The Team-Up Saga

Team-up comic books are nothing new but I have a few opinions of team-ups I want to get off my chest. There are different types of team up books: On going series, mini-series, or one-shots and can either have a team of several characters, a pair of the same characters or rotating characters in the book. I just want to talk mainly about books that pertain to two characters here though. We've seen team-ups with two heroes, heroes teaming up with villains and even team-ups that cross publishing lines. All these books can be very interesting and fun reads but sometimes it seems very cheesy and predictable. One of the most reoccurring themes in most team-ups is two heroes meeting for the first time and fighting then coming together to fight a common enemy or threat. Some times it seems like writers just throw two random characters together for the intrigue or maybe they are just trying to hard. Some team-ups should never happen. Yes team-ups can be tricky to write but if done correctly, these books can be a huge success. We need team-up comics sometimes to mix things up or draw interest but they have to be done properly.

Now I know that team up books have been going on for a long time but recently there has been some talk on the Internet and social media that have made me want to talk about it. I don't know if it's because of the newly announced Batman/ Superman movie or some of the new team-up books or some of the highly praised one-shots that have caused all the buzz but people have voiced their opinions.  Let's face it, team-ups aren't going away but that's okay, most are really great and fun to read.

There have been some epic team-ups over the years and some that keep reoccurring. Some team-ups we will never get to see again or at least any time soon, for instance, the classic DC/ Marvel team ups. Fans will never forget the Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk or Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. These were some rare crossovers that we may never see again for many reasons but mostly because of the competitive industry.

But with such amazing team-ups also comes some equally bad team-ups. To see a list of some epic failed attempts at some team-up books then follow the link. You will get a good laugh. The Quick's Bunny and Superman?   http://www.weirdworm.com/10-absurd-comic-book-crossovers/

The comic book industry has tried so many different team-ups and some were, let's say, not so great and some that work and continue to work well. One team-up that will always be popular and sell well is Batman and Superman team-up. They had an ongoing series of 84 books and 5 annuals from 2003-2011 and recently started a new ongoing title. This team-up works in so many ways. One reason is because they are two totally different heroes. Superman has so much power and different abilities and Batman is a "normal man" who has trained his whole life to be who he is. This team-up also works because these two characters are two of the most famous characters in comics and have been around for so long. Also DC has an interesting team-up coming soon, Superman and Wonder Woman. This team-up will be very interesting because of their new relationship and the fact that they both are so powerful they have a hard time relating to most people.

One big reason team-ups have been talked about a lot recently I think is because of one of the best team-up comic I've ever read. (Don't crush me I'm still fairly new to comics) That praise goes out to The Flash Annual #2 written by Brian Buccellato. I've not been reading Brian's work very long but he's been doing a great job with The Flash series but this annual was on a different level. This book was a team-up with The Flash and Green Lantern. What made this so great for me was this started by showing how Barry Allen and Hal Jordan meet for the first time in a flash back. Then it went on showing them working together for a common cause in a more present day setting. I'm not going to talk in detail about it but definitely check it out!! You don't need to be reading The Flash regularly to read this one but I have a feeling you will be wanting to after.
I'm not a big Green Lantern fan but I would love to see a team-up with Green Lantern and The Flash happen in an ongoing series.

Brian proved that this team-up can work very well. You have two heroes with totally different powers, Green Lantern being able to go off into space and create virtually anything with his ring and The Flash has the speed force and all that comes with that. They also both have very different personalities but we know that they are friends and the comradely will be fun to read about. Maybe on reason this may not happen soon is because of where both are in their solo books and would mess up continuity. Hal has been off planet for awhile and not even in the Justice League right now and Barry could probably get away with another ongoing series but we don't need anything messing up what is going on now. I think one thing DC could do is make it a "Chronicles" series that is based on past adventures they had together. Show the building of their friendship and learning to trust each other. Brian Buccellato would write this so well I think and after hearing the praise all over the internet, I think a lot of people would buy a Green Lantern and The Flash team up book. I know I would!!

Another team-up book I would love to see a new take on is Captain America and Iron Man. These guys have had their own team-up series together before but I think a fresh and modern take on these two together would be a very fun read. I like this idea because Captain America is such a leader and everything he does is with purpose and precision and Iron Man more flies by the seat of his pants so to speak. We've seen them beat the mess out of each other and fight on different sides in Civil War so a team-up would be interesting.

Marvel also used to have a Power Man and Iron Fist team-up series that was very popular and I think they should relaunch this series. They would need to change it to Luke Cage and Iron Fist but they could take on some treats that are less main stream and a little more "dirty".
Team-up books are always interesting no matter how successful they are or how much they fail. No matter how odd or predictable a team-up my be it's fun to see what writers come up with. As long as these team-ups are done well, anything is possible. Maybe we won't get some team-ups I want to see but as long as we get other great team-ups I will be happy. 

No Smart Women in Comics?

