Tribute to Margot Kidder: Remembering Lois Lane

Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all that's going on in the world of nerd!

In the world of comic books, few names hold as much sway as Superman. He started it all in Action Comics all those years ago. Well in the past day the world of Superman took a huge loss as Margot Kidder, the iconic Lois Lane from the Christopher Reeves Superman films from the 70's, passed away. Kidder was 69 years old, and a cause of death has yet to be released. However, rather than focus on the tragedy of her death, I would instead like to focus on the gift she brought us in life, the gift that is Lois Lane.

When you think Superman, there are a few things that would go through your mind in association, for most, the chief among them would be Lois Lane. Lois has always been a staple to the Superman mythos, From the get go, Lois Lane is an often overlooked example of female empowerment. Written to be a career driven reporter at the then Daily Star (which would be renamed to the Daily Planet by Action Comics #23), Lois was even the first female character in comics to receive her own strip (this strip focused on Lois trying to prove Clark Kent was Superman). This was without a doubt a push of the strong female archetype presented during this time along with other characters like Rosie the Rivetter, pushing for females to step into the roles once filled by men while they were off fighting in the war. Unfortunately, this would not last.

Early Sketch of Lois Lane by Joe Shuster

When the War ended, and the men came back home, comics adapted to the times. Now marketing to young boys, Lois became an accessory to the Superman brand rather than her own independent character, she was sidelined as a mere love interest. Her independent personality and drive became a sidelined aspect of the character. However, as the stigma towards women changed throughout the years, we got to see Lois return to those powerful roots. This was in no small part due to Margot Kidder's portrayal of Lois Lane. Street smart, independent, devil may care, Kidder's Lois brought the character back to her golden age characterization, and so this became the staple once again. Lois in the comics began to reflect what we saw on film.

Even though Kidder's portrayal was progressive for its time, there is always room for growth and Lois Lane has done just that. Now she's not just a pulitzer winning reporter, but has a decent amount of combat training that allows her to defend herself. Her dynamic as a character has shifted from independent women and reporter, to empowered mother and professional that does her best to balance her family and work life. In addition she serves as support to Superman in ways far more than just the motivation a significant other should give, but even jumping into Batman's hellbat armor to help her husband take down alpha tier metas. Joe Shuster and Jerry Spiegel may have been responsible for bringing Lois Lane to life, but Margot Kidder has been just as important to that legacy and has added to the legacy of Lois Lane in her own way.

Rest in Peace Margot Kidder, you helped us believe a man could fly years ago, I am happy you get to fly up there now amidst the stars.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you next time!

Black a Comic that Forces Us to Look at Race in America

Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

This edition is a bit of a throwback, this was a piece I wrote while I was still with Moviepilot, however, since it no longer exists, but I still support this author and what he was trying to do, I decided to republish it here. So enjoy!

Since their inception in the late 30's & early 40's, comics have been used as a force for social change. In the 30's and 40's they spoke out against Hitler, and fought the Nazi's right alongside our soldiers, in the 60's and 70's Superheroes fought for racial equality and upheld ideals brought about by the Civil Rights movement. So what is the struggle of our generation, of our today. Every day it is impossible not to scroll down a news-feed, or turn on a television to find more tragedies surrounding police violence and strife in African American community. Police brutality, racial profiling, and racial equality are topics that ceaselessly find their way on the tips of everyone's tongues, and in a country that boasts about it's equality, it becomes harder to accept that these transgressions continue. The comic book world is aware of this as well. That brings us to a graphic novel called BLACK.

Click me!

