Kingdom Come - Revisited

I have just finished re-reading the graphic novel of Kingdom Come.

For those of you who may not be familiar with it, Kingdom Come is a 4 issues mini series created by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.

It is the story of a future where the children and grandchildren of Earths Super Heroes are not the 'Heroes' of the world. While they have all the power of their Parents and Grandparents, they do not have the moral compass. The villains of old have long since been killed by those who are termed "Metahuman" and now they only have each other to fight.

Superman is retired and with him went most of those we are familiar with.

It is at this point the story begins. We as observers are taken on tour though this story by the Spectre through the eyes of a Pastor Norman McKay. Pastor McKay has been chosen by the Spectre because he needs a man who's soul is pure and can help decide who do judge at the end of this tale.

That's a much of the plot I want to give because if you have not read this collection you should. In fact, if you read comics and haven't read it - YOU NEED TO!

It has been 13 years since it was first published. I have read it twice before. But now that I read it again, I am put in a position to consider all that has happened in real life to the world since its publications. A terrible world catastrophe happens within its pages. Upon re-reading that, I was reminded of the events on Sept. 11, 2001. What I find odd is the reaction of 'big business' in the form of the Villains like Lex Luthor to the terrible tragedy and the reaction to our government at the time seemed to almost mirror each other in some ways.
Of course the comic book reaction is more dastardly, but by how much?


Kingdom Come can be read and re-read time and again to remind each of us that the power we wield today is so much greater than those who came before us. And with that power we have choices to make in how we use them and why.

Smallville 90210

OK, so Brian Austin Green is making an appearance as Metallo this season on Smallville. BOOO! But ok. I will give him a chance. But this got me thinking - Why not do a 90210 Reunion of Evil on Smallville? I mean, with Tori Spelling already a show semi-regular as Linda Lake and all.

Now, I was a fan of 90210 back in the day. Yeah, I know. Shuddap. Here are my ideas for the Villians and the Actors who can play them:

Banshee - Jenni Garth. She's still pretty hot and could pull it off.
Ultraman - Luke Perry. Cause, you know. He knows how to kill vampires, he's gotta be cool enough to pull off Ultraman.
Solomn Grundy - Ian Zering. Really, just because he pronounces his name "IIan" and not "EEan."
The Prankster - Jason Priestly. Cause he's creepy looking like that.
Amazing Grace - Shannon Dougherty. No explanation needed I think.
and Finally...
Zaora - Gabrielle Cartris. Because they were both forgotten about by their Franchise.

So there you go. the 90210 Smallville Reunion of Evil!

Will the real SDCC Twitter please stand up?

That headline is, of course, facetious. SDCC does have an Official Twitter feed. But things did get kinda confusing for awhile there.

Earlier this month, this Twit - let's call it Underscore - popped up, billing itself as being "a Con employee making the twitter that the con should make." After being questioned by @theonetruebix, Underscore Twitted that his or her feed was not approved by Con officials, but that he or she was working on behalf of the fans.

Finally, yesterday, The Official Twit came back to life, posting for the first time since last November. Official's bonafides were further confirmed by CCI Treasurer Mark Yturralde on his own Twitter feed. Underscore has subsequently re-billed itself as being produced by "a Comic Con expert" while continuing to post about upcoming panels at the event next month.

-- El Secreto

Sexism used to 'create buzz' for SD Comic-Con

The San Diego Comic-Con made the news over the weekend, but not in the best of lights. Check this out:

IGN started hosting a contest put on by the folks behind the upcoming sci-fi film District 9 looking for someone to perform “journalistic assignments” connected to the film at SDCC. The catch? According to the original contest rules:

This sweepstakes is open only to males who are both legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and Washington D.C. and who are at least between 18-24 years of age as of July 23, 2009

Well, Comics Worth Reading got ahold of the story, and so did Feministing and Tor.com, none of which failed to note the irony of a film that would reportedly deal with themes of prejudice and exclusion literally excluding a whole gender.

