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. 

Justice League #22 Review (Spoiler Free)

For those of you who don't know, DC Comics has started a huge 6 part event called "Trinity War" written by Geoff Johns crossing over between three titles: Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. Justice League #22 is part one of the event and it is an amazing start.

I only read Justice League on a month basis so I'll have to pick up the other titles to read the whole event but I don't mind. One thing that I'm not sure about is the fact that I'm not real familiar with a lot of the characters in the DC Universe outside of the big names but so far it doesn't seem to matter. I'm sure I'll have to do some research on a few characters to know their powers and all but that only stretches my comic book knowledge.

I already knew that Geoff Johns was an amazing writer but he really stepped it up here. Not only is the story fantastic but the flow and the smoothness of the story worked perfect. 

The book starts very interestingly and you're basically watching what is happening through someone else's perspective. It jumps around a lot to tie a lot together but is done amazingly by Geoff Johns. There is a lot of dialog for most of the book and I was wondering at one point if there is going to be an action but the last quarter to third of the book it really delivers. I was pretty shock at what happened and how fast the event went the direction it did. It just hooks you so hard.

The art is amazing in this book as well. With all the characters and different scenes, the art truly delivers. There are a few full page and half page panels I just stared at for a few minutes to take it all in. There are so many details and colors that I found myself getting lost in the art. 

This event advertises that it's the good guys fighting the good guys but there is so much evil in the background controlling the events taking place and the Justice Leaguers don't know it yet. How far will it go before they realize other powers are at work? How many casualties will we they have? Who is behind all the madness?

Here is a check list of all the titles involved in Trinity War if you are interested. 

http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/06/25/trinity-war-checklist 

Man of Steel Review

Before I get to reviewing Man of Steel, I want to take a moment and rant. I have come to the conclusion that superhero or comic book movies are not made for die hard comic book fans. I've read some reviews and listened to people talk about not only Man of Steel but other comic book movies for the past year or so and I don't know why but reviewers seem to nit pic way to much. It seems like that if they don't agree with one little thing they can't enjoy the movie. I think a lot of hard core comic book fans just don't go in with an open mind and it's hard to enjoy anything like that. I hear way to much negative talk about these movies. These are not comic books. These are movies. Take them for what they are. I digress, lets get to the review.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead....

I wanted to wait a few days to write a review so I could talk in more detail and not worry about spoiling anything and mainly get my thoughts together, so if you have not seen Man of Steel yet please come back after you have seen the movie.

First of all you have to realize when going into this movie that this is NOT your Christopher Reeves Superman and this is nothing like Superman Returns (thank God). Your not going to have superman fly around the world backwards to turn back time and your not going to have a super villain created from a nuclear bomb shot off at the sun. At least in this movie, we don't get a stumbling and awkward Clark Kent, which gets old pretty quick. This is a new and more serious Superman.


Man of Steel is visually beautiful! Krypton was amazing. Everything on Krypton was so interesting and clean and beautiful. The look and feel it had because of it's red sun was stunning. Even the flashbacks to when Clark was growing us has a nice feel to it visually. I thought the way Superman flew around was magnificent.  I also thought all the Kryptonian suits were pretty awesome. They looked a lot better than spandex. I didn't know how I would feel about Superman's suit going into the movie but I did like it a lot in the movie. It looked better on film than one or two screen shots.

Man of Steel was nearly two and a half hours and there was A LOT of action. A lot more than I expected really. I think the first thing my wife said leaving the movie was "that was exhausting". Overall it had a great story though. Maybe could have had less action and more story but it was great because we have never seen Superman and this much action before on the big screen and he needed that.
We spend the first thirty minutes of the movie on Krypton with Zod trying to take over, baby Clark or Kal-El being sent to Earth and the ultimate destruction of the planet. That may have been my favorite part of the movie.

I loved the flashbacks too from when Clark was growing up. Kevin Costner did a great job as Clark's Earthly father. He was supportive, protective and influential like we all know and want Jonathan Kent to be. They only had one good scene with Martha Kent in my opinion. The one time she went to the school to help Clark that was good but other than that I think they missed the mark with her and the relationship between her and Clark.

