An Apology

Hey guys,
I know that I don't have much of a following yet, but to those who do this is an apology. I made a mission statement that I would publish once a week and after the past two weeks I have failed to post anything. I am sorry about that, I have been adjusting to a new schedule and things have been crazy. However, I am going to aim to not let it happen again. I have a whole bunch of content coming your way next week as the world of geek media has been BOOMING over the past week or so. There is just a lot to talk about so right now I am trying to put things in an order of precedence to get content worth your time out to you. Thanks for following me here and I look forward to bringing you guys some new stuff on Monday!
-Michael Oden
creator and author of Comic Relief!

Hero Appreciation: Superman

Welcome back to another Comic Relief! where I talk about all sorts of things going on in the world of Geekdom!

So there are a lot of rumblings going on in the realm of super heroes and such,  however most are just announcements for announcements. DC is gearing up to make some pretty exciting announcements regarding a Justice League trailer, information on Green Lantern Corps and Shazam, and the revival of the show Constantine as an animated series existing in the Arrowverse on CW Seed. Marvel has made a few announcements themselves regarding a few upcoming things: the advertising on the next big crossover event "Secret Empire" has begun which will be centered around the ongoing actions committed by Steve Rogers throughout the new Hail Hydra and Civil War II arcs, a new Spider-man animated series is set to air this summer, Inhumans starts filming soon, and apparently the Gambit movie is still a thing. However, I don't really think those things warrant full pieces individually, so rather than write about anything new and noteworthy, I figured I would incorporate a new aspect to Comic Relief: Hero Appreciation. Hero appreciation is exactly what it sounds like, I talk about heroes to spread awareness/appreciation for them. Today's hero is the first super hero: Superman.

Now I know what most readers must be thinking: "that really doesn't seem all that necessary, Superman is kind of a big deal, so why do a bit about him?" Well for two main reasons, firstly that being that this is my first Hero Appreciation, the first super hero seemed like a great place to start, but secondly because I know that the view on superman is fairly split, and because up until recently I was among the population that hated Superman. Despite his iconic nature, Superman might be the easiest hero to hate, especially from an uninformed perspective that most have. It becomes very difficult to appreciate a character with so much power, and arcs can feel anticlimactic due to the nature of that power, however, there is so much more to the man of steel, and since my appreciation has grown he has become one of my favorite heroes in the DC universe.

As I said before, up until a few years ago Superman was a hero I despised. "What's the point of reading about a guy with every power under the sun?" I would always say. The hero was stale, boring, and vanilla for me. However, my opinion started to shift upon reading the book Superman: Earth One Vol 2. Earth One was a re-imagining of the character that is a bit darker and more real world in tone. Follow up to Vol 1 (which focused on a Clark who was not ready to be Superman), Vol 2 picks up where it's predecessor left off with Clark in the role of Superman. However, being the man of steel is not easy and comes with a lot more complications than expected. Saving everyone while ignoring the man made borders of nations comes with criticism and even resistance at times. The book is all about the understanding and appreciation of power. There is a lot to this book, and there are several great moments including the one that changed my view on Super-man.

In the story, there is a point where he is out on a date with this girl who lives next door to him. They are swapping stories about their childhood and Clark's is beautiful. He tells the story of this cat he rescued as a kid. It was a stray kitten who had been set upon by a bunch of coyotes, it's siblings and mom had been eaten by the time Clark got there, but when he got there the cat was fighting the coyotes off best it could, losing an eye in the process. Clark saves the cat and takes it in. The cat was his best friend and they would sit on the porch at night and watch the moon together. However, when the time came, and the cat had gotten too old, she passed away asleep right next to him. So Clark took the cat and "took her someplace he knew would be happy, where she could always see him and he could always see her." The pages final panels show Clark Kent cry tears floating from his eyes at zero gravity as he hovers over a grave stone on the moon. Clark finishes the story by saying: "I'll probably have a lot of explaining to do about it someday, but it's what she would've wanted...she was the first living thing I ever cared for that died."

