I See Posts Before My Eyes

He’s running it for free at his website thrillbent.com, a chapter a week.

And aside from the fact that he’s giving comics away, he’s also doing some neat things with the layout, to take advantage of the different shape of a comic book and a computer monitor. 

Like DC is with their “Beyond” titles, they’re going with a split-page format.  that allows the screen to be filled up without having to scroll up and down to see the whole page.  But more importantly they’re animating the page, in a rudimentary fashion.  Successive clicks will reveal subsequent panels of the page, giving the creators a bit more control over how the narrative is unveiled.  It’s a nice effect, and works with the display system of digital comics, as opposed to working around it.

A couple scanners did something in the same vein with their remixes of the Ender’s Game. reorganizing the panels and presenting them in sequence gives the story a more cinematic feel. Wildly illegal, so I can’t possibly tell you WHERE to find them, but worth the time spent.

The story, like Irredeemable, plays with a standard character archetype.  While the first dealt with the “super” character, this deals with the wealthy vigilante and his teen sidekick.  In this case, the partnership does not end well, and hero and former sidekick are as much at odds with each other as the criminals of the city of St. Barrington.  Four chapters in and it’s a great adventure so far, playing with the tropes of superheroes and getting an interesting story out of it.

Irredeemable, having just ended, was a very unique story based about the idea that it only takes a bad day and a bit of bad luck for the most powerful being on the planet to change his mind about keeping it safe.  well worth catching up on if you missed it.

Mark caught no end of hell for his speech at Baltimore where he basically said that when it came to digital comics, it was lead, follow or get out of the way.  He’s putting his money where his mouth is here, even going so far as to saying that he’s okay with the torrent sites grabbing and re-distributing his chapter files, as since they’re leaving them untouched, he’s getting more publicity from each download. 

There’s basically three strategies being used right now - Mark’s giving the book away, presumably betting that when/should he release a print copy people will want a collected edition.  DC is selling their digital books a chapter at a time for 99 cents (with no announced reprint plan that I’ve heard), and Archie Comics is doing the same with the New Crusaders, but also adding access to a reprint library as extra value.

All three are valid plans, and it’ll be interesting to see which ones prove successful, and more importantly, who else will jump into the pool.

It’s different in many ways, and not just for the real name of the worst poet in the universe.

For one thing, It’s Arthur who tricks Mr. Prosser into letting them go to the pub.  He’s just a bit less hapless, something I expect was a conscious choice.

And my friend Michael Wolff (who does not blog per se, but writes for Examiner.com) Has gone on about him better than I could.  So, here.

Hello, Collected Fans of the Notion of Celebrating the Birthdays of Really Shmoozy Actors …

(whew)

There aren’t too many in show business who impress people with their overall dramatic skills and, at the same time, mange to cut a rather dramatic swath through the world of genre films. 

But Ian McKellen (whoops!  I meant Sir Ian McKellen) has managed to accomplish this.  And quite neatly, too.

Even though I had seen him in the rather sumptuous (and rather overlooked) 1982 production of The Scarlet Pimpernel, and then in Russell Mulcahy’s The Shadow, I confess I really didn’t pay too much attention to Sir Ian until he had the title role in Richard Loncraine’s wonderful 1995 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III, playing the title character with a panache and a menace usually reserved for James Bond villains (hey, Eon Productions!  Hint Hint!).

Since Richard III … hoo boy!  Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings (and the upcoming The Hobbit)!  Magneto in three of the X-Men films!  A brilliant turn as James Whale in Bill Condon’s Gods And Monsters …

Sir Ian’s been managing to rack up a nice little resume among the genre cognoscenti (even to the point where people may forgive him for having appeared in the teeth-grindingly bad remake of The Prisoner … which, of course, wasn’t Sir Ian’s fault.  Sometimes you just can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear).  And then there’s his other work (including some very impressive turns on the international stage).

And he’s still a blithe boy of just 73 summers, with the dew of Lancashire still on his downy cheek.  If we are fortunate, we shall continue to see his shadow as he passes.

OK, Here’s the deal.

If you’re just plain against gay people, no amount of discussion I have with you is going to make a difference.  You’ll be against gay comics book characters, gay marriage, gay people stocking shelves at the grocery store (especially the produce), and gay lemonade stands.  So no point reading on if that’s the case.

If you’re somehow worried that a gay comic character will somehow affect your children, allow me to allay a fear or two.

First off, DC is NOT going to make Batman or Superman gay.  The plan is to reintroduce a “major character” with a new history, one which includes the fact that they’re now gay.  Comic book history is kind of hard to explain – every so often, they start some characters over, as they’re not too popular, or their story has gotten too confusing.  DC just recently restarted ALL their characters, giving new readers a chance to hop on board without having to learn 70 years of history.  And in doing so, they’ve taken the opportunity to update a lot of them – most everybody got a new costume, Superman and Lois Lane aren’t married any more (Tho he’s definitely still keen on her), and a lot of other characters (who honestly, you’ve never heard of) got little tweaks to their histories to make them more interesting to new readers.

They’ve introduced more ethnic and minority characters over recent years, and several gay characters.  The books in which the gay characters have appeared are not part of their “all ages” line, but the books aimed at a teen audience and up (including forty-six year old reprobates like me).  They recently introduced a gay character, Bunker, into the Teen Titans.  Batwoman was mentioned in the email, and there’s a few others peppered about.  And they’re written like all the other people in the books – normal, living their lives, and on occasion, taking their clothes off and punching aliens and giant robots in the face. Typical Americans.

