Circa 1980:
We may disagree about John Stewart, but thanks, Aquaman Shrine, for the share!
Tag: DC Comics
Wait, What?: Racist Comics Edition (There’s No Way Aquaman Is More Popular than John Stewart)
This post is from 2012. A lot has changed since then. If you’re landing here post-2018, Aquaman is very likely more popular than John Stewart in your current timeline.
John Stewart should be the JLA’s Green Lantern and the iconic alpha Lantern of the DCU. Put Hal back in the Corps and promote John back to the place of leadership and mainstream iconography he earned in the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series. In those vehicles, DC built a perfect platform for enfranchising the character with the kind of exposure the New 52 would have brought him.
The overwhelming whiteness of the image above, taken from the new DC home page, is staggering. And is the Mentalist Aquaman really one of the most popular heroes in the the new 52? Vic Stone (Cyborg), the lone African-American on the League, isn’t even pictured here. Vic’s still paying grown-up dues as a recent grad of the Titans, and that’s fine. But Stewart has immediate traction with readers and across popular media. He’d be a great mentor to Cyborg, and he could bring gravity and leadership to the rest of the team.
Static Shock just got cancelled. A Static/Stewart book would be great. Even better would be a League with Cyborg, Static, and Stewart.
In 2012, can a group with one black character really be called the Justice League? Please. Oh, by the way: in current continuity, John Stewart isn’t only off the League, he’s also on trial for murder.
The Superheroics of Social Justice or “Action Comics #1: Awesome Then, Awesome Now.”
You probably know about the DC Comics relaunch. I picked up the new Action Comics #1 and really, really liked it. Supes looks like Woody Guthrie. He can’t fly (yet?) and is a wrecking ball for social justice. He trifles with authorities and struggles to pay rent. A hero for our times if there was one.
Commentators have been talking about this as a return to Superman’s activist origins. Indeed, a read through the original Action Comics #1 from 1938 reveals a bold American character, an immigrant, “champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who has sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need!”
I love this guy. Read the original Action #1 here, and cheer with me as Supes dispatches the governor’s butler in a last-minute attempt to save an innocent woman from state execution. Like I said, a hero for our time if there was one.
News, Issues, Culture, Justice. Sometimes Batman.
I know, I know. Another comic book post. But I refer you to the title, which is basically The Daily Cocca’s micro-bio. Sometimes it’s my email signature, depending on recipient.
So today’s the day, right? Justice League #1 launches the DC relaunch. Have you read it yet? Are you buying, selling, holding? I just added Action Comics and Detective Comics to my pull list.
Don’t post any spoilers. Just impressions. Have it, fan-folk!
Related articles
- DC do-over: Superman and pals start over from scratch (today.msnbc.msn.com)
- Comics: Big releases, starting with ‘Justice League of America’ No. 1 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Will DC’s Relaunch Mean More Sales? (And He-Man Comics from the 80s).
Sadly, no, DC’s relaunch does NOT include a new line of He-Man books in the classic continuity. DC did do a He-Man miniseries in 1983, which I now proudly own in its entirely thanks to my LCS (local comic store) and one Alexander Hamilton.
Dropped in on the LCS yesterday to ask if they were anticipating an increase in sales with the re-launch. Was told that many regular customers are adding many of the new books to their lists. And then I did something I’ve never done in all my years of comic-book-nerdiness and narrative obsession.
I set up my own list.
JLA, Batman, Superman, Flash. I’m hook, line, and sinkered on the idea that this is a really cool time to start collecting or, in my case, to start collecting again. Comic sales live and die by big events (The Death of Superman is what got me collecting seriously in the first place. It did not have the same effect on my 13-year-old love life, but whatevs.), and companies succeed when initial interest from casual fans can be sustained. So I hope the relaunch isn’t something that gets undone in 18 months.
Did I mention that I got a DC He-Man mini-series from the 80s? You have no idea how pumped I am about this (is what I also said to the cashier).
Will the relaunch mean more sales in the short term? I think so. We’ll see if that can be sustained, and let’s not forget that people adding the titles to already established lists are not casual fans crossing over into collecting. They’re a captive audience already. The degree to which DC gets more people like me excited remains to be seen, but I expect them to lead in sales at least through Christmas.
You want to see pictures from the He-Man books, don’t you? I know, I know. But they’re in the car and it’s pouring. I’ll do better next time, I promise.
A Teen Titans Reboot Image You May Have Missed: Red Robin Glides, Superboy Flies, Bart’s Cowl is Strange. And There’s A New Guy.
If you’re here to read about the DC Comics reboot, you probably already know the news that’s come out since my last Titans post:
- Bart Allen is Kid Flash (good).
- Red Robin’s feather-cape lets him glide (okay, but from what does he propel?)
- Red Robin has a jet-pack (oh, that’s right. So it’s not like the old Spidey cartoons where Spidey is just shooting up webs in the middle of fields and spiriting away after IceMan and Firestar).
- The girl with the Feral hair is being called Bug Girl in promotional convos by the creators, but I don’t think that’s her real name. Now, your Daily Cocca thinks all the hatred going Bug’s way is pretty strong tea, but I’d be lying if I said my first impression of this character wasn’t “1993 called, in bad way.”
Now for the newish image, which you may have already seen elsewhere but I completely missed:
S-boy’s gloves are an intentional homage to the character’s 1990s origin. I guess that’s cool, even if it’s superfluous. The modern Superboy didn’t really come into his own until the last decade and the fashion sensibilities that came with it. Note to DC: Black t-shirts and blue jeans will probably always be cool. I’m not sure about the muscle shirt here. I want to commit to hating it.
Red Robin joins Bart in the shoulder-insignia club. Maybe Tim’s does something.
There’s a new dude in the middle.
Bart’s cowl looks funny.
Should DC Have Revisited “Titans Tomorrow” for the Superman Reboot/Redesign?
I’m still not a huge fan of the red belt pictured here, but it’s a huge improvement over what they’re actually giving him:
I could have sworn that one of the panels I saw during the Titans Tomorrow storyline showed a belt that stopped on both sides before reaching the abs. Even if I’m misremembering that, I like it better than either of these options. For an even better old revamp than the Titans Tomorrow design, check out what artist Sean Izaakse did in 2006:
Here, the collar, cape, and shield work together to really say something about Superman’s power Change the waist banding to a red semi-belt and that’s your rebooted Man of Steel, friends.
Chris Cocca 