I didn't think I would be writing a blog like this one but a buddy of mine made an interesting observation the other day. In both Marvel and DC and probably comics in general, there seems to be a serious lack of smart and intelligent women. It got me thinking about all the women superheros in comics and after doing some research I realized that not only are there not any highly intelligent women in comics but there aren't any heroins that are as rich as some of the male superheroes. If you compare the female superheros to the smart and/or rich male heroes like Batman, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, Green Arrow, Hank Pym, Hank McCoy, Black Panther, Professor Xavier etc. there is no comparison.
There are a few exceptions to my theory. One super heroin you could make a good argument for is Wonder Woman. She is a princess of the Amazons on Paradise Island (or Themyscira) so you would have to assume she has or at minimum access to money. Also, Wonder Woman has been blessed by Athena the goddess of wisdom which makes very intelligent, even as smart as Batman or Martian Manhunter in the Justice League. But most of her wisdom she uses for tactical purposes in battle and not as a problem solver as far as science and technology goes.

Another character you could mention as a smart female hero is Batgirl, Barbra Gordon. She originally was a librarian by day and hero at night and in school she excelled and often skipped grades. After reinventing herself as the Oracle when the Joker shot her in the back paralyzing her from the waste down, she used her intelligence to help the DC Universe.
Maybe an even smarter, or at least more educated, example is She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters. Before becoming She-Hulk from a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner aka The Hulk, Jennifer was a Lawyer with a Master degree from Harvard Law School.

Obviously these three examples are minor compared to the level of wealth and intelligence that male characters have, which is a shame. I know that the female characters in comics have come a long way. There are some really powerful women heroes in comics that I love and a lot of them have become very popular. However I think the comic book industry is missing out on some great potential story lines not having intelligent or rich women in comics.

The comic industry has done a great job of making female superheros not only powerful and strong but leaders and role models. Storm and Kitty Pride are huge leaders with the X-Men and at the Jean Gray School for Higher Learning. Wonder Woman, after her lack luster start into comics in a sexist industry, has become one of the most well rounded and most popular heroins. Miss Marvel, or Captain Marvel now, is getting a lot of support from Marvel and is currently having a great run with her solo book.

I'm not trying to bash the industry for not supporting female characters and moving them forward into stronger roles but I think it's time to take the next step. As easy as it is to change characters or write in new things in comics, it would not take much to make a female superhero on the same level of intelligence or wealth as their male counter parts.

Comic Books: Where do I start?

Not long ago, when I wanted to start reading comics, the hardest thing for me was not knowing where to start. There were things I was interested in and things I wanted to read but didn't know where to begin reading. I remember going to the comic book store and just staring at the wall of comics not knowing what to pick up or look at first. Heck, I didn't even know there was a section set aside for the new comics that came out that week or that Wednesday was new comic book day. For me, someone who didn't grow up around comics at all, this was a little overwhelming and like most people I'm sure, I didn't want to waste money by buying just random comics.

When I first started reading, I was really interested in Captain America, so after researching online I found an old story arc that sounded interesting and bought the trade paper back or hard back. I started off with "The Death of Captain America" story arc by Ed Brubaker. I loved it! I loved the way it was written and the art, the characters, and everything. Being my first comics read, I loved so much about the experience. This experience helped me to learn so much about comic books and helped me become more comfortable with comics. I had to do a lot of research on the internet to learn about characters, numbering, and even terms used in comics. I wanted to learn so much about comics and the more I read and researched the more I enjoyed.

So, after almost a year of reading just back issues of mostly Captain America,  I wanted to pick-up the weekly books but still didn't know where to start. Here are some things I found helpful in picking out what to read and where to start:

1. Figure out a character or team you want to read about. Who or what are you interested in?

2. Is there a style you like? Team ups or Solo? Darker, grittier styles? Comedy? Spy? Space? etc.... 

3. Are there any spacific books or writers you've heard good things about?

4. Don't be shy. Talk to friends or people at your local comic book store and find out what people may suggest. 

5. Look on the internet. There are a plethora of comic book websites out there that talk about comic books. This was my biggest help. Look at their reviews and look at their forums to see what people are saying about some of the books you are thinking about.  Some websites I'll suggest are: Comicvine.com Comicbookresources.com ifanboy.com

One of my biggest concerns before starting to read was I wanted to start at the beginning of a story arc and didn't want to be lost or confused about the story. My advice to anyone with the same concerns is, if you know what book a story arc starts on then buy the back issues to get caught up. otherwise just jump in. You can usually get caught up pretty quick but if you do find yourself lost in the story, go online and read up on past issues. 

I started by picking up a few I really wanted to read and slowly built up my pull list by learning what writers were getting a lot of praise and which characters I found myself enjoying more. I remember when I wanted to start reading a Batman comic I started noticing all the different titles they had. This was very confusing and I had no idea how to pick one. After reading a few reviews online and hearing how great Scott Snyder was doing with the Batman book I started picking it up each month. I started reading towards the end of a major story arc but it didn't seem to matter. I quickly caught up on the story and soon the book moved on to a new story arc. Now I've got a pull list of 10 and holding but each time I picked up a new title, I took time to evaluate what I wanted and where to start. When it comes down to it, I just have to start reading. So far I've enjoyed most things I've picked up.

What started as a little interest in comic books has turned into a major hobby of mine. I look forward to going each week by the comic book store and getting new books. I hope you share my same enthusiasm and if not I hope you will soon.