Hey everybody, we’re back with another throw-down of comic book merriment! There’s plenty to discuss as usual, and to start, can I just say…I love the Batman of Zur-En-Arrrh!
Not only is he so…pardon the expression…Batshit out of his gourd that he attains a level of entertainment value that only the likes of Mick Foley and H. Ross Perot have reached…
…but have you ever just shouted ZUR-EN-ARRRRH!!! in the middle of a public setting? It’s fun as all hell! Someone put this on a t-shirt, stat!
Meanwhile, we’ve got some more Superman movie-related news from both NEWSARAMA and SUPERHEROHYPE.com – each site reporting that Warner Brothers is planning on rebooting the Superman film franchise. According to WB’s Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov, SUPERMAN RETURNS didn’t live up to studio expectations, so they will be dumping that continuity and starting anew with the goal of an eventual multicharacter film.
To quote the Newsarama article: “That may sound less like a ‘strategy’ and more like a mad cash-grab. Something else that might not sit right with some fans is Robinov’s determination to explore the darker side of super-heroes: ‘We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it.’“
This just begs the question of which, exactly, is the worse scenario – jumping the shark and clearing it, or tripping on the shark’s fin on the way over, and skipping across the ocean on your face like a well-thrown pebble?
Whichever one it is…that’s the danger the comic book movie’s in right now because this strategy has all the potential to be the very thing that pops the proverbial bubble. Pause for a random thought: metaphors are fun. And now, we resume. In all seriousness – this can work if Warner Brothers doesn’t make the all-too-easy mistake of using Batman as a standard definition of “dark.” If Robinov wants to do this right, he’ll keep Bryan Singer on as director, don’t you dare lose that theme song, and let the “dark” in this case come from the villain – like a Doomsday, or a Darkseid or a Brainiac (*cough* previous column *cough*) – and really take Superman to his limits.
But if Robinov wants to see a Superman film really disappoint, he’ll green-light something like this:
…or worse…
Now, over in Marvel territory: I came across a pretty interesting quote from Spider-Man “brain-trust” member Marc Guggenheim, who recently gave an interview with Newsarama to pimp an upcoming story he wrote, starring Flash Thompson. With regards to ONE MORE DAY/BRAND NEW DAY, Guggenheim says, “When we initially went into this, we knew there would be a segment of the readership who wouldn’t embrace what happened in One More Day and would be very cynical about it. But I have to admit, I’m a little surprised by some of it. I thought that, now that we’re just about a year into working on it, I thought people would say, ‘OK, we’re over One More Day. We’ve moved on.’ But I still read about it. People are still talking about it. And I know it’s not quite a year. It’s seven months. But I have to say the lingering after-affect of reactions to One More Day has surprised me on how long it’s lasted.”
Uhm…wow. Maybe he hasn’t read ONE MORE DAY. Or maybe he did and it gave him a stroke. Your guess is as good as mine, people. But anyway, he goes on:
“I would like to see the book get to the point where everyone’s like, OK, we recognize that we’re not going back, that this is the new status quo, and they’ll embrace it like the writers have. Because we’re really loving the work on this title. And I hope people will give it a chance and see what we see.”
Good luck with that, dude. I mean that, because I know you’re working hard on making this status quo work, and I realize it’s not even your fault that your period on one of the world’s greatest literary icons is likely going to be an asterisk at best.
That said…well, if you don’t understand why a great number of Marvelites haven’t let this go after seven months, or why they are not going to let you live down ONE MORE DAY, or why they will flat-out refuse to give BRAND NEW DAY an even chance, I’m gonna expand upon a point I originally made in the comments section of a previous column, and put it to you like this: let’s say your Uncle Joey promises you a big bowl of chocolate pudding. He makes great chocolate pudding, too. And you love chocolate pudding, so look at that – match made in Heaven, right?
So you sit down, you got on your pudding bib, your pudding spoon, and you’re singing your pudding-is-awesome song because you always sing it right before you have your pudding.
And then, your Uncle Joey hands you a big bowl of cat crap.
And then, Uncle Joey tells you that the pudding is just beyond that cat crap, about three inches into the bowl – and he promises, cross-his-heart, that it’s really good too. This, Uncle Joey says, is the best pudding he’s ever made, and you’re gonna love it. And it’s waiting for you…just beyond the cat crap.
The point is this: I’d have been down for that pudding if you hadn’t tried to make me swallow cat crap first.
I hope you’ll pardon the metaphor. I have three cats. They crap a LOT. 
This other bit of news is a bit of a bummer, but I felt compelled to mention it all the same. I read that actor Julius Carry died of pancreatic cancer last Tuesday, at the age of 56. Now, you may not recognize him if you see this picture…
…but if I show you this:
…that’ll likely jog your memory. Shogun of Harlem, baby. Although personally, I knew him this way…
Yes, I was one of the twenty people who watched THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY, JR – even when it moved to Saturday afternoons – and hopefully I shall be a proud owner of the DVD by Christmas, at the latest. The Bowler was one of my favorite characters of the show, as chief rival (though I held out perpetual hope that he’d become partner) to the titular bounty hunter played by fellow cult icon Bruce Campbell. But as the article from the Chicago Tribune noted, Julius was an actor of many hats, many talents and many hairstyles, and all of them will be missed. Happy trails, Lord Bowler. Thanks for staying with us for a while.
And that looks to be it from me this week, fellow comic book heads – be sure to check out Grey Scherl’s third installment of THE GOLD STANDARD, wherein he discusses the benefits of change well-executed – and let’s face it, when we’re talking “well-executed” these days, odds are we’re talking Brubaker – and of course the only video column available on the Nexus today, ONESHOT PRESENTS… – we’ve got Part 3 up, of their ComiCon Odyssey of Twenty-Aught-Eight; which, incidentally is almost as much fun to say as ZUR-EN-ARRRRH. Almost.
And now, until I try to figure out a different name for it so as not to infringe on somebody else’s bit…here it is, courtesy of COMIC CRITICS, your Moment of Zen (TM):
I’m just sayin’ – it’s funny cuz it’s true…
