You Don't Know Dick

No this blog hasn't taken a turn for the salacious, I am of course referring to Dick Grayson.

Dick Grayson, the original "Boy Wonder" and the guy who has single handedly made male gymnasts manly! I'm not claiming to be an expert on all things Nightwing but I do have a fondness for the character and am in someways familiar with all his iterations. From Robin to Nightwing to Batman to Nightwing back to Batman and now (Finally?) Nightwing again.

Some of these eras I've only read the glancing single issue  or 2. Others I have read whole arcs and even complete runs! So I have enough background on the subject to tell the WB, they don't know Dick.

 For the most part I believe Master Richard has been handled wonderfully. Wolfman and Dixon immediately come to mind as 2 of his Seminole writers. With great pacing and respect Dick has gone from sidekick to Titans team leader and was elevated to full time Top-Tier hero. I am especially impressed with current writer, Kyle Higgins run. Higgins is a Rock-Star-Writer in the making and he has not just helped Nightwing come into his own in DC's new52, he has helped him step completely out of the shadow of his one time mentor and adoptive father Batman. Nightwing is a cash cow on the verge thanks to the fine minds at DC comics.

So who is it then that doesn't know Dick?

Everyone at Warner who doesn't work on the 4 color side of things it seems! In their minds Dick Grayson's destiny as a non-comic book exclusive property is still intertwined with Batman's. The problem with this is the TV and movie going audience doesn't like Robin and the Dubya-B can't separate Dick from the red, green and yellow even 30 years after he ditched those threads for a black and blue leisure suited costume.
Dick Grayson/Nightwing should from here on out stand on his own. I'm not suggesting you ignore his history or even rewrite his origin but there must be a way to bring him to the masses not as a former Robin, but as a superhero that just so happened to be Robin a LOOOOONG time ago.

This is what I propose...

Nightwing is ripe for the small screen. He has teeny bopper appeal with his youth and good looks and also is bad ass enough for the 18-40 crowd to rally around and adopt as they have Ollie Queen in CW's Arrow.

(Which brings me to my next point)

My suggestion to distance the boy wonder from the main event hero Dick Grayson has become, is for a guest-spot on Arrow to see gage the reception and monitor Nightwing's prime time presence. We know that fanboys would mark out for it, but how will the other half of the shows audience react? This would be my litmus test. From there on out respond accordingly. Does he recur? Get a spin-off? or does he forever get tied to Batman in which this experiment would fail miserably. The hints have been dropped, Bludhaven has been mentioned during season 1 and his style (no powers) fits the tone of Arrow perfectly.

But what do I know?

Snyder the Great and Powerful

I bet DC Comics thought they were done working with Magicians when Alan Moore unceremoniously took his ball and ran home sometime early last decade.

DC was wrong!

They now have a mystic in their midst with even greater power than the Merlin of 1980's comic book creations. Where Moore had to tip toe around characters true identities to produce his magnum opus, Watchmen, our new wizardly wordsmith reached far beyond time and television for his latest trick.

Scott Snyder, in Whovian fashion reached 20 years into the future, grabbed a character created for television 14 years in the past and slammed him smack dab into current Batman canon!

Now that's magic!

Words do not do it justice, so if you haven't read Batman #20 STOP RIGHT HERE!

But if you've already enjoyed the spell that Snyder the Great and Powerful cast upon this week, gaze upon it 1 more time.

Can You Give Someone an A & an F at the Same Time?

I'm not picking on Marvel here, quite the opposite actually. When I first saw that they were doing info-crawls on the bottom of the screen during episodes of Spider-Man, Avengers, etc. I was thrilled! Another example of how Marvel can push the creative envelope while educating their target demo, future members of the Merry Marvel Marching Society (M.M.M.S. for short). That is until I read my very first Marvel Universe info-crawl.

They botched it!

If you haven't yet, look at the clip above. It says that Spider-Man's 1st appeared in Amazing Fantasy #16.