This was the moment where it finally hit me, why Superman was a character that had stood the test of time. Clark Kent may have every power under the sun, and imagine all the things he could do with that power? How terrifying could he become? However, rather than abuse that power to rise to the level of a god, he chooses to be human. He tries to see the best in people and is not corrupted by his power. As naive as that maybe, it is something that is truly beautiful and I feel is a testament to the strength of him as a character.

All this being said, Superman's greatest struggle aren't his feuds, but ultimately lie in the difficulty of writing him. Again Superman has every ability under the sun, and while that provides some great chances to display his raw power, it is also a huge hindrance from a writing standpoint because trying to make a physical challenge for Superman is pointless. The struggle of Superman should be that of a man living in a world of tissue paper, struggling to fit in and not destroy everything around him. Unfortunately, being that comic action sells, many writers focus too hard on how hard he can punch rather than the more important aspects of the character: his humanity, his kind heart, his optimism. Superman is a character well worth giving a look and if you are looking for a great place to start I have a list of Graphic Novels below to check out!

Superman short list:

• Superman: Earth One (Vol 1,2, &3)
• All-star Superman
• Superman Rebirth Vol 1: Son of Superman (this series is ongoing and is incredible!

 

brilliant art from issue 7 of Superman Rebirth

Thanks for reading Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed our first Hero Appreciation! See you again soon!

Nick Spencer's Tale of Two Captains and How They Reflect a Broken America

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! Where I talk about all sorts of things in the realm of Geekdom!

In my first article post I made a promise to refrain from political posts as much as possible, but this is just a disclaimer for all of those reading that things will get a little political, but hopefully not in a preachy way. Anyways, with the release of the All New All Different Marvel we started with one Captain America title: Captain America: Sam Wilson written by Nick Spencer, and eventually after a crossover event called Pleasant Hill, Steve Rogers was seemingly returned to true form and we eventually saw a dual Captain America title release: first being the same Cap title from before focusing on Sam Wilson, second being Captain America: Steve Rogers both scribed by Nick Spencer. While the first of these titles continued to garnish acclaim, the second’s first issue was met with a bit of criticism to put it lightly. The first issue of Captain America: Steve Rogers ends in the final panels with Steve Rogers throwing a comrade out of the ship he’s on, and him proclaiming “Hail Hydra.”

To say this event caused controversy is a HUGE understatement. Hundreds of videos were put online of devout Cap fans burning their first issues of Captain America: Steve Rogers. While I never had a first issue to burn, I am fairly certain that at the moment it was released, I would have done the same. Just to be clear, Captain America is my favorite super hero, so to see the legacy of this amazing character be so tarnished was really upsetting. I had even written a piece for movie pilot on it which I will hyperlink below.

https://creators.co/posts/3941906

However, as the series has continued, and as I have gained a lot of perspective from further reading and especially after the past election. What I have come to realize is this, that whether or not it was intentional, Captain America: Sam Wilson and Captain America: Steve Rogers are probably the most important comics in print right now for Marvel as they serve as a harsh and realistic look at where we stand as a nation today.

Captain America: Sam Wilson is a commentary on how society refuses to accept change and in particular when that change comes with a color scheme change as far as skin is concerned. Sam Wilson makes a very bold move in his first continuous run as Cap, in that he announces a separation from government ties and sets up a website to be his own free agent. This is met with a LOT of mixed response and the internet blows up with campaigns like #notmycaptain, or #givebacktheshield. There are even some great moments where Sam hears people describe his appointment to Cap as some ridiculous part of the government’s PC campaign for “diversity.” It’s a brilliant book that really taps into race relations in the country and has Sam Wilson frequently deal with problems that the country has in skin deep prejudices.

