Category Archives: comics

Wonder Woman In Pants?!? Sacrilege! LOL!

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

Wonder Woman wearing pants?!?

Well,  it’s not the first time:

When she was a powerless, Diana Rigg-type secret agent in the late 1960s-early 1970s (the less said about this version, and this era, the better 🙂 ), she wore pants allthetime.

Her wardrobe will change back. After all, there are 70 years worth of merchandizing invested in the current costume.

Here’s my proof: remember when Superman looked like this?

No? Yep, just my point; the “next century” lasted for about a year.  🙂 He was back in his original uniform and powers by his 60th anniversary. Wonder Woman’s 70th anniversary is next year, and she’s just as timeless, so…..

JULY 7th UPDATE:

This is the first cover of Ms. magazine, from 1972. In it, founding editor Gloria Steinem complained about how her childhood hero, the only woman as powerful as Superman, got her powers taken from her. (DC  Comics eventually listened, changing her back.)  Here’s what she says about the “new” Wonder Woman of 2010.

Brief Book Reviews: Revolutionary War Ninjas and New Orleans, Take 2

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

The Sons of Liberty.
Created and Written by Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos. Art by Steve Walker. Color by Oren Kramek.
Random House.
176 pages. $12.99.

The Lagos brothers and Steve Walker are not in full command of the (sub-)medium, but the idea of enslaved Africans in the colonies gaining superpowers and becoming African ninjas during the Revolutionary War is a great idea. The art is powerful, but I’m not really a fan of the half-painted, half drawn look here.  A little bit over-colored and a lot overwritten, this is a raw work for young readers with great ambitions—weaving Benjamin Franklin, a John Brown-meets-Yoda character, and echoes of “Sankofa.” 🙂 I hope future installments of this story will be leaner, sharper and less wrought, and thus, more powerful.

Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story.
Story by Mat Johnson. Art by Simon Gane.
Vertigo/DC Comics.
160 pp. $24.99.

As he did with “Incognegro,”Mat Johnson tells a simple and tragic story in a compelling, nuanced way. The award-winning novelist shades his characters gently, blending humor and pathos together in a way well married to the graphic novel form. Simon Gane is a smart enough artist to keep it simple, keeping the focus on the words and actions. Katrina is the star, supporting star and background scene for bold capers, Blackwater-style operations and minute-by-minute survival. Morality breaks down as fast as the levees, and the novel’s leads have decisions to make, according to situation, history and individual character. All the makings of a great (graphic) novel. I now know to expect nothing less of Johnson.

I Fully Admit That…….

Posted on by drumsintheglobalvillage

…..as “Captain Planet” homages go 🙂 , I thoroughly enjoyed “Blackest Night.” (I even have a Blue Lantern Corps ring and button.) I would have switched the colors of what represented “life” and “death,” though.  🙂  I would have loved this even more if it had an actual ending, instead of a transition into the next storyline.