Tagged: Lazarus

Ed Catto: Fight Like a Girl

Columns
June 12, 2017

It’s a good time to fight like a girl. The new Wonder Woman movie is a big hit. Everyone from Billy Tucci to my mom seems to like it. Fox News managed to complain about the level of patriotism in the movie, but whatever; every party needs a pooper.

I thought it was great fun, and yesterday’s Biographic strip in sundry newspapers taught me something I didn’t remember. It turns out Wonder Woman’s first animated appearance was on an episode of The Brady Kids. It predated Superfriends by one year! This show was a spin-off of the Brady Bunch series. Even as a young fan, I remember watching this cartoon was pretty painful. At that time, I preferred Marcia Brady to Wonder Woman… but, hey, it’s still cool that it actually happened.

Wonder Woman is very busy in comics right now. Beyond her regular “Rebirthed” series and her DC Super Girls adventures, the Wonder Woman ’77 version of the character has been on a tear with Batman and Bionic Woman team-ups. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed the Batman ’66 crossover in particular. Jeff Parker is adding onto the TV mythology in clever and unexpected ways. Batfans shouldn’t miss these.

Beyond the Amazonian Princess, currently there’s quite a few top-notch comics where the protagonist is fighting like a girl… because she is one… including:

Mother Panic – This wonky DC/Young Animal series about features an unlikely, and unlikable, female protagonist. But I really enjoy it and art by Tommy Lee Edwards and Jon Paul Leon has been gorgeous and inspiring.
Velvet – Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s excellent 007esque series just ended, but Batwoman is a consolation as Epting has continued onto this series. His art is just superlative there too.
Lazarus – Greg Rucka and Michael Lark deliver a world-building drama that continues to ratchet up the tension in each issue. It’s been quite a ride and show’s no sign of stopping.
Invisible Republic – Produced by the super-talented, and super-likable, team of Gabriel and Corinna Bechko, this Image series is literally a world-building story. It tells the tale of Maia McBride and her involvement with and efforts on behalf of a revolutionary establishing a society. It’s great creepy fun. A mystery wrapped in an adventure wrapped in an enigma wrapped in social commentary.

While The New York Daily News carries Biographic (I really buy this paper each Sunday for the full page Prince Valiant), The New York Times offered readers a surprise this weekend too. What a treat their all-comics version of the Sunday magazine was! Hope you were able to snag a copy of that, but if not, check it out here.

Their New York Times Book Review section also reviewed The Spectacular Sisterhood Of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History by Hope Nicholson. This looks to be a fun book by a passionate author with an impressive pedigree. Published by Quirk, this is another one of those books in the mold of Craig Yoe’s Super Weird Heroes or Jon Morris’s The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History.

In fact, if vintage super heroines are your thing, I really must be sure you are aware of Mike Madrid’s The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and The History of Comic Book Heroines, Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics. He even gave the “bad guy women” their due in Vixens, Vamps & Vipers: Lost Villainesses of Golden Age Comics.

And this all leads me to another Fangirls Lead the Way Panel. I’ll be moderating this one at Syracuse’s Salt City Comic Con on the first day of the show, June 24th. This is looking to be an engaging convention with wonderful guests. I’m expecting some cool discussions and insights at this panel, mainly because this one always brings out the best in the panelists and the audience.

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering – we can’t announce any panels for San Diego Comic-Con quite yet… so stay tuned.)

My panelists in Syracuse include Sally Heaven of Fangirl Shirts. This entrepreneurial apparel company will be exhibiting on the show floor, and I’m excited to have her on the panel. Sally’s a spitfire and comes to every comic-con with passion, energy…and really cool T-shirts! Connie Gibbs, of Black Girl Nerds always has good insights to share and brings so much to the party. it will be great to see her again. And we’ve got a few surprises too.

This one will be at 2:00 in the “Hall of Justice” on the Saturday of Salt City Comic-Con. I’ll let you know how it all goes.

• • • • •

For more info on all the panels at the Syracuse show check out their schedule!

Ed Catto: On the Fringe

Columns
November 7, 2016

In the old days of comics, and for me that was the 70s, the general nerd mindset was that you’d have to identify yourself as either a Marvel or a DC fan. And then read as many comics as possible from that publisher. You’d jump right in, find your favorite series and start reading the new issues while at the same time, working to complete your collection of the old back issues. In this way, the thinking went, you’d immerse yourself in the shared universe of each publisher.

I was reminded of this as I recently came across a 1976 price guide from Robert Bell. He was one of the big back issue dealers back then – you’ve probably seen his ads in old comics. This pamphlet gave the prices for all the current (what we’d today call Silver Age and Bronze Age) Marvel comics. The unstated, overarching goal was to collect them all – and to keep your mother from throwing them out.

Oh, there was the realization of the futility of that quest. Collecting certain titles would be hard to complete. After all, if you were collecting Spider-Man in 1976, you knew that acquiring the first issue was just a pipe dream. After all – who had $110 to spend on one comic book?

Regardless, comic fans could keep up with the current issues and collect the old stuff. And if you loved Marvel or DC, you were definitely buying the best-selling “important” titles.

For example, no true Marvel fan wanted to be out of touch with the important adventures unfolding in the current issues of The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man or Thor.

Curiously, Iron Man was kind of a B-lister then, and it was totally acceptable to take pass on buying his comic on a regular basis.

Since the 70s, so many strong publishers with fantastic comics have elbowed their way to center stage so that today there’s no longer that binary choice for fans of Marvel or DC.

Realistically, the “Big Two” still dominate the market in many comic shops and in the cinema. But that’s rapidly changing on both the comics shelves and onscreen. One needs only to point to the incredible success of The Walking Dead to acknowledge that increasingly there are more options and opportunities for other comic publishers.