However, while Sam’s title is more on the nose, Captain America: Steve Rogers’s title is far more nuanced in its approach. Seeing Steve Rogers become Captain America again should be something that instills hope in people. It should be inspirational, and for people inside the comic world, it is. The crowds cheer when he comes back, and while initially so did we, we know better now. That when Kobik, a girl that is a sentient cosmic cube created by Red Skull, restored Steve to his super soldier state, his memories and past were altered so that he would believe he has been a Hydra sleeper cell the entire time. Steve Rogers is supposed to stand for the things that made this country great: Equality, integrity, truth, justice, and to the comic's general public, that face is very much the same. However, the fact is that his motives and actions behind the scene are in direct contrast. As I said Captain America is the symbol of these things that are supposed to make this country great, they are ideals that Steve Rogers has believed in to the core of his being and has built a reputation on. However, here he is being contrary to their very nature. It kind of reminds you of the fact that we are a country of immigrants growing increasingly isolationist, that despite promises of freedom and equality in the eyes of the law we have various groups of people that are profiled for their gender, race, or orientation. It’s a harsh read, and it’s often painful because one moment it will seem like Steve is exactly who we want him to be, but then the next he is furthering his own agenda as a Hydra agent and it is an emotional roller coaster.

I cannot say for certain that Nick Spencer had intended for this to be the case, but I would be willing to bet that is exactly what he meant. Nick Spencer may go down in infamy as the man who destroyed Steve Rogers, who knows how long this Hail Hydra arc will last. All I know is that his two Captain America books may be some of the most important commentary on where we stand as the American people. On an ending note, I really hope that Steve Returns soon because we need our symbols right now.

See you guys again Next Week on Comic Relief! Hope you enjoyed!

Civil War II: Anti Climactic as Prom

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! Where I will talk about all sorts of things going on in the world of Geekdom!

Let's rewind time to last Free Comic Book day. Marvel released issue zero of an upcoming crossover event calle Civil War II. This was an event that had garnished a LOT of flack as it conveniently was coming out around the release of the film adaptation of Mark Millar's iconic arc in Captain America III: Civil War, so this was Marvel's attempt to quell some of the flames of people. What we got was INCREDIBLE. It had some excellent dialogue, some brilliant foreshadowing of a conflict that revolved on persecution of pre crime, and it got everyone revving their engines to go. Well with Civil War main arch wrapping up here this past month, it is sad to say that as an arc it felt very similar to being a girl at prom. It started off as this really cool thing, that was really fun and cool, but as the night went on it became more and more of a mess, and by the end when it got us back to his place, it ended so abruptly that the rest was awkward conversation and a feeling of slight regret on our part as readers.

so much promise... so much disappointment 

The first issue of Civil War II does an AMAZING job laying the framework of what could have been an awesome arc. The whole point of Civil War II is that the Inhumans have found a new inhuman who has the ability to see the future. This inhuman experiences visions and the Inhumans provide the intel of these visions to SHIELD where they outsource the information to super hero teams to stop crime before it happens. Captain Marvel, whose alpha flight initiative was all about trying to prevent things from happening rather than being a reactionary force, was excited about the prospect of this. However, Tony Stark (being a futurist) could not see how going after someone prior to a crime being committed could be acceptable as the future is an uncertainty that no one can quantify to 100 percent (yes this is pretty much Minority report with as cape on it). Though it may not be the most original story, the first issue ended with a huge BANG as the Avengers and Ultimates go to accost Thanos, whom the inhuman has had a vision of, and during the battle She Hulk is put into a coma, and best friend of Tony Stark and current romantic Interest of Captain Marvel, James Rhodes, is killed by the Mad Titan. Unfortunately this is as exciting as things get in Civil War II.

