Editorial: Lack of Respect For Marriage in Comics

Warning: The Following contains spoilers from AvX #9 and more.

  Years ago, I went to my comic book shop and bought X-Men # 30, the wedding of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. For years, I would reread that very issue; merely enjoying the love of the characters had for each other and those around them. And then Grant Morrison's New X-Men happened and Scott Summers ended up having a psychic affair with Emma Frost, which became physical. Jean Grey died ... again and Scott moved on as he and Emma fell in love with each other.

Look at that. STAN LEE married Luke & Jessica! WTH Marvel!

  Fast forward to about 5 to 6 years ago. New Avengers were young in their first volume but Luke Cage's character rose. He and his long time love, Jessica Jones, tied the knot in New Avengers Annual # 1. They ended up having a daughter, Danielle, named after Luke's best friend, Danny Rand aka Iron Fist. They ended up buying the Avengers Mansion for a $1 ... I am not kidding. New Avengers Volume 2, # 1 for that one folks ... and they had become full fledged Avengers while Squirrel Girl became their babysitter.

  Go back about 7 years ago, during the time of Civil War where hero was fighting hero ... but the X-Men were out of it at this point. Captain America was on one side while Iron Man was on the other. The breather between the event happened to be the nuptials of T'Challa, long time Avenger Black Panther, and Storm, former leader of the X-Men. They had wed and became King and Queen of Wakanda. They also served a small stint on the Fantastic Four, allowing Reed and Sue to FINALLY have a honeymoon. The Watcher said they were gonna have children! The WATCHER! Freakin' Uatu! Said that T'Challa and Ororo would have CHILDREN! And they have been married since then ... UNTIL TODAY.

Black Panther's & Storm's Wedding

 Which gets to the bulk of my article. Marvel ... more so then any  Other comic book company, it seems, seem to not enjoy having their characters stay married anymore. And while I understand the divorce rate is 50% in the country of the United States and wanting to reflect society, some of these marriages desolving his troublesome. Now, motivations-wise, I can understand some marriage falling apart. Like Scarlet Witch and Visions.  Even Scott and Jean's I can understand.

 But there are some break ups that I'm just scratching my head over. Like Storm and Black Panther. THIS MAKES NO SENSE! Time and again, Storm has reached out to her husband and her husband is like I love you but I need to figure my way alone. Once I do,  I will come back to you. And Yet ... He annuls their marriage today. Why? I don't know?  Does he blame her for what happened or not telling him about the Phoenix? I don't know. And while in some cases, that translates to a relate-able marriage ... I do not believe that THIS would be true grounds for T'Challa to give up on his wife. Not after EVERYTHING they've been through together over the last several years. It just comes out of nowhere. Marriage counselling I see. Annulment? NO!

   Then, at the top of AvX, Jessica Jones decides to leave her husband, Luke Cage. Just 2 minutes before, he announced to the world that he wants nothing more than his wife and child. Granted, Jessica ran from him before but I figured that  1- Jessica knew what she was getting into when she joined the Avengers and married Luke Cage. 2- Even with a child, what makes her think she is REALLY any safer alone. Especially after having her face plastered on tv who knows how many times by now. So ... she ran. To take care of her child. Admirable. But still, logically ... she has a better chance WITH The Avengers than not. And Luke ... 2 minutes ago, you said you wanted nothing more than your wife and child ... on National TV .... but then you decide its important to fight the X-Men; when clearly ... the reason why is still kind of up in the air. Damn it Luke! You are better than that. *sigh*

  Oh. Marvel isn't the only culprit. Let's see ... ah yes. DC. Their reboot of Superman has brought so many new people to the book. And it is understandable ... to all but this.. . Lois and Clark had been married for nearly 15 FRELLIN' Years ... and that got all erased so they can have a new history. Sure ... we get to see Clark and Lois go through it all over again. But this time, there is no guarantee that they will end up together.

 And who can forget DC for breaking up Donna and Terry. Cause Terry suddenly decided, after them having a child, that super heroics was a no no ... even though Terry had stood by her as a hero for YEARS. Terry damn well knew what he was getting into when he married her. They had a child together. He even helped her with looking after the Team Titans (I know, obscure) but decided all of a sudden ... "Nope. Don't want to stay with you anymore after all these years."  So yay! Break up a marriage for convenience. Yay!

  And on top of that, let's go to the dozens and dozens of heroes and/or heroines who have had extra-marital or out of relationship affairs:  Omni-man, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Psylocke (twice), Gambit, Kyle Rayner, Havok, Kendra Saunders, Dick Grayson (how can you not know the person you are sleep with is not different when you have sex, even if they are a shape shifter), etc.

