DC News & Views 02.10.04

Archive

We’ll start right in today with a comics legend remembered. Then it is off to an 80’s comic icon reborn, na animated series near and dear to me reimagined, and a significant DC event re-released. Have fun applying your own “re” words to each clipping as you read all of my pithy commentary.


The Community Mourns the Loss of Comic Legend Schwartz

Comics legend Julie Schwartz passed away Sunday morning at 2:30 am at Winthrop Hospital in New York from complications related to his recent battle with pneumonia. He was 88 years old.

The architect of much of the Silver Age of comics (it was Schwartz who re-introduced such characters as the Silver Age Flash, Green Lantern, and Atom), this year, Schwartz would have celebrated 60 years of working with DC Comics. He was an inspiration to at least two generations of comics creators, and his influences and contributions to the medium will be felt for decades and decades to come. Despite his age, Schrawtz had a very active presence at comic book conventions up to and including last year, prior to the decline in his health.

Schwartz’s longtime friend Mark Evanier has written an obituary that can be found here.

Check out Newsarama for a selection of quotes about the man, DC Comics for a biography, The Pulse for one of Schwartz’s more noteworthy co-starring appearance in a comic (something he did with some frequency), and CBR to read reviews of some of Schwartz’s work in Oddball Comics.

I never knew Mr. Schwartz and grew up after he had already made his mark on comics and moved on so I do not feel very comfortable offering my own eulogy for him. The links above do a far better job than I could anyway. I will say that, like in any industry or situation, it is cause for sadness to lose one who meant so much to the artform and made such an indelible mark. The comic industry was richer for his contribution and that will not soon be forgotten.


Jolley Weathers the Firestorm

With the buzz and fuss, you’d think that Dan Jolley and artist ChrissCross had done something like killed off Hal Jordan and replaced him with Kyle Rayner as an all-new Green Lantern. After all, who could guess that DC’s Firestorm, a nuclear-powered superhero could be the center of controversy?

Things are set to heat up in May when the new Firestorm #1 hits, an all new start for an all new ongoing series starring an all new character as Firestorm. Instead of a merged form of Professor Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond (as originally created) or just Ronnie Raymond (as later modified), this Firestorm is a young kid named Jason Rusch and…well, whoever is nearby at the time.

Newsarama

The best part of this article actually comes in the talkback when one fan refers to Dan DiDio, formerly the savior of DC in this way, “DiDio is trying to turn DC into NuMarvel. It’s time to send him packing.” Wow, that didn’t take long at all to turn on him, did it?

I suspect that I may not entirely understand that fan’s comments as I missed the boat of Firestorm the first time around. He was a big hero in the 80’s, I believe, and I was just a bit too young and really only reading Spidey during that period. Thus, no such emotional investment in Dr. Stein and Ronnie Raymond hilarious “Three’s Company” esque adventures (alright, maybe they weren’t like that. Maybe that’s just how I would have written it. Which is why, obviously, DiDio has yet to offer me a job).

Without being familiar with Firestorm’s history, I have to say that Jolley’s quick review of it made my head hurt a bit. Latent meta-genes, nuclear explosions, and fire elemental beings? Well, it ain’t Hawkman, but it sure is complicated. Therefore, in my wholly unemotional, uninvested way, I do think the introduction of a new Firestorm (especially the intriguing Jason Rusch/someone else combination that will now give rise to Firestorm) might be a smart kickoff for a new title. I do understand the fan perspective of disappointment at DC for not even attempting to launch the Raymond/Stein or just Raymond Firestorm in his (or their) own title, but I am fairly sure we will see Raymond soon enough, so perhaps that will please the long term Firestorm fans and perhaps provide a little retroactive closure.


The Batman Tries to Fill the Void in My Soul Left by Batman: TAS

Warner Brothers Animation today officially announced an all-new Batman animated series for both Kids WB and the Cartoon Network. The series, entitled The Batman will debut this fall on the Saturday am schedule on Kids WB before moving to CN in early 2005.

According to Variety, the series will feature a mid-20s Batman in the third year of his career. Classic villains, such as the Joker, the Penguin, and the Catwoman will appear, and the series will feature their first meetings with the Caped Crusader.

Newsarama

I do not normally pull in articles about DC’s non-comic related forays (the numerous articles on the new Superman movie would be far too much depression for most of us to bare), but I thought I would make an exception in this case. As you can tell from the headline, I loved the Animated Series that began following Batman Returns. It, even more than the movies, defined how I viewed Batman and made me a true fan of the character. You want to know why I buy Batman today, you need look no further than that television show. While characters like Two-Face and Riddler were getting short shrift in the Bat books, their characterization in the cartoon made them two of my favorite Bat villains.