So that means all these years I have been searching for the wrong comics Holy Grail (not that I can afford it, but that's neither here, nor there)? Because my answer to the, "If you could have any comic book in the world" question had always been Amazing Fantasy #15.

This error becomes even more egregious when you consider the source. The actual Marvel Entertainment Co.! Marvel is owned by Disney and this programming is on a Disney channel (Disney XD) that aims solely at a key Marvel audience and you still screw this up?  Apparently they are in need of a fact checker or 2, well I officially volunteer.

While I give The House of Ideas an A for attempting to flex some creative muscle here and slip in a Marvel Comics history lesson during their TV programming, I have to give them a resounding Fin their  execution of that task. Spider-Man's 1st appearance issue is basic, common comic book knowledge, unless of course, you happen to work for the company he was created by.

I Would Wait In Line For This

THE UNCANNY X-MUPPETS

How To Judge A Book By It's Cover

Take a look at the picture above. That my friends, is the image that hooked me on comics. In November of 1989 I took my birthday money the the local smoke shop to buy a deck of baseball cards. Little did I know that I'd be leaving there with an addiction and 1 less dollar in my piggy bank.

Like any 6 year old I loved cartoons, but I had not yet discovered my four color destiny. My brother was 6 years older than me and like any younger brother, what he liked I liked and he loved baseball. So on that fateful Saturday morning after my favorite 'toons were over of course, my mother drove me to Sandy's Smoke and News (Sadly no longer in business), where my cousin Mike worked, birthday money in hand to hunt for the baseball card that was going to put me through college (remember when baseball cards actually held some value?)!

As I strolled past the cigars and magazines toward my future trust fund in the guise of an Upper Deck trading card, it hit me. Smack in the face like a runaway train. At first I noticed the Spider-Man mask on the white background that looked awkwardly out of place in comparison to the rest of the image. From there my eyes had a hard time figuring out how a picture with such lively shades of purple, blue and green could be so dark. Then I see it, boy did I see it. It was a man (Wolverine I would come to find out) crucified on an X! Being the son of a choir directory I knew what the Crucifixion was and if this summoned that image it must be BIG! And as I finally held this copy of Uncanny X-Men 251 in my very own hands I can make out the skulls laid at the feet of this man who was obviously in a tremendous amount of peril.

WOW! I mean WOW!

My mind was officially blown.

I abandoned all notions of trying to score my riches in cards and I had to have this book! I even left the shop with the rest of my money in hand because I had to have it and the sooner I purchased it the sooner I could get home and Marvel (no pun intend) at my birthday plunder. My mom being the supportive mother she was, looked upon it in horror (at the blasphemy before her I imagine) but let me buy it because it was my money and it's what I wanted. I should probably thank her for that next time I see her.

To this day I still have that book. And to this day I still couldn't tell you what it's about, I just can't get past that goddamn cover!

Set It, And Forget It

It was the 1980's and women had hit the workforce full steam ahead! Once and future Batman Michael Keaton swapped places with his stay-at-home wife in Mr. Mom and Dustin Hoffman dragged through the streets of NYC as Tootsie just to get a job! But with mom and dad both at work, WHO WAS GOING TO COOK DINNER?

Through the power of the early 80's infomercial, a hero would rise!

Inventor Ron Popeil came up with the often imitated, never duplicated Showtime Rotisserie. It would revolutionize meal time, as well as the modern TV infomercial. The slogan "Set it, and forget it" became a household phrase and the overwhelming acclaim for the Showtime Rotisserie became a part of the fabric if American pop culture.

"But isn't this blog about comic books?" You may be asking yourselves right about now. Fret not loyal reader! It's all about to some full circle...

As great as "set it, and forget" was in the 80's, when applied to comics it's quite the opposite. Every week I am going to bring you a column titled, you guessed it, 'Set It And Forget It'. I'll focus on books that were promised, and promoted but never delivered, while also taking a look at incomplete mini-series and story arcs.

First up we'll take a look at the infamous Daredevil/Bullseye: Target.

