Sometimes I work a little bit on Play-Lists for events or books that I particularly like (this is how I find song lyrics and such for my reviews). Well, I never got around to reading Flashpoint stories out-side of Knight of Vengeance and Deadman & The Flying Graysons, but I managed to catch-up on most of the major issues in recent weeks and put together this play-list (six months after the fact...) It's a bit crazy and overwhelming, but then so is the world of Flashpoint. Enjoy!
1. Flashpoint Overture ("Where I End And You Begin" by Radiohead)
2. Wonder Woman & The Furies/Emperor Aquaman ("Count of Casualty" by Patrick Wolf)
3. Batman: Knight of Vengeance ("Paradise Circus" by Massive Attack)
4. Citizen Cold/Lois Lane & The Resistance ("Cold War" by Janelle Monae)
5. World of Flashpoint/Secret Seven ("Moon Jam" by White Hinterland)
6. Kid Flash Lost ("Faster" by Janelle Monae)
7. Project Superman ("All Is Full of Love" by Bjork)
8. Deadman & The Flying Graysons ("Hard Times" by Patrick Wolf)
9. Flashpoint Finale ("The End Is The Beginning Is The End" by The Smashing Pumpkins)
It's that time again for another Comic Vine Votes!
BASIC RULES:
Using the Voting Ballot below, cast your votes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category.
Write your votes in this format next to each ranking: [Title] [Issue Number]. For example: Justice League #1.
Post your votes in the comments below.
Votes can only be cast on books that have come out this month (January 2012).
Please cast votes on books you've read.
If you don't want to or can't cast a particular vote, just leave it blank.
You may change or edit your votes any time you'd like up until the end of voting (12:00 AM Monday February 5th PST)
FURTHER RULES:
For Favorite Male and Female characters, please write your votes in this format: [Character] [(Full Name)] - [Title] [Issue Number]. For example: Batman (Bruce Wayne) - Detective Comics #1.
You may vote for the same Favorite Male and Female character twice (or more) in so long as each vote is for a different appearance in a different issue.
For Favorite Marvel and DC comics, please vote for only mainstream Marvel and DC comics. Vertigo and other imprints should be voted for in the Favorite Non-Marvel or DC Comic section.
Most Underrated Comic applies to every publishing company.
Hero = Protagonist or Lead Character and Villain = Antagonist or Adversary. So Deathstroke can be considered a Hero or a Protagonist in his own book. And If Batman fought against him, only in that case will he be considered the Villain or Antagonist.
It's important to list a character with a SINGLE issue because all votes for a character contribute to The Best Comic of the Month!
How the poll will be graded:
1st place votes are given 3pts
2nd place votes are given 2pts
3rd place votes are given 1 pt
Voting will end By 12:00 AM Monday February 5th PST, after which I will tally up all the votes and post the results for the Top 5 winners in each category. The comic that receives the most votes in total will be declared The Best Comic of The Month!
It's that time again for another Comic Vine Votes!
BASIC RULES:
Using the Voting Ballot below, cast your votes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category.
Write your votes in this format next to each ranking: [Title] [Issue Number]. For example: Justice League #1.
Post your votes in the comments below.
Votes can only be cast on books that have come out this month (December 2011).
Please cast votes on books you've read.
If you don't want to or can't cast a particular vote, just leave it blank.
You may change or edit your votes any time you'd like up until the end of voting (12:00 AM Monday January 8th PST)
FURTHER RULES:
For Favorite Male and Female characters, please write your votes in this format: [Character] [(Full Name)] - [Title] [Issue Number]. For example: Batman (Bruce Wayne) - Detective Comics #1.
You may vote for the same Favorite Male and Female character twice (or more) in so long as each vote is for a different appearance in a different issue.
For Favorite Marvel and DC comics, please vote for only mainstream Marvel and DC comics. Vertigo and other imprints should be voted for in the Favorite Non-Marvel or DC Comic section.
Most Underrated Comic applies to every publishing company.