I first heard about this title back when it launched its kick-starter in February and now with it on the verge of release I felt compelled to share it with the community here at moviepilot. Anyways, I got ahold of series creator Kwanza Osajyefo, and I did a quick Q&A with him about his upcoming graphic novel: Q: So in the description of the comic, you say "In a world that already fears and hates them, what if only Black people had super powers?" (great concept by the way), would you mind expanding a bit about what is going on in this series? A: BLACK takes place in a world very much like the world we live in today. One in which we’re still struggling with race issues, in particular those involving Black people. The main character, Kareem, is a victim in a police shooting, and that’s where the story diverges from our reality: He wakes up in a ambulance, unscathed. That immediately thrusts Kareem into a world that’s been very purposefully hidden from public knowledge – a world where only Black people exhibit superhuman abilities. Q: Obviously we have seen several tragedies in the news, especially over the past year or so in regards to police shootings and racial profiling. Now I know that this concept has been brewing for a while, but was there any particular moment where you saw something like this happen that may have contributed to the story you put forward? A: I came up with the concept for BLACK about ten years ago. It was a combination of my experiences as a person of color in the US mixed with a love of comics. In those stories, heroes are shunned by society and still have to survive. In that context these characters wore flashy costumes that they could take off and pass as “normal.” It made me think about how eyebeams and retractable claws are not a strong parallel to the issue of bigotry they represent. Because, for the most part, they can hide in plain sight, mutants were not getting pulled over for driving a nice car, or murdered because they are in the wrong neighborhood. Black people don’t get to pass in society like an X-Man hoping to not be discovered. We walk down the street and there are people putting targets on our back for no reason other than skin tone. BLACK is my way of tethering sci-fiction to relevant and important issues. Q: To steer away from the story here for a second, I want to say I LOVE the cover. The use of the noir style emboldening with red conveys a certain eeriness and is the first thing that kind of drew me in, now I've seen the sketches that you have put up on the page, but will the final product keep that same kind of noir feel to it that you see in the cover, or what exactly would you say the tonal scheme will be for your book? A: The cover theme was brilliantly conceived by Khary Randolph. I had a number of suggestions -- mainly a single, impactful focal point -- but after telling him the plot he created a cover that succinctly incorporated the story and current events in a simple yet complex piece of art. And that’s tone of the book, a concept that is simple to grasp yet with many layers to peel back. Jamal Igle’s interiors help ground the fantastic because these characters don’t live in a world where they can thwart societal norms and the world isn’t fundamentally changed — for better or worse.

Q: Thank you so much again, it has been great chatting with you about BLACK, I look forward to reading the graphic novel when it hits shelves in September, and I wish you and your team the best of luck! However, I do have one last question for you, and that is if people take anything away from BLACK what would you hope it to be? A: That this is science fiction, but the issues it touches upon are not. BLACK does have a certain perspective but it is not a book for any one group of people. It’s part of the American story whether some are willing to acknowledge it. We’ve been fed a particular narrative for so long that something like BLACK may seem disruptive, but it’s been part of our story since before any of our time; we just need to listen — or in this case read. Once again, I want to thank you Kwanza Osajyefo for the opportunity to talk to him about his upcoming work, I realize time to be very valuable and for as talented a creative team as his it means a lot that they would take that time to talk to me about their project. As someone who was raised Jewish, I have learned most of what I know about prejudice through the history of my own people. Throughout their history, my ancestors struggled through hate, slavery, and flat out murder by the world around them. In the Jewish community we have a motto in reference to the holocaust: "Never Again." It is in reference to the fact that while we were being placed in ghettos, rounded up like cattle, and slaughtered by droves, the world turned it's head away rather than take a hard look and tell Germany: No More. Never Again is about ensuring that in the face of another such struggle, that we (not just the Jewish community, but the world) will not turn away again. Now I look around at the world, and more closely the country I live in, and what I see scares me. The hate that has been sewn over generations has been unleashed tenfold it seems, and victims are at every corner screaming upon deaf ears for help. I see this graphic novel as an opportunity to lend society a bunch of hearing aids and wake up to the world around them, to allow the cries of those victims be heard. I write this article because I feel that this comic embodies those words, that mission: "Never Again." Even the smallest voices can move the world to change, and I feel that this voice could be a loud one.

BLACK in a world that already hates and fears them, what if only black people had super powers? The Collection of this Run is now available in Trade Paperback!

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Comic Relief!

