pick up on.”
Rogers’ art was different from that of other artists working on the Dark Knight at the time.
“I don’t do a ‘DC model sheet’ Batman,” Rogers said. “What you saw in my rendition of the character was what I had always wanted to see as a kid.”
The new series takes place “some time” after the team’s first run. Silver St. Cloud is engaged to a gubernatorial candidate and sees Bruce Wayne across a crowded room at a political function.
In the first issue, the Joker also decides to run for governor, with the slogan “Vote for me, or I’ll kill you!”
During the run of “Dark Detective,” Batman will also battle Scarecrow and Two Face.
Englehart, Rogers and Austin were adamant that letterer John Workman rejoin the team for the new series, although on most books DC has gone to computer lettering.
“As long as we’re doing this, there’s no reason not to get the people who did it the first time,” Rogers said. “Everything is important to a successful book. It makes for the totality of the package.”
While the story isn’t married to current DC events, it doesn’t contradict them, either.
“I didn’t want this to be a completely parallel universe. It exists in the modern continuity,” Englehart said. “If this works well, we could do more down the line, and our Batman will eventually kind of become its own universe. I hope it’s a seamless integration of all the various elements that have to be there.”
Rogers said he doesn’t ignore anything that’s come before but doesn’t want to be a slave to continuity. His priority is a compelling story.
“(Batman’s) world is going to be creepy, eerie, fun and exciting,” Rogers said.