Which brings me to the curious realization that I’ve become a fringe reader of Marvel Comics. Part of the change is attributable to age, of course, but there’s something bigger going on.

Today I find myself eschewing the popular titles and the crossovers, and I like to stay on the edge of the Marvel Universe. I skip the IMPORTANT comics and instead enjoy comics like

Spider-Woman
Black Widow (with that fun Chris Samnee art)
Silver Surfer (I’ve touched on that here
That “other Cap, Sam Wilson: Captain America
Moon Knight – I’m so impressed with Greg Smallwood’s art.
The weird part is that Marvel seems to offer up more and more “fringe” titles, but doesn’t seem to support them. New books with trivia answer characters like Solo and The Prowler keep popping up.

And series like Mockingbird debut, get their chance, but if they fail to click the plug is unceremoniously pulled. The Beat detailed this sad fate with the Mockingbird’s cancellation last week. Of course, there’s more to that story and the cyber bullying that ensued is a serious problem that really demands further exploration.

And while I’m losing track of my old friends in the Avengers and the X-Men, I’m perfectly content with the fine storytelling in these so-called fringe books.

Spider-Woman is a particularly guilty pleasure. Back in the 70s, we all were excited when the series debuted and I dutifully collected it. Even my brother did! Marv Wolfman, and then Mark Gruenwald and Chris Claremont, wrote some off-kilter classics. Since that series concluded, there have been many Spider-Woman reboots and relaunches. One would speculate this was due to Marvel’s focus on keeping a tight hold on the character’s trademark.

When Spider-Woman restarted again in 2014, I gave I gave this delightful series a try.

I think the covers’ unconventional logo placement and the vibrant interior color pallete by Javier Rodriquez caught my eye, but the fun stories by Dennis Hopeless and the intricate Eisnerish panel layouts keep me coming back for more. (There’s usually one or two very clever pages each month. I’m sure this drives the Guided View developers at ComiXology crazy.)

The latest issue focuses on the heroine trying to enjoy a day at the beach, while encouraging her protégé to deal with the day’s work issues. And for a Marvel superhero, work issues means capturing an escaped super-villain. It was such a great read.

My inner 8-year-old keeps asking, “What are the important characters of the Marvel universe up to?” Shouldn’t I be keeping track of Dr. Doom and Kang? I guess so – but my comic book stack is filled with outstanding indy titles (like The Black Monday Murders, Lazarus or Black) and thoroughly enjoying my time hanging around the fringe of the Marvel Universe.

I never thought it would happen to me, but it feels pretty ok.

Oh, and I’m not your mother, but I’ll still remind you to go vote tomorrow.

Ed Catto: Family Reunion – Geek Culture Style

Columns
July 13, 2015

Reunions remind me that I am definitely in the “Lucky Guy” category. Celebrating recent wins and remembering the good times invigorate me – and I’ve done both at my recent reunions. I may need my time alone to recharge – it drives my creative process and keeps me sane – but deep down, I’m truly a social creature blessed with an abundance of family and friends.

But I’m not the only one who’s been focused on reunions this summer. Choice Hotels’ recent advertising campaign targets all those folks who are undecided about attending an upcoming reunion. The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go? reinforces our natural indecision as a wide variety of people anxiously prepare for their reunions. “It won’t be the same without you, bro”, taunts one bearded man who undoubtedly represents a friend we all have. Take a look here if you haven’t seen it yet.

I’ve always enjoyed my college reunions. I haven’t missed many. I love being on campus without those ‘pesky’ students running off to interesting classes I’d like to follow them to or flaunting their seemingly endless time to relax in the Quad. Reunion is like a private party at Disneyworld without the other customers. Or the Bottled City of Kandor without the Kryptonians.

And my family reunion was a fantastic time to reconnect with 25 family members, get some family business done (we’re struggling with the inevitable elder-care issues) and have fun together. It was another opportunity to hand-deliver Archie, Boom! and IDW comics to the upcoming Catto generation. I also played with my young nephew, explaining the story of Thor (via a Captain Action toy) and blaming the thunderstorm later that night on his mighty hammer. Fans of Greg Rucka’s Lazarus comic will understand when I say that my internal mantra for the weekend was “Family First,” a phrase I borrowed from that outstanding Image series.

I believe that “Comic-Con International,” the event that the rest of the world calls San Diego Comic-Con or #SDCC, is an event with the same kind of reunion magic – generating energy and creativity, support and hope.

I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with Geek Culture for some time now. Business acquaintances have become friends. Favorite artists, writers and publishers, at the core of Pop Culture, have likewise evolved into business acquaintances and friends.

Oh sure, for me SDCC is a time filled with business meetings, panels and interviews. It’s also an opportunity to discover new ideas, new creations and new ways of doing business. But so many of us connect with old and new friends, celebrate shared passions and just hang out.

When I was a Vice President of Strategic Marketing at Reed Elsevier’s Exhibition division, I traveled to conventions across the US and around the world. In most cases, these tradeshows share a congenial element of friends gathering together. Some conventions are more business-like than others. But I don’t think any other industry’s trade show has the unique vibe of Comic-Con. Those other conventions simply don’t have that overwhelming passion baked into the DNA of the exhibitors and attendees at Comic-Con and the connections that come from that passion.

For so many of us, last week’s San Diego Comic-Con was a place to spend time with people that feel like family. Over 130,000 of them. And it was a time to learn news about shared interests and then share it – both within the tribe and beyond to the world at large. But like the mystical cities of Brigadoon or K’un Lun, this magical reunion in San Diego appeared all-too-briefly and then shimmered away. It was a the ideal spot to gather together and I never thought, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Tagged: Lazarus

Ed Catto: Fight Like a Girl

Ed Catto: On the Fringe

Ed Catto: Family Reunion – Geek Culture Style

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks