Random links

Paul DeBenedetto on the death of the superhero film

Comics (...) don’t need bad superhero action flicks giving them a bad name. The superhero movie is an awful trend and, if 2011 pans out the way I think it will, it’s also a dying one.

He claims there hasn't been a good super-hero movie since 2008 (the year The Dark Knight was released) and sees this as evidence that the genre is soon going to be extinct. Movie audiences won't have the patience to put up with crappy super-hero movies for much longer, and once they lose interest, that only leaves the fans of the comics. And there simply aren't enough of us to make those movies profitable.

The argument seems to make sense, but I'm not sure the death of the super-hero movie is upon us just yet. For one thing, crappy movies make a shit-ton of money at the box office all the time. This is pretty much the norm at Hollywood. I haven't really studied the box office returns of super-hero movies in the past two or three years, so I don't know how well they've been doing, but in any case I think we ought to wait and see how Thor, Captain America and Green Lantern fair in 2011 before passing judgement.

In other words, this will probably be a crucial year for the future of super-hero movies, as the success or failure of these three big blockbusters will determine what happens next.

Graeme McMillan on IDW's Infestation crossover event

There are all manner of reasons why IDW’s Infestation shouldn’t work for me. For one thing, it’s all about zombies, and I really don’t like zombies with the obvious exceptions. For another, it’s a crossover. So why am I eagerly anticipating the whole thing, having read the first issue?

I was definitely planning on skipping this whole thing, because (a) this seems a bit derivative of recent big events at Marvel and DC, (b) I'm getting kind of sick of zombies, and (c) I don't follow any of the franchises involved (Transformers, Ghostbusters, Star Trek and GI Joe). But this is the second positive review of the first issue of the mini-series that I read, and I have to admit that my curiosity has been piqued a little.

Ryan Fisher on comic books aimed at women

I don’t even understand the whole notion that companies need to pander to the female demographic at all. They don’t need “special books” to get into the hobby, they just need to feel like it’s not a boys club.

Yes. This is the same argument that I keep reading from female bloggers as well. Kelly Thompson, in particular, has often said that only a small adjustment would be needed in order to make DC and Marvel's comics more appealing to women. You don't need to completely change the formula or make books specifically for women. Just, you know, make a little effort not to piss them off by treating them like second-rate customers.

(And speaking of Kelly Thompson, there's a new episode of 3 Chicks Review Comics.)

From some official DC document

...the now-retired Wally West...

Uh...

Brian Wood on Northlanders

This is the book I increasingly feel I was born to write, and is so completely tied into my identity as a creator. And based solely on the incredible range and diversity of the artists we’ve had on the series, there is nothing else like it out there.

I'm so glad that this book exists and that I've started following it. (I need to catch up on the trades, as well.) I agree completely that it is completely unlike anything else.

David Hine, asked how many Muslim characters there are in super-hero comics

Probably not as many as there should be. I mean, America is a very diverse culture, as is France, as is this country, and we try to reflect that in the diversity of our characters. It’s not a political statement.

I was glad to read David Hine's clear-headed responses to some of the truly outrageous and idiotic criticism his "Muslim Batman" story has elicited.

Curt Purcell on the link between violent rhetoric and violent actions

When I was very young, on a family vacation to visit Grandma Millie (in Arizona, as it happens), we went to a rodeo. I had no interest whatsoever in a rodeo, and amused myself during the bull-riding part by cheering for the bull to get someone. I'm sure you can guess where this is going--the bull did get someone. He trampled a clown. Now, obviously, there was no "link" between my "rhetoric" and what happened. Nobody blamed me. I didn't think saying it aloud magically made it happen, or blame myself in any other way. But here's the thing: there didn't need to be any such "link" for me to feel ashamed--appropriately--for my foolish words. It was enough for me to see what it looked like when what I'd been cheering for actually happened.

That's a powerful analogy and it perfectly illustrates my own feelings about the issue in a way that I haven't seen expressed quite so succinctly or convincingly anywhere else in the deluge of internet commentary since the terrible tragedy in Arizona.

(A few of these links were found at Comics Worth Reading.)