Hero = Protagonist or Lead Character and Villain = Antagonist or Adversary. So Deathstroke can be considered a Hero or a Protagonist in his own book. And If Batman fought against him, only in that case will he be considered the Villain or Antagonist.
It's important to list a character with a SINGLE issue because all votes for a character contribute to The Best Comic of the Month!
How the poll will be graded:
1st place votes are given 3pts
2nd place votes are given 2pts
3rd place votes are given 1 pt
Voting will end By 12:00 AM Monday January 8th PST, after which I will tally up all the votes and post the results for the Top 5 winners in each category. The comic that receives the most votes in total will be declared The Best Comic of The Month!
After months of on-set photographs, enigmatic video clips, and a barely audible James Gordon lying in a hospital bed, Batman fans have finally been given a taste of what's to come within the last installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman series with the release of the second trailer and the six minute prologue. But now it seems like there are more questions than ever before. Is Catwoman working with Bane? Does the army have hold of Batman's technology? What did Bane say?
To put these questions and other things from the trailer into context, I thought I might look back at the inspiration of this all, the comic books.
*Some Possible Spoilers Ahead*
First off, in the opening scene of the trailer, we see Robin's symbol used to spell out "Rogues". Traditionally in comic books, Gotham's football team has always been the Knights. Why the name change? Nolan had to have done his research because the team colors are the same: Gold and Black. So maybe it was done so he could put in this little easter egg. Or maybe it's more than an easter egg, and it's a clue as to who might show up later in the film.
Also what's interesting is that the the opposing team is The Monuments. I tried finding city they're from, but I couldn't figure it out. However, we've seen Gotham crumbling in tons of trailers so far. And we know from the first trailer that Batman goes missing and Bruce has to choose to be Batman again. So is this another possible connection between No Man's Land and The Dark Knight Rises?
Gallery
The design principles behind Batman's technology are still largely inspired by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns; specifically TDKR Bat-Mobile is really similar to the Batwing (if it is the Batwing) in the trailer as well as the camo-painted tumblers, and the gun Batman has been seen using in the cover of Empire magazine and in the trailer most closely resembles the one Batman uses against Superman in TDKR. This raises questions for me about how similar Bane's depiction will be to the leader of the Mutants in The Dark Knight Returns.
Gallery
In the six minute prologue, Bane and his men use a large jet plan to dismantle a smaller private airplane in mid-air. I don't know of any specific scenes that matches it perfectly, but there is a somewhat similar scene at the beginning of Bride of the Demon in which Ra's Al Ghul's men spill gas from a jet plane over another jet plane being guarded by two fighter planes and cause them to crash into a nearby mountain-side. If that is where they got the inspiration from, than perhaps it's further proof that Bane will be working with the League of Assassins/Ra's Al Ghul like in Batman: Legacy.
Gallery
And lastly, and perhaps most obviously, Catwoman's fashion seems to draw a great deal of it's inspiration directly from Long Halloween and Catwoman: When In Rome.
Is there anything else you guys may have caught that I haven't covered? Or anything you might disagree with?
I've noticed that there are a lot of people who are interested in Batman but don't know where to start, so I thought that I would bring my Batman "expertise" in and try to construct a simple visual guide of all the Batman books in chronological order. Well, that project sort of expanded quite a bit into an attempt at breaking down all the Batman books that I know of/have read and try to distill them to only the most important moments (in my opinion) and then present them in chronological order to give a rough sense of how Batman's career has changed over time. Since this is comic books, continuity is never 100% accurate and things are very rough, but using the best of my own detective skills, I feel I've managed to construct a fairly accurate time-line presented visually, as is appropriate for comic books. This is the first installment of (what I hope to be) a five part series and I hope you enjoy.
Once again, as I stated below in the image, I do not own Batman or any associated characters and I made this solely for fan purposes. Please don't sue me DC Comics.