As the online backlash picked up, IGN posted a response:

The eligibility requirements for this contest were determined by Columbia TriStar Marketing, the marketing team behind the District 9 film, and were passed on as a directive to IGN as Sponsor of this particular Sweepstakes running on the IGN.com site. While IGN supports gamers of all ages, genders, shapes and sizes, these guidelines were created to foster a buzz for the film among a very narrow target group that the film’s promoters felt would be extremely passionate about the film’s subject matter.

The contest rules were eventually amended, somewhat: a separate, womens-only contest was started, with a later deadline.

**********

As bad as that was, the L.A. Times almost trumped it with its Girls' Guide to Comic-Con, a photo slideshow offering helpful tips like these for fans of the star of Prince of Persia:

Women will be rushing the stage, offering to do star Jake Gyllenhaal's laundry on those washboard abs that he acquired for the film, since he spends much of it fighting, shirtless or both.

Lest you think the Times is only cooing over guys, here's their take on Angelina Jolie:

With any luck, her luscious-lipped holiness will be around to hawk her upcoming action film "Salt," which is already being likened to a female-powered version of "The Bourne Identity." What's not to like?

Now, obviously, SDCC isn't to blame for these misguided attempts to "build awareness" for the event. But in the wake of past instances of harassment and sexism at Con, somebody at IGN, or the Times or at Tristar really showed a lack of understanding for all of us as fans, male or female. I'll leave the final word to Tor's Torie Atkinson:

We just want to be fans, and we're tired of being utterly invisible despite the fact that millions of women play games and read comics. That climate is entirely unwelcoming to women, and it's a testament to women's persistent interest in gaming and comics that we continue to try to be part of the community despite the overwhelming myth that we don't exist.

- ES

Last night, on the show ...

Last night's episode of HOUR 42 was, from my perspective, pretty satisfying - and not just because my internet connection had to be restarted less than three minutes before showtime. For most of the hour, @ThePeterPixie and I talked about the week's news in comic-book journalism - and how some of these things could affect you and us as readers and consumers:

* Newsarama and Comic Book Resources and their relationships with the editors-in-chief of DC and Marvel, respectively
* A golden opportunity that Wizard Magazine arguably had, and chose not to pursue
* The Twitterverse fight involving longtime columnist Rich Johnston
* And Peter challenges me to step up and ask somebody a tough question at San Diego Comic-Con next month.

All in all, a good show, that forced us to think about what we're doing - and we've got some more plans as far as that goes, but we'll get to them later. For now, click on the handy-dandy player below and check us out - and don't forget to give us your feedback, either here or via e-mail at hourfortytwo@yahoo.com!

- El Secreto

TONIGHT, on Hour 42!

This was a big week for the comic-book press, and El Secreto & @ThePeterPixie will be discussing that and more tonight on HOUR 42, including:

* Wizard Magazine's ongoing labor issues
* A rift between a star creator and a comics journalist reaches the Twitterverse
* A more in-depth look at ES' post from yesterday - how might it affect us at readers?
* And what does that picture mean? You'll hear more about that, trust us! And if you missed last week's episode, or just want to try us out, click the handy-dandy player below! Join us LIVE tonight at 11pm EST (8pm PST)!



Image courtesy of SuperPouvoir.com

Quesada, Wizard and the comic-book press

Quite the study in contrasts this week, as Comic Book Resources announced that Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada had brought his weekly online column, Cup O' Joe, to their site. The column had been running on MySpace until earlier this year. (Marvel does continue to post previews via MySpace Comic Books.)

Quesada isn't the only EIC with his own column in the comics press: DC's Dan DiDio has 20 Answers, 1 Question over at Newsarama. But while the two online news providers have gained "official" backing from each of the Big Two, a publication that preceded them continued to seemingly lose strength.

Newsarama and Bleeding Cool both reported this week on further staff cutbacks at Wizard magazine, including designer Arlene So and VP of circulation and publication Darren Sanchez.

@ThePeterPixie and I have more thoughts on the possible bigger picture behind all of these occurences, and we'll be discussing them for sure tomorrow night on the show. Join us and add your thoughts!