“If You’re So Smart Then Why Aren’t You Rich” remains one of the best Riddler stories ever, be it in comics, movies, or on television. They cannot release the episodes on DVD soon enough for my tastes.

In fact, at the risk of overstating my case, I’ll say that I don’t think I’d be writing this column right now if it weren’t for that television show. So how about that?

So, obviously, my expectations are going to be unfairly high for this one. Hopefully, by acknowledging this fact, I can be fair in my evaluation of the show when it is released. Unlikely, but hopefully.


Jurgens Is EVERYWHERE

This February DC Comics is delivering another blast from the past with a new printing of the Zero Hour tradepaperback. Written and penciled by Dan Jurgens with inking by Jerry Ordway, this story introduced Impulse, Jack Knight, and pitted the world’s greatest heroes up against a temporal disruption threatening to destroy the DC Universe. Jurgens has been involved in a variety of comics projects since Zero Hour and is currently writing Marvel’s Thor and doing the art on Image’s Common Grounds and an upcoming JLA arc with Marvel’s She-Hulk writer Dan Slott, but he found some time to talk about all these projects and more.

The Pulse

For some time, Jurgens occupied the same area of the comic universe that Ron Marz dwelled in: like by many, but vehemently hated by several. He was, after all, the comic creator who not only killed Superman (Don’t worry, he got better. He’s like Jack Bauer, you can kill him, but he’ll still live), but also was responsible for the demise of most the Justice Society (in Zero Hour) and perpetuating the “Hal Jordan is a power hungry mad man named Parallax now” plot thread that HEAT members found so very appealing.

Therefore, I am willing to cut him some slack when he comments, “I would never recommend the business to anyone,” while talking about comics. That does not mean that I am any less surprised though.

I think he may be the first creator that I ever read or heard saying something to that effect. Especially a creator who remains as involved in the industry as Jurgens. Heck, perpetual sourpuss Jim Shooter (I don’t know that is a sourpuss, but everyone seems to hint at it when they talk about it) has spent every waking moment trying to get back into comics since he stopped being Marvel’s EIC. It would have been interesting to see the interview explore that comment and his follow-up “Creators won the war for Creator’s Rights, but lost the battle of Creator’s Working Conditions,” more deeply as I think those topics are of interest to everyone, while mentions of Zero Hour, Thor, or Common Grounds probably only interest those who have read or are reading those particular titles. They seem more universal and very honest. A good rule of thumb, generally, is that very honest statements lead to very interesting anecdotes and opinions.


Gotham Knights Portela and Barrionuevo Return for Another Interview

With the Batman mega-arc “Hush” now complete and Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb moving on to other high-profile projects, the dangling plot-threads still left unanswered are left hanging in limbo until the duo chooses to return to them, right?

Wrong.

As of this month’s Gotham Knights #50, writer A.J. Lieberman, inker Francis Portela and penciller Al Barrionuevo have picked-up the storyline started by Loeb and Lee in “Hush” and have began running with it…

Having previously spoken to Lieberman concerning his plans for Gotham Knights and the post-“Hush” fall-out, we recently caught-up with Portela and Barrionuevo (as well as to get their agent David Macho, who helped chime-in with some translation tips) to get their input concerning the story, the state of Batman and the rouges gallery, and the finer details of his iconic costume…

Newsarama

There is nothing particularly new here from the similar article covering this art team last column, but it is a bit more amusing due to David Macho occasional contributions. In particular, I enjoyed his attempts to explain Dulce de Leche to us Americans who may not be familiar with the sweet sort of pudding type dessert thing. Actually, that whole question about which ice cream describes you was pretty funny in general.

That was a food reference, so I guess it must be about time for me to wrap up the column.

I suggest cruising on over to the message board to check out DC News and Views. A few people have posted on the DC/Marvel ownership of super hero issue and you also get an explanation on how Common Grounds and Super…er…umm… Hero Happy Hour can be the similar and different. Good stuff, good people, and really, isn’t it about time we show everyone else on the board that we are just as passionate about comics as others are passionate about wrestling and the like. I, for one, think it is. Also, remember that the free comic contest is still going on and that I am accepting entries until the end of the month. Free comics cannot be beat. Come on, you know you want them. Just write me at parallax2@juno.com and let me know one of your fondest comic book related memories.

Who’s house? Un Gajje’s house!