Before I get to the actor who stole the show for me, I was to talk about Amy Adams and her take on Louis Lane. I think she did great. Not he typical look but I'm okay with that. I love how she was a hard nosed reporter and when she found out the truth about Clark and he tell his story about how Pa Kent dies in the tornado and all was such a great part and so touching. You can see how it affected Louis and understanding she becomes and keeps his secret. I still don't know if I like the fact that she knows he is Superman already but it was good for the story.

I just want to say that Russell Crow was spectacular in his part as Jor-El but I guess we should expect that from him. He was in the movie a lot more than I expected. Someone said he was in it more than Superman was but I didn't mind that at all. He look totally awesome in his Kryptonian armor too.


Henry Cavill did a great job as Superman. I think the women loved him more because he was visually nice to look at, but getting past all that, he made for a good Superman. The few emotional moments were great. He did a great job selling it. After killing Zod (we'll get to that) I could really feel his sorrow and although it didn't last very long, I know that he truly didn't want to do it.
The casting for the most part was great in Man of Steel. Zod and Faora were awesome. You could really feel the emotions from Zod throughout the movie. His hatred and evilness translated very well on screen.

Lets talk about the two controversial parts of the movie for a minute. First one that everyone one is talking about is the fact that Superman never tries to take the fight away from the populated areas so no one would get hurt. The first time in Smallville and the other in Metropolis. I think for the most part the reason he didn't was because he was to busy getting his butt kicked, expectantly in Smallville. He was fighting two elite Kryptonian worriers and he had never been in a fight before really. Maybe he could have taken Zod out in space or something to fight him but there was no where for him to go. The destruction from these fights were a little overwhelming especially adding the destruction from what the ship did in Metropolis.

The biggest problem most people had was the fact that Superman killed Zod at the end. I was initially shocked he did that but after thinking about it I guess he had to. They could have spent more time showing how Superman didn't have a choice and it was his last resort and all but the movie could have gone on for hours. Look, as quick as that scene was, all we need to take away from there was that Superman had no other choice and he was very sorrowful and upset that he had to kill someone. Yes, Superman is not suppose to kill but he had to in this case. Get over it.
I really liked the ending and the reason he gave to be at the Daily Planet, although we all know it was to be closer to Louis. They didn't do a lot of stuff we are use to seeing so it makes me excited to see the next film and featuring some other parts of Clark and Superman.
I haven't read many superman comics but one graphic novel I have read was Superman Earth One Vol. 1 and I could tell they pulled some material from that book which was was pretty cool for me.
Overall this was an awesome movie. Of course there were some things they could have done better or different but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm ready to see it again and will be buying this on DVD when it comes out for sure.

The Lingo

When I jumped into comics I didn't know much at all when it came to comic books. I didn't even know what day new comics came out or how often (Wednesday by the way). I didn't realize I needed to learn new vocabulary words either, but I guess like everything else, the comic book world has its own lingo. Some things were pretty easy to figure out but a few I had to look up and experience for myself to understand better. Here are only a  few comic book terms that might be good to understand and my experience with them:

Ages
There are different "ages" of comics, this refers to the years in which the comic was published or the time frame of their publication. Here are the different ages:
- Golden Age: 1938-1950
- Silver Age: 1956-1970
- Bronze Age: 1970-1985
- Modern Age: 1985-Present 

Golden Age Comic

Silver Age Comic

Bronze Age Comic

Modern Age Comic

Back Issue
Back issues refer to comic issue that proceed the current issue. Ex: If you are reading Batman #20, issues 1-19 would be considered back issues. Simple enough. 

When I started getting into comics, I wanted to get some back issues because i didn't know where to start and I felt like I needed something to start a collection with. So, I bought some old Avenger comics of eBay to satisfy me for a while. I found a good deal on some really old Avenger titles in the process. My oldest ones, which are Silver Age comics, are Avengers #26 & #27. They are complete books but not in good shape though. I'm proud of them none the less.

Crossover

In its simplest form, a crossover refers to a character crossing over into another character's title (Ex. Superman crossing over into a Batman issue). Usually a crossover refers to a main story or event crossing over in to multiple titles. In some cases, you may have multiple characters crossing over into multiple titles as the story progresses.

When I started reading my back issues of The Avengers, I came across my first crossover. The story was called "Bloodties" and is a crossover between The Avengers and X-Men. It is a five part story and I only had the first and last ones which are Avengers #368 and  #369. It was rather confusing for a new comic book reader but, after doing some research, I figured out what I needed to complete the story. It included: Avengers #368, X-Men #26, West Coast Avengers #101, Uncanny X-Men #307 and Avengers #369. This was a fun read for me and I really learned a lot with this crossover. 

Continuity
Although this is probably used in other areas besides comic books, you hear the word "Continuity" a lot when it comes to comics. Continuity refers to things taking place within the same universe or story space. If something is "out of continuity", it means it conflicts with stories or things mentioned before. If you don't want to make comic book readers mad, STAY IN CONTINUITY!

Retcon
Retcon is short for "retroactive continuity". This is a creative way, if done correctly, for a writer to alter or change former facts or events. It can also be used to add things to past stories to help with the current one. They would be writing facts in retroactively as if it were there the whole time. A lot of times this is done to bring back dead characters but it can be done with anything, even a character's origin.

One of the best know Retcons, and very controversial, is the Jean Gray and Phoenix Force. Years after Jean Gray died from the events of the Phoenix Saga, Marvel wanted to bring her back but didn't want her responsible for all the killing and destruction from the Phoenix. So they wrote a Retcon as if she was trapped in a cocoon in the bottom of the ocean and the Phoenix only took on her image and personality.  

I think that the "Phoenix Saga", as it's referred to now a days, is one of the most interesting stories I haven't read. I'd like to one day read these for myself instead of reading about it. 

Event

An "event" is used to describe a large story line that usually involves crossovers with multiple titles and characters. For instance, a Batman "event" will involve the bat family and it's characters. The most recent Batman event was "Death of the Family" where the Joker comes back to terrorize the bat family. The titles that were involved in this event were:   Batman, Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Suicide Squad, and Teen Titans. (Yes, there are A LOT of Batman titles)

Some events are set up so you don't have to read all the issues in the crossover to understand the story. For me, I only read the Batman and Nightwing titles. I really enjoyed this event too. This was my first time I read a Joker story and thought that Scott Snyder did a great job. One thing I learned is that The Joker is one crazy messed up dude and that's why we love him as a villain. 

Crisis
In the comic book world, the word "crisis" is used to describe a giant, franchise-shaking comics event. This usually involves the whole comic "universe" and will reshape everything in it. These stories usually have great consequences and sometimes, if not usually, involves comic book character death. Some of the best known crises are: DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, or Marvel's Secret Invasion, House of M, Civil War and Avengers vs. X-Men. I've only read a few of these and I'm currently reading House of M. When you read a crisis story line you need to keep in mind that things will change for the whole universe after that event.

There are many more comic terms or words that I could share but I thought these are some good ones to start with. There are still a lot of things I need to know and figure out in the comic book world but I don't think it would be near as fun if I knew everything. 

What are some of your experiences with these terms? Tell me what you think. Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

My Origins

Two years ago I got into comics and you may wonder, how does a 26 year-old married father get into comics? What is so appealing about comic books and super heroes?  Although we won't get into all the details this time, I want to look back to where it all started for me.... way back.

Growing up, no one I knew read comics. I don't recall ever thinking about comic books when I was young, but that didn't stop me from loving super heroes  Like most people, the start to my love for super heroes came from watching cartoons. Growing up some in the ‘80s, but mostly in the ‘90s, there were some great cartoons back then. You know, back when cartoons only came on Saturday morning and a few hours after school. You would try to hurry and finish your homework so you could watch them. It was because of those great cartoons then that would pave the way for me to want later on pick up comic books.

Lets look back for a little bit on some of the great cartoons I grew up with. Hands down, my all time favorite cartoon was, and still is, X-Men. What a great series huh? I know if it came on TV right now I'd turn it on. There are so many great X-Men characters and the cartoon helped me learn their names and powers and personalities. But the amazing part is that years later I found out it was all based on some awesome comic books (same story lines, costumes etc.).

(check out this link. It will bring back memories.)

 http://www.buzzfeed.com/hunterschwarz/the-25-best-things-about-the-90s-x-men-cartoon

Another great cartoon was Batman: The Animated Series  OH OH.... Spider-Man was amazing!(no pun intended) WOW... we had it good back then! 

Now, cartoons come on all the time on several different stations, and some show reruns of the ones I grew up watching. The Hub shows Batman: The Animated Series and I find myself turning it on while my wife is out of the room. I ask my 3 year-old daughter ‘Do you want to watch Batman or Micky Mouse?’ hoping she says Batman. And she sometimes she even does.

Batman: The Animated Series and Spider-Man I loved as well and like with X-Men, I learned all the characters really well through the show. With these two it was great because Batman and Spider-Man have so many villains that I looked forward to who was in each episode.

There are some other great cartoons that were not new when I was a kid that I enjoyed reruns of, like Super Friends. I still laugh about the Wonder Twins. They were very comical and I could never take them seriously. They did come out with a much better Justice League cartoon later on though. I still enjoyed it. It seems most of the cartoons I enjoyed growing up were super hero ones, but there were a lot of good ones back then.

I guess I grew out of the cartoon thing or maybe they just canceled all the good cartoons. Either way, I have always enjoyed super heroes  These great cartoons paved the way for this new nerd to pick-up comics and helped me learn all of the different characters, personalities, powers, origins, and even gave me some great memories of my childhood. (Maybe I've been a nerd the whole time and didn't know it.) Obviously these cartoons are not the same as the comic books but it was all I had then and I loved them. 

Free Comic Book Day

I've been wanting to do a blog about my comic book experiences for a little while now and when I decided to follow through with it I wanted my experience at Free Comic Book Day to be the first blog I made. There are a few reasons why but mostly it was because I wanted to take my daughter with me and write about our experience together and i figured it would be a good starting point. It did turn out better however because my whole family went to take in the experience with me.
I've only been collecting comics for about two years now and getting weekly comics for just over one year (I've read back issues mostly for a little while). I had never been to a Free Comic Book Day before and didn't know what it was all about. Over the past year or so I've realized the importance of supporting local comic shops and how the industry is being hurt by being able to buy comics online. Although i do understand the convince of being able to read comics on your iPad or tablet or computer and the space it saves for storage, but I think it is a fun experience holding the real thing and flipping through the pages and having something to collect.

Free Comic Book Day, or FCBD, has several purposes. One is to thank all the loyal customers for the past year for their continued support to the comic book store and the comic industry by giving them something free. Two is gain interest to potential readers by giving them a free comic and show them how great comics are. For me it was a combination I guess. I wanted to support my shop by being there but also (like a lot of people like do) introduce comic books to my children. (Reed's a little young so he gets a pass.) All stores are different in how much is free and what not but at my store (Augusta Book Exchange) you were able to get three items. Now it's just not any comics in the store, they have set ones they have gotten just for the day. I let Ella pick out two comics (Tinker Bell and Strawberry Shortcake/ Sesame Street) and I got a Superman one.

The store does other things too to spark interest. They had local artist their displaying and selling their art and also people dressed up in costumes like super heroes aka: Cosplay. (Other stores do different things like have big name artist and writers at the store doing signings but mostly in big cities where they live) Ella and Reed got their picture taken with some heroes. Ella wasn't sure about it at first. I think she was worried because we took her comics away from her for the picture.

Although it was a cold wet and rainy day, it seem to have a good turn out, at least when I was there. Today was, for me, all about supporting my comic book shop and letting Ella get her first comic book and doing it as a family. Although we weren't there very long, mainly because Reed had to eat very soon, we had a great time. Ella is so excited about her comic books and I get to read it to her. Thanks Augusta Book Exchange and everyone who puts on FCBD. And go support you local comic book shop.