Throughout the rest of the series the comic really tries to match the weight of that first issue, but each time they do it hits with less impact. The closest that the book comes to matching that finale was the death of Bruce Banner in issue 4, but even then it is done and over with so quickly that it honestly is not the end you would expect for an original core Avenger. What made it even worse was the fact that for a title called Civil War II there were NO real fights to speak of. Every time you had double page long panels with heroes lined up to fight one another, before a punch was thrown the fight was either brought to a halt for some expository dialogue or another vision from the Inhuman screamed "DEUS EX MACHINA" and suddenly it was time to go back to plotting how to prevent the event or stop Carol Danvers' pre crime witch hunting. Even the last fight of the book between Tony and Carol is cheapened by having other heroes show up to essentially be panel filler and just look cool when they are supposed to be stopping that fight from getting out of hand.

 Eventually you even start to see pivotal players of the Marvel universe just up and leave (a decision I had considered more than once, but when you've invested time in 4 issues out of an 8 issue arc you might as well dredge it out) namely Peter Parker Spider Man (which is really infuriating considering that Miles goes through some really bad stuff and could've really used some Spider mentoring toward the end). However, what really irks me about this arc, is that the writing can be really good, and keeps you thinking that maybe something cool will happen if you just give it another chance (similar to that aforementioned prom date). There were just enough incredible moments in the main story that made you be like, well I guess I got to read the next issue. It also probably gave us one of the best Steve Rogers moments we have had since the Hail Hydra fiasco, with him talking to a VERY shaken Miles Morales who had just experienced vision of standing over a dead first Avenger by his own hand and consoling him.

quite possibly the best and saddest moment of Civil War II (because you forget that Cap is currently a dick and then have to remember that all over again)

It would be one thing had this arc been done by someone who had never handled a big crossover event, or someone who was relatively new to the comic game, however Marvel is not dumb and they would NEVER do that at this point in the game. So who is responsible for this travesty? Brian Michael Bendis. What is so disappointing about this is the fact that Bendis is one of the BEST writers in the comic book world. The guy's work on Ultimate Spider Man is legendary, his death of Peter Parker arc brought me personally to tears, and his creation of Miles Morales was handled masterfully. That's not to mention a flawless run on Daredevil, and much more. While in recent years his work has been called to question (namely in his work on Guardians of the Galaxy), I was still expecting MUCH more from Bendis, especially since the last few issues focus so heavily on Miles Morales, his own creation. Not to mention Bendis extended the series forcing the series to go past it's initial final date, which caused a problem as two titles that were released prior to Civil War II's ending contain spoilers for the ENTIRE arc.

All this aside, Civil War wasn't a total bust. The spin off stories that I read were all great. The Fallen and The Accused mini stories about the will and testament of Bruce Banner, and the trial of Hawkeye for killing Bruce were awesome One shots. Captain America: Sam Wilson gave us a beautiful and tear jerking moment where Sam Wilson delivers an amazing eulogy for James Rhodes at his funeral; Captain America: Steve Rogers showed just our Hydra Cap is manipulating the war to keep eyes off of his coups attempt he is planning against Red Skull.There are some pretty damn well written moments in the main arc itself, as I mentioned earlier, and finally the titles that have been coming as a part of the aftermath: Infamous Iron Man, Champions, Occupy Avengers, and Hulk are pretty damn fantastic so far. Ultimately the problem is that with a title name like Civil War II this arc had a huge legacy to live up to, and by the finale of the arc this felt less like a Civil War and more like parents fighting for custody rights during a very messy divorce. Hopefully with the mixed and poor reception of this Bendis will step back and focus on his solo books (Infamous Iron man is amazing on that note, definitely worth the pick up).

brilliant Cover art for the issue where Sam Eulogizes Rhodey

Next up on Comic Relief we have some more Marvel and I think that it's going to handle something that will probably spur some controversy.

New Years Resolutions

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! Where I talk about all sorts of things in the realm of Geekdom!

Welcome to 2017 everyone! It’s a New Year and with the New Year comes resolutions. So, with that in mind I have a resolution for all my readers: I will be posting at least twice a week. Mondays and Fridays will become Comic Relief days. However, obviously if there is something urgent like a new trailer, or just a pressing matter that I just need to get out there ASAP I will make a post, but for the most part I will be sticking to a set schedule.