In the fairness of full disclosure, this entry pains me a little bit because the writer, Kevin Smith holds a spot on my very own Mt. Rushmore of coolness. But as an unbiased blogger I cannot fall into the trap of protecting Sacred Cows (no that is not a fat joke).

 Issue number 1 was released in November of 2002 to coincide with the Ben Affleck Daredevil flick (which I enjoyed even if no one else did). Solid marketing plan, Smith had a small role in the movie, and had also previously written and revived Matt Murdoch to a top tier hero in DD: Reborn. So far, so good.

And that's where the good stops...completely.

Smith started filming Jersey Girl and writing Spider-Man: The Evil That Men Do (which had a multi-year delay of it's own) and left DD in the dust. In 2005 Smith revealed panels for 'Target' number 2 and claimed that it would hit the shelves in mid-2006. Was this the ray of hope 'Target' fans had been waiting for since the fall of '02? I'll save you the suspense, the answer is NO!

Things had gotten so bad that earlier this year the Jersey boy himself revealed that the 'Target' that had been alluded to in issue number 1 was Captain America, putting the proverbial nail in Daredevil/Bullseye: Target's coffin.

Next week we look at Batman: The Widening...I KID, I KID. This one hurt to much!

If you have any ideas for my next "Set It, And Forget It" let me know.

Speed Dating Superman

Tell any basketball coach, that they can start a new team with any player they want and most will pic Michael Jordan. Ask a football coach what clutch Quarterback they'd want leading their team down the field on a Super Bowl winning drive and 9 times out of 10 you'll hear the name Tom Brady. So which Superhero would most of today's four color wordsmiths resoundingly choose to steer themselves toward the fame and notoriety of comic book royalty?

Easy, it's gotta be Superman. I mean, he's the cream of the crop, the gold standard of modern American mythology...he's...HE'S FREAKING SUPERMAN!

Right?

Well, not exactly...

Since the dawn of the New52 it seems that comics most talented penmen have been merely speed dating Cleveland's greatest export since, well, EVER. How can this be? It's Superman! The entire genre, not just DC Comics has at one time or another owed a debt of gratitude to one Clark Kent. If Superman never hits new stands 75 years ago, Marvel never becomes big enough to the point where the largest entertainment company this world has ever seen, Disney, purchases it for over 4 BILLIONS dollars. That's billion with a B! Supes simply broke all barriers and misconceptions so that everyone else's figments of their imaginations could suddenly be realized in the form of billion dollar properties. Superman was first.

Take a look at this list:

George Perez
Grant Morrison
Keith Giffen
Dan Jurgens
Andy Diggle
Tony Daniel

No, that's not a list of who would make the Comic Book writers all-star team, that is a list of people who have walked out on the Man of Tomorrow in under 2 years time.

Some of these writers have just finished up long standing arcs. Some have left because of editorial differences of which I have no inside information or knowledge about so I will not half-assedly expound upon them. The others I would assume were called to fill in due to the untimely departures of certain talent and have done a fine job, but shouldn't your Universe's center piece have consistency?

Look at Batman (whom some would argue has overtaken DC's mantle as top dog, but maybe that will be another entry some time down the road). Scott Snyder has been a rock for the lead title of Bat books, Batman. He just finished up two long standing arcs and is about to release another year long title reign that has us all waiting with baited breath! Why do we yearn for Snyder's next 12 month epic crusade? Consistency in his previous work. We know what he brings to the table and we will gladly shill out our bucks for more.

It seems that DC editorial has given Snyder the keys to the Porsche and trusts that he won't leave it a twisted heap of metal and steel. Like I said earlier I don't know the reasons for some of Superman's recent breakups, but the creative direction behind both Action Comics and Superman needs to become more of a marathon and much less of a sprint.

Maybe Scott Lobdell, who will shortly be writing both Action and Superman is just what Dr. Mensa (a Lois & Clark reference) ordered. Perhaps DC has thrown Mr. Lobdell the keys to the Bentley and have simply told him to, "bring it back in one piece". Only time will tell, but I for one am rooting for him.