 Northstar, meanwhile, has been a character at Marvel for about thirty years, and came out as gay twenty years ago (in the middle of a fight, of course).  In that time, the sun has not fallen from the sky, and  the comics have not been filled with lewd or scatological sexual exploits – they were all too busy beating each other up.    Any fear that the books are going to suddenly feature scenes in leather bars, or page after page of characters trying on new outfits from International Male simply doesn’t match past performance.

All the attempts to introduce more diverse characters into the books are intended to reflect the fact that (to some people’s consternation) there are black people, Hispanics, Asians and yes, gay people in the world.  The only “Gay agenda” being furthered is that they exist, the vast majority of them are perfectly nice people, and do not deserve your scorn, or even your distrust. 

 And for those who hold to the concept that seeing gay people in comic books or on television will somehow “convince” your children to become gay, I guess I have to ask, why is your child so impressionable?  I grew up watching Underdog, and never wanted to blow up a phone booth.  While I wouldn’t have minded finding a genie on the beach after my rocketship landed off course, I knew the odds of such happening was slim.  And I watched enough game shows as a kid, I saw Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly more often than many of my extended family.  And I’m married for going on twenty-five years.

And I STILL read comic books.

One Million Moms, the folks who oh so successfully protested Kevin Keller’s comic and J.C. Penney’s choice to have Ellen deGeneres be their spokesman, has now heard about both Marvel and DC’s plans to show more gay people and gay activities in their comics, and hastily cranked out a fundraising email, which a friend of the family worriedly sent my way:

DC Comics AND Marvel Superheroes Come Out of the Closet

May 24, 2012 

Part 1: DC Comics recently announced one of their most popular, but as of yet unnamed, prominent characters will soon be coming out of the closet. DC Comics, owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, has decided that one of their beloved superheroes will be homosexual. Who will they choose; Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Plastic Man, or another one of their characters that children look up to?

Last year, DC Comics Co-publisher Dan DiDio said that the company would not change the sexual orientation of an existing superhero and would bring in a new one altogether. Parents may have been able to avoid a new character since it would not be one many children have grown to admire. DiDio has changed his mind and will not be introducing a brand new character. They will feature an existing character who was previously assumed to be straight, will now become openly gay. Senior VP Sales Bob Wayne said DiDio’s view ‘had evolved’, comparing the shift to Barack Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex marriage, according to a report. DiDio did not specify which character would ‘come out’ or in which issue it would be featured. It will likely be a June issue during LBGT month, joining lesbian character Batwoman.

Part 2: And to make matters more shocking, Marvel, now owned by Disney, followed DC Comics’ announcement with a surprise of their own. Northstar, Marvel’s first openly gay hero, is going to tie the knot with his boyfriend in the current issue of “Astonishing X-Men.” This is the first same-sex wedding in a superhero comic book.

In “Astonishing X-Men” #50, which hit comic shop shelves Wednesday, Northstar proposes to his boyfriend, Kyle, a fellow snow sports enthusiast who possesses no superpowers. The couple will seal the deal in issue #51, slated for a June 20 release.

“The story of Northstar and Kyle is universal, and at the core of everything I write: a powerful love between two people who have to fight for it against all odds,” said X-Men comic writer Marjorie Liu in a statement.

Children desire to be just like superheroes. Children mimic superhero actions and even dress up in costumes to resemble these characters as much as possible. Can you imagine little boys saying, “I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?” This is ridiculous! Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They don’t but do want to indoctrate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable. As Christians, we know that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:26-27). Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to homosexuality at an early age. Comic books would be one of the last places a parent would expect their child to be confronted with homosexual topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Children do not know what straight, homosexual, or coming out of the closet even means, but DC Comics and Marvel are using superheroes to confuse them on this topic to raise questions and awareness of an alternative lifestyle choice. These companies are prompting a premature discussion on sexual orientation. Northstar’s wedding will be the first same-sex wedding in the world of mainstream superhero comics, but not the first gay comic books character. Earlier this year One Million Moms emailed Toys ‘R’ Us concerning the “Life With Archie” No. 16 with two gay characters getting hitched. Toys ‘R’ Us had the audacity to display “Archie- Just Married” at the front of the store by the checkout counters.

TAKE ACTION

Please send DC Comics (Warner Bros. Entertainment Company) and Marvel (Disney) an email urging them to change and cancel all plans of homosexual superhero characters immediately. Ask them to do the right thing and reverse their decision to have sexual orientation displayed to readers.

Send Your Letter Now!

Sincerely,

Monica Cole, Director
OneMillionMoms.com


P.S. Please forward this to your family and friends! Become a fan of OneMillionMoms on Facebook! If you use Twitter, keep up with the latest information by following us.

Now, needless to say, they’ve made a few factual errors in the email.  Northstar and Kyle will NOT be the first gay superhero marriage (How often do you get to use that phrase, I ask you?) in comics - Apollo and The Midnighter had one in Stormwatch some years ago, and odds are there’s been some canoodling in other books that I don’t read.

(and do THAT many kids look up to Plastic Man?)

And for the record, One Million Moms DID email Toys Backwards”R” Us about Kevin Keller’s comic.  And were soundly ignored.  As they were with Ellen.  

Shall we make sure they go zero for three?

The part that’s cool, the song she sang could easily have been about the Doctor.

via sugarlacedgaga:

To my fellow Whovians… Did anyone else just see Rihanna come out of the Pandorica on American Idol? Seriously, is that the Pandorica from season 5?

What? No. That would be ridiculo-

Rihanna’s a time lord.