If there is anything that I loved about this era, it would be the clear influence that the animated series had upon the visual style of these comics. That being said, it can't be stressed enough that these comics are far more brutal then the animated series, though it comes out in understated ways at first such as Robin being beaten nearly to death in Robin: Year One a woman being caught on fire in Batgirl: Year One. Personally, I feel that they were necessary, however, since it builds on the underlying notion that even though everything seems bright and colorful, the Bat Family is on a course towards tragedy.
Summary:
With the inclusion of Robin, the second half the dynamic duo, Batman tries to balance his responsibilities to his mission and his responsibility as a father all while his focus is moved from the street level to the global level as he learns more about the international crime organization, The Demon, and its mysterious leader, Ra's Al Ghul. It will require new allies to face these larger threats, including Superman and Wonderman, and the inclusion of new family members at home. But for how long can Batman turn his attention away from Gotham? And is the recent lull in crime just the calm before the storm?
Recommendations:
If I had to recommend the Top Five Best and Most Important books to read from this era, they would be:
Batgirl: Year One
Batman: Ego
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth
The Killing Joke
A Death In the Family (It's not my favourite book, but it is a very important one.)
I've noticed that there are a lot of people who are interested in Batman but don't know where to start, so I thought that I would bring my Batman "expertise" in and try to construct a simple visual guide of all the Batman books in chronological order. Well, that project sort of expanded quite a bit into an attempt at breaking down all the Batman books that I know of/have read and try to distill them to only the most important moments (in my opinion) and then present them in chronological order to give a rough sense of how Batman's career has changed over time. Since this is comic books, continuity is never 100% accurate and things are very rough, but using the best of my own detective skills, I feel I've managed to construct a fairly accurate time-line presented visually, as is appropriate for comic books. This is the first installment of (what I hope to be) a five part series and I hope you enjoy.
Once again, as I stated below in the image, I do not own Batman or any associated characters and I made this solely for fan purposes. Please don't sue me DC Comics.
This is quite possibly my favourite era in Batman's history. The combination of writing and artistic talent is top-notch, and even though each book was stylistically unique, they each added layers to the central characters and managed to maintain a strong sense of synergy between them, partially due to their fidelity to Batman: Year One.
Summary:
Batman finds that winning his war on crime means more than battling mafia families and uncovering government corruption. He must come face-to-face with the unimaginable as Gotham is over-come with a a growing wave of super-villainy. Recognizing that he needs help in his mission, he forges uneasy partnerships with James Gordon, Harvey Dent, and the costumed cat burglar, Cat Woman, who operates under her own mysterious vendetta. But it's hard road and some allies are lost and others are gained.
Recommendations:
If I had to recommend the Top Five Best and Most Important books to read from this era, they would be:
And I'd like to give a special thank you to CitizenBane, Afro_Warrior, RazzaTazz , TheTree, jhazzroucher, xerogod, THUNDERBOLT30, kingjoeg, TheOptimist, xhavoc86, DocHurt, Roddy010, jubilee042, Storm Calling, Mayo88m, The Poet, and MrUnkown voting!
And the awards go to!...