Thanos & Iphigenia: The Mad Titan at Aulis

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

Whenever I read a comic book or watch a superhero film, I always find it very hard to not compare the material presented to the great myths that came before. Comic books after all are a form of modern mythology, heroes that embody the traits that we as a society hold dear struggling against overwhelming odds and overcoming them, it's nothing new, but the romanticism of heroes has been a cornerstone of society since the beginning. After seeing Avengers: Infinity War a second time, I was allowed to be a bit more comprehensive in what I absorbed, and so like all the stories that have come before it, I began to draw parallels to certain myths. What I saw in that film had a certain familiarity to it, it resonated with a story that shaped my interests at a young age, Infinity War felt like a cosmic retelling of the Trojan War. Not all the pieces are there of course, there is no Helen, no city fated to fall, no conflict to last 10 years, but the scope of the conflict match, and the film does form its finale over a siege to gain the final Infinity stone (in a way I guess you could say that Vision is Helen now that I am thinking about it), but still the point is there are similarities. However, there is one in particular that I would like to focus on, and that is the MASSIVE similarities between this film's villain/protagonist: Thanos, and the Homeric hero, Agamemnon leader of the Achaeans.

In the stories of the Trojan War, the character of Agamemnon has a recurring narrative of sacrifice. It seems that in order for victory to be achieved, Agamemnon is constantly force to pay a price. It is important to note the first MAJOR similarity between these two is that like Thanos, Agamemnon is a very successful warlord and has a hold on a vast number of territories, the only economic power to rival his Mycenae was in fact Troy. It is important to remember that while Agamemnon may be fighting for his brother on the surface, sacking Troy has it's personal benefits and in several versions of the tale, control over Troy's trade routes is a massive motivator for his involvement in the conflict. It's because of this, that in order for Agamemnon to reach Troy, the gods demand a steep price. Artemis, having felt slighted by a lack of offerings made, has plagued the Greeks with unfair winds for travel across the sea. Upon reading the augurs, the high priest of the Greeks says that the virgin goddess of the moon demands recompense in the price of Agamemnon's daughter. While Agamemnon is against this and tries to fight it, his captains create a rouse to bring his daughter Iphigenia to Aulis under the auspice of a fake marriage to Achilles. Agamemnon eventually relents, and the long and short of it is that Iphigenia is sacrificed and the goddess grants the Greeks their favorable wind.  As the leader of the Greeks, sacrifice is what is expected of him, even in the Iliad, which starts 9 years into the conflict, Agamemnon again is to part with his favorite war prize Chriseis to appease Apollo and end his wrath of a plague. Sacrifice is his cross to bare, but his prize in doing so is the sack of the fabled city, and a place in legend that stretches an eternity.

So this is actually not Agamemnon, it's Achilles with Iphigenia, the art was just too damn good. check out the artist here

Thanos also bares that same struggle. He is the only one with the will to do what must be done, and to be the savior of the universe, he must pay a high price. When Gamora takes Thanos to Vormir, they are greeted by a spectral Red Skull (just as a side note, Skull is garbed in an ebony cloak that is very similar to the ones the high priests of old wore, so there are even parallels here to the Greek high priest relaying the augurs to Agamemnon). Red Skull informs Thanos of the price that must be paid to attain the soul stone, that Thanos must sacrifice that which he loves most. However, what's more is that Skull's wording implies that this thing cannot be material, it must have be a living being:

An equal price must be paid, a soul for a soul.

While there were probably more scenes initially to hammer this point home that were probably taken out due to time constraints, it is very clear from what is shown in the film that Gamora did in fact hold a special place among Thanos' "children." Out of all of them, Thanos saw Gamora as most like an actual daughter. Thanos drags his daughter to the edge of the cliff, and hurls her to her demise, and the sacrifice is paid. The soul stone reveals itself to Thanos, and this serves as the film's climax as Thanos knows where the last two stones are and can claim them himself. At the end of the film, as the dust clears Thanos has a vision of a young Gamora that asks him what the cost was to achieve his goal. Thanos weeps in his reply of a single word: "everything." Thanos has won, but what was the cost?

A similar question can be asked of Agamemnon. To sack Troy he had to sacrifice Iphigenia, and while he did eventually it took 10 years of his life to do so. Enough time for his wife to find a new lover, and in her resentment over the murder of her daughter, plot Agamemnon's murder. Agamemnon returns home where he is murdered by his wife during his evening bath. Agamemnon took Troy, and it cost him literally everything as well. It is interesting to think on if Thanos' own sacrifice of Gamora will have a similar cost. This is not me laying down any theories of what may happen in Avengers. It's just that the tragedy of these two characters is parallel in so many ways that I can't help but be fascinated. I hope it was intentional, but even if not, it's fun to see how much these old stories can effect us subconsciously while we create the legends of the next generation.