This article in a way is also about New Year’s resolutions, well really a challenge for a certain comic book company. I mentioned in my last post of 2016 that DC has been on a tremendous upswing with its Rebirth property. However, one of the most exciting aspects of this Rebirth relaunch is the emergence of a subsidiary line within the main universe called Young Animals. This brand is being headed by former My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way , and is supposed to be a darker, stranger DC brand.

Frontman of the Young Animals brand has promised it to be a brand that tries to emulate early days of the famous DC subsidiary company: Vertigo. This promise is something that peeked my interest, so I picked up the first issues of the Young Animals brand that had been released: Doom Patrol, and Mother Panic. Both of these books are EXCELLENT reads and show a lot of promise as stories, but while they certainly emulate the tone of early Vertigo books, they still feel oddly lacking in something.

Vertigo’s two biggest books from its early years are, arguably, V for Vendetta and The Watchmen. What made these two titles in particular such a success was not just their darker tone, but the fact that they had a political message along with them. V for Vendetta was a love note to George Orwell and his classic novel 1984 and Watchmen was a book about essentially what would happen if super heroes were a government entity. The political implications of these books grounded them in reality and made the stories more relatable and concrete. The question now is, where exactly am I going with this?

Well it has always been an opinion of mine that DC’s biggest failing, especially since the New 52, is their tendency to ignore the issues of the real world. While I understand the appeal of DC is the fantastical element as a new pantheon, comics were intended to serve as a moral compass in a way. In a world of today where platitudes of gray are becoming increasingly the majority over those of stark black and white, it would be nice to see DC comics use some of its characters to handle these big issues.

When I was writing for moviepilot, I wrote a piece called The Gambit Not Taken. In it I discuss the complete disregard for a small character with SO much potential called Nightrunner. Nightrunner, real name Bilal Alsselah, was introduced back in 2010 in an issue of Detective comics, and was made the Batman of Paris. A child of a single mother from an Algerian immigrant family, Balil is a Parisian Muslim that grew up in the Parisian HLM (ghetto) and faced a lot of discrimination. His origin begins on his 16th birthday with being brutalized along with his best friend by police at a rally for fairer treatment to Muslim citizens of Paris. When discharged from the hospital, Balil's friend goes out that night with another protest group, this time a more violent one, and they try to Molotov the Police station. During the incident, the friend is gunned down. Conflicted over the loss of his friends to the police and the extreme tactics used by his people, Balil decided to train in the free running art, parkour, to become a symbol of justice on the streets of Paris akin to the Batman of Gotham. Eventually he is discovered by Batman and is made a part of Batman incorporated and is provided with an arsenal and training facility as a base of operations as the Nightrunner of Paris.

Paris' Nightrunner

This is just one example of a smaller level hero that DC has that is incredible, but that DC has neglected to use since the DC universe relaunch. There are many more characters that have been tragically neglected by their parent company, but could bring about incredible series. With the promise of something like Young Animals, trying to make stories akin to early Vertigo, this is an excellent opportunity to bring back these neglected characters to handle those more down to earth issues. Could you imagine a series where Nightrunner is trying to hunt down an underground extremist group of radical Islam, while simultaneously dealing with the immense Antisemitism of Paris? It would give DC the chance to tackle a real world issue with a Bat character that isn’t directly tied to Gotham. This is my challenge for DC comics, in the new year of 2017 to dig deep into their reserves, and bring to light the characters that have since been ignored since the start of the New 52 and use them for tackling more real world stories. I realize that this has always been more of Marvel’s thing, but it’s important for comic book heroes to handle real issues from time to time. Right now, after 2016, we could all use heroes that take on the issues that we have such difficulty doing ourselves, perhaps even show us a better path.

Hope everyone enjoyed! I know my last two articles have been DC topics, but no worries Marvel fans, the next two are for you! Stay tuned next week for a MARVELous edition of Comic Relief!