Best Writing
Gallery
Batman #3 by Scott Snyder
Swamp Thing #3 by Scott Snyder
Uncanny X-Men #1 by Kieron Gillen
X-Men #20 by Victor Gischler
Animal Man #3 by Jeff Lemire
Best Interior Art
Gallery
Batwoman #3with Art by J. H. Williams III and Colors by Dave Stewart
The Flash #3 with Art by Francis Manapul
Aquaman #3 with Art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado
Animal Man #3 with Art by Travel Foreman and Colors by Lovern Kindzierski
Batman #3 with art by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Best Cover Art
Gallery
Batman #3 by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Batwoman #3 by J. H. Williams III
Animal Man #3 with Art by Travel Foreman and Colors by Lovern Kindzierski
The Flash #3 by Francis Manapul
The Huntress #2 by Guillem March
Best Marvel Comics
Gallery
Uncanny X-Force #17Written by Rick Remender,with Art by Jerome Opena and Colors by Dean White
Wolverine and the X-Men #2 Written by Jason Aaron, Art by Chris Bachalo, Inks by Tim Townsend and Jaime Mendoza
Fantastic Four #600 Written by Jonathan Hickman, Pencils by Steve Epting, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Leinil Yu, and Farel Dalrymple
Avengers Academy #22 Written by Christos Gage, Pencils by Sean Chen
Magneto: Not a Hero # 1 Written bySkottie Young, Pencils by Clay Mann
Best DC Comics
Gallery
Batman #3Written Scott Snyder, with Art and Cover by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Batwoman #3 Written by J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman, Art by J. H. Williams III
Green Lantern #3 Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Swamp Thing #3 Written by Scott Snyder, Art by Yanick Paquette and Victor Ibanez
Aquaman #3 Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado
Best Non-Marvel or DC
Gallery
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #3 Written by Joss Whedon, Pencils by Georges Jeanty, Inks by Andy Owens, Colors by Dave Stewart, and Cover by Jo Chen
Darkwing Duck #18 Written by Ian Brill and Art by James Silvani
Invincible #84 Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Ryan Ottley, and Colors by Fco Plasencia
Morning Glories #14 Written by Nick Spencer, Art by Joe Eisma, and Cover by Rodin Esquejo
Super Dinosaur #5 Written by Robert Kirkman, Art and Cover by Jason Howard
Most Underrated Comic Of The Month
Gallery
Red Lanterns #3 Written by Peter Milligan, Art by Ed Benes, Diego Bernard, and Rob Hunter
Stormwatch #3 Written by Paul Cornell, Art by Mighel Sepulveda and Al Barrionuevo, Cover by Chris Burnham
Captain Atom #3 Written by J. T. Krul, Art by Freddie William II, Cover by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau
Suicide Squad #3 Written by Adam Glass, Art by Frederico Dallochio, Cover by Ryan Benjamin
Birds of Prey #3 Written by Duance Swiercynski, Art by Jesus Saiz, Cover by David Finch and Richard Friend.
It's that time again for another Comic Vine Votes!
BASIC RULES:
Using the Voting Ballot below, cast your votes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category.
Write your votes in this format next to each ranking: [Title] [Issue Number]. For example: Justice League #1.
Post your votes in the comments below.
Votes can only be cast on books that have come out this month (November 2011).
Please cast votes on books you've read.
If you don't want to or can't cast a particular vote, write-in "N/A" or just leave it blank.
You may change or edit your votes any time you'd like up until the end of voting (12:00 AM Sunday December 4th PST)
FURTHER RULES:
For Favorite Male and Female characters, please write your votes in this format: [Character] [(Full Name)] - [Title] [Issue Number]. For example: Batman (Bruce Wayne) - Detective Comics #1.
You may vote for the same Favorite Male and Female character twice (or more) in so long as each vote is for a different appearance in a different issue.
For Favorite Marvel and DC comics, please vote for only mainstream Marvel and DC comics. Vertigo and other imprints should be voted for in the Favorite Non-Marvel or DC Comic section.
Most Underrated Comic applies to every publishing company.
Hero = Protagonist or Lead Character and Villain = Antagonist or Adversary. So Deathstroke can be considered a Hero or a Protagonist in his own book. And If Batman fought against him, only in that case will he be considered the Villain or Antagonist.
How the poll will be graded:
1st place votes are given 3pts
2nd place votes are given 2pts
3rd place votes are given 1 pt
Voting will end By 12:00 AM Sunday December 4th PST, after which I will tally up all the votes and post the results for the Top 5 winners in each category. The comic that receives the most votes in total will be declared The Best Comic of The Month.
Sexy Batman Part II: A Retrospective on Depictions of Sex on the Covers of Detective Comics (Full Title)
The question has arisen recently over whither or not women are overly sexualized in comics, and in an effort to amass data to lend some insight into the matter, I decided I would do a series of blogs in which I analyze the last 25 years of comic book covers from a dozen of the most popular comics in the industry.