I hope you have found equal fascination in these revelations as well, this has been another edition of Comic Relief! We'll see you next time!

Infinity War: Ten Year Culmination Point of a Universe (SPOILER REVIEW)

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

10 years ago a journey began to bring comics to life with the release of Iron Man. With the success of the film, a spark was struck and the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. After a first "phase" of films we saw heroes unite in a way we had never seen before on the big screen in 2012's Avengers Assemble. The film showed that on a day unlike any other, when Earth was in it's most dire need, their mightiest heroes would come together and fight as one. The Avengers brought Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye to the screen to save the world from a Chitauri invasion led by Loki, god of mischief. They won on that day, but from beyond the wormhole that the chitauri came through, we got a glimpse of this universe's endgame as we got our first look of the Mad Titan's grin, Thanos was coming for the Avengers. This past friday, we saw 10 years of story telling through film culminate in the true arrival of Thanos. It was time for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to meet their match. Avengers: Infinity War is a story you've never heard before, it's the story of how the Avengers were not enough, it's the story of how Thanos won.




It's very hard to find the words to talk about this movie. Since release I have seen it twice, and still it's definitely hard to bring my thoughts to words in a coherent matter. I guess where I should begin is that this movie is by far THE BEST Marvel film to be released. It has ambition, it has action, and it drags your emotions kicking and screaming through the film as you watch your favorite heroes struggle against this insurmountable might. Thanos is the villain we've all been waiting for, in both the time we have waited, and the expectations we have had for the character. Within the first five minutes of the film we see the mad Titan (without the use of an infinity stone) beat seven shades of green out of the Hulk, kill Heimdal, and choke Loki to death. Thanos is a force unlike any we've seen prior and this film wants you to recognize it.

When approaching a film of this MASSIVE of an ensemble, you must focus the narrative somehow. This leads to what makes this film so very unique. The protagonist of this film is none other than the mad Titan himself: Thanos. This is the story of his quest for power. He wishes to save the universe by a controlled genocide of half the universe' population. He can only do this in his lifetime with the use of all 6 infinity stones that he uses through a conduit called the infinity gauntlet. This is Thanos' story, and while it differs very much from the sadistically evil bastard we know from the books, it is a story that is compelling nonetheless. He is a villain that is convinced that salvation can only be achieved through his way, and he is the only one with the will to attain it. This is not an Avengers story, sure they are a big part of it, and certain members have prominent arcs: Thor is on his quest to avenge his fallen brother and friend, Iron Man is leading a team to stop Thanos on Titan, Cap is assembling who he can to protect Vision in Wakanda, all have a part to play in this tale, but it is not theirs. It's because of this that the movie shines the way it does. It's a villain piece, and what's more, with a snap of his fingers, he wins!



There are many things that stand out in this film, it's narrative, the effects, the fights, but none stand in toe with the film's greatest achievement, it's finale. There's a snap, and then a harrowing silence as half the heroes on screen fall to ashes, fading from existence. It's a quiet that is so loud it reaches out to the audience and takes hold over it. As the last avenger to die, Peter Parker, begs to be saved by his mentor, Mr. Stark, the silence is only broken by a sound of tears being snuffled, and then Thanos. Thanos enters his sanctuary, sits down, and looks out to his paradise he's earned, and sighs in relief. The screen goes black and the credits roll. Again there is silence, one of hope that the film can't be over, but it is. We have to wait a year for the story to conclude, without a single idea where the story may go.
To me, Avengers: Infinity War, is the film that defines and shapes a generation. The most notable example of another film like this is Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. Just as "I am your father," has become an unforgettable moment in cinema history, so too will Thanos snapping his fingers to result in wiping half of existence. I give Avengers: Infinity War a solid 10. This film is what every major comic film should strive to be, and has set a new gold standard for the genre, leaps and bounds ahead of anything trying to compete.
This will not be the only post I write on this film. I am going to do one comparing themes in Infinity War to themes in the Homeric mythology, most notably Thanos' similarities to Agamemnon. However, I'll shelf that for then.
Till next time, this has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we'll see you next time!