The way I approached this was by a point system. Whenever I would see an instance of one of the following elements within a comic book cover, I would mark a point under either male or female and then tally up the points. I would only mark points for major characters and I would not mark them if they appeared in the ledgers.
If the points fell in the range of 0-6, it was “Non-Sexual”. If it fell within the range of 7-13, it was “Sexual”. And if it fell within 14+ it was “Hyper-Sexual”.
Needless to say, when applied literally, these qualifications yielded unusual and startling results.
Quick Notes:
You can't judge a book by it's cover. Although a cover may only show Batman, for example, the pages within could show a dozen more sexualized representations of women than of men or vice versa. However, due to time and financial restraints, I decided just to focus on the covers.
I would also just like to say that sexiness isn't intrinsically a bad thing. It's only an issue when it's exploitative or teaches harmful ideas to impressionable readers. And that is why I feel it's important to write on it at such length.
Also I try to impart a little humor into the captions. They are meant to be taken lightly, so I ask you to try not to take offense.
And every picture used below, unless specified otherwise, was an example of either a Sexual or Hyper-Sexual comic cover.
The Results
1987-1988
During this period, most of the art referenced the campy 1960s series and, although Catwoman's costume was clearly intended to have some sex appeal, it was generally very tame and quite sweet by today's standards. Most other instances of sexiness were unintentional and were typically of slightly sexy poses from Batman and Robin that at the time wouldn't have carried those connotations (and barely do now).
Gallery
1989-1990
This period marked a very sudden and drastic change in tone from the previous few years. I'm rather hesitant to call any of these covers sexy because, in my view, only somebody with an incredibly sick imagination would think these covers to be remotely sexy. This era has what were probably some of the most bizarre and grotesque comic covers in the last 25 years of Detective Comics.
Gallery
1991
This year didn't have any instances in which a comic cover was labeled as Sexy. It's “sexiest” cover was issue 638, which was only because of Batman's skin-tight costume, rather prominent package, and arching back.
1992-1994
The later part of the 1992 brought with it two covers featuring The Huntress in an earlier, far more revealing outfit (that seemingly had an invisible force field that allowed her to withstand the force of bullets and leap through windows unscathed).
Gallery
Perhaps driven to emulate the BDSM themes within Batman Returns, artist Kelley Jones rose to prominence on both Batman and Detective Comics during this period and with it brought his similarly BDSM-inspired style that emphasized exaggerations of human anatomy, (mostly homoerotic) dominance themes, strangulation, and tight leather costumes. Not just one but several covers featured a male figure straddling atop another male, seemingly all done in a series:
Gallery
1995-97
This period had very few instances of sexual covers, but it also had two out of the three Hyper-Sexual covers in the last 25 years of DC Comics, both of which featured women:
Gallery
1998
Like 1991, this year didn't have any sexual covers.
1999-2002
This period had very few sexual covers, and the ones that were labeled Sexual had a very subtle and hardly noticeable sexual elements to them. I think this can largely be attributed to the influence that Greg Rucka had on Batman during the majority of that time.
Gallery
In fact, most of the covers that did feature women in a sexual manner were done quite tastefully and were rarely, truly exploitative (Issue 743 is an excellent example of that, in my opinion).
2003-2011
Just as in the period before, this span of 8 years rarely featured Sexual covers, with only two Sexual covers (Issues 780 and 794) and one Hyper-Sexual cover (Issue 823).
Gallery
And one can not stress enough how incredible a feat that is, especially when one considers how frequently women were depicted in Detective Comics during this time, especially Batwoman and Renee Montoya.
Conclusion:
I feel as though little can be added to this analysis that wasn't already said in Sexy Batman: Part 1. Early instances of sexual covers in Detective Comics were largely unintentional and quite grotesque in nature and over time the focus moved from an emphasis on male sexuality to female sexuality. But, it's important to note that more often than female sexuality, Detective Comics featured a lot of covers that emphasized female strength and female diversity.
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