  But let me get to the easiest, most heinous of all marriage break ups that were pure and utter bullshit. Yes. I am speaking about THAT storyline. ONE. MORE. DAY.  And now, I have enraged probably half my readership by saying those three words. Yep. One More Day. The storyline that rebooted Spidey from long-time, happily married man, into the single man he has now become. Quesada has gone on print back when the storyline first came out stating that him being single will open more doors to Spiderman, storywise and him being married was holding him back. WHAT?! They were married for YEARS and you decided that that marriage couldn't work in upcoming storylines. WHAT?! They never even divorced. Spidey made a deal with the devil ... the freakin' devil ... to save Aunt May ... who had died before already. Sure, she was a clone but still ... save Aunt May for his marriage.

   What the frell?!

  While overall, some of these marriages coming apart are good and natural. There are these others that make me wonder what is on the minds of the writers and why do this. I understand divorce rate is 50% but it is looking like 80 to 90% in comics now. While life should be seen in multifaceted ways, this trend is starting to get REALLY disturbing. Makes you think about it, huh?

My name is Frankie Rodriguez and these are my thoughts.

NEWS EDITION # 36 - THE BIG GAY IMPACTS, COLOSSALS BRING DEBRIS, THE RETURN OF THE CROW & THE WOLVERINE

Welcome to the News Edition for the Week of May 23rd, 2012.  Let's get right to it.



HOMOMANIA HITS COMICS HARD 

by Frankie Rodriguez 

    Over the course of the last decade, the Big Two (Marvel & DC) have made waves in introducing and spotlighting more diverse characters, including those characters that are homosexual or bisexual. Slowly but surely, this has become a staple in many comics: Over at DC Comics, Gail Simone's run on Secret Six featured Scandal Savage as a lesbian while during the weekly comic 52; Greg Rucka introduced us to a lebsian Batwoman. James Robinson's run on Starman revealed Mikhaal to be gay while former JLI members Blue Jay and Tazmanian Devil were both found out to be homosexual. On the Marvel side, we were introduced to Daken, the son of Wolverine who had no problem using his bisexuality in order to manipulate and stumble his foes and allies. Long time New Mutant founding member Karma revealed herself to be lesbian while currently in X-Factor, the award winning run of the book by Peter David is partially fostered by making Rictor and Shatterstar into a gay couple. Funny ... how Mutants seem to be the only gay people in the hero community in the Marvel Universe ... huh?

   That aside, both companies launched huge announcements this week. At Marvel, they revealed who the wedding is indeed for ... the X-Man Northstar and his longtime boyfriend, Kyle. During next month's Astonishing X-Men # 51, Northstar and Kyle will have Marvel's first gay wedding. The two will be married on the grounds of the Jean Grey School where Northstar is currently a teacher. The issue is being handled but current team of writer Marjorie Liu and artist Mike Perkins. While promoted for the last four months, there have been no signs at all of who was to be hitched till this past weekend. This garnered so much attention that the ABC show The View discussed it earlier this week on their show.

 But that is only from Marvel. Then we heard something else from DC Comics.

    Dan Didio and several others  from DC Comics promised that during this June, we will see a major, iconic character reveal himself to be gay. And while speculation immediately went to one of the heroes, here are two things that need to be noted. It was revealed by Batman writer Scott Synder revealed on twitter Tuesday morning that it has been a character that we have not seen since the relaunch. And the other is that , no one every said Superhero but character. So whoever the character is has not appeared in the new 52 yet and will reveal himself to be gay this June during a storyline. After that, speculation has shifted from Batman, Superman and others to people like Ra's Al Ghul or Wally West (formerly the Flash). While we do not know who it will be, fan reaction has been mixed while most readers wait to see which character it is.

It will be interesting how both events are taken by readers.



THE WOLVERINE: A LONG AWAITED SEQUEL

by Hector Ramirez

Hey Clashers, Hector here, I know I promised you guys a piece on the Tokusatsu (live action Japanese tv show in the tradition of super sentai) Spiderman, unfortunately I have to postpone until next week. That being the bad news the good news pertains to another live action Marvel spectacle to behold, X-Men Origins: Wolverine has spawned a sequel set for release in July of next year.

    Due to setbacks like the massive earthquakes in Japan where the majority of the movie is being filmed and losing a director because he didn’t want to leave his family for Japan for so long, the movie was pushed to be released next year instead of being out this year. After that, Hugh Jackman was dedicated to his part in Les Miserables which further postponed filming. Now, with a new director, the star ready to go and Japan ready filming is set to start in August. The plot is said to involve ninjas and the Silver Samurai as antagonists.





THE CROW FLIES AGAIN!

From the IDW website

IDW Brings back James O’Barr’s iconic anti-hero this summer!

San Diego, CA (May 17, 2012) – Proving that the spirit of vengeance is timeless, Bram Stoker Award-winning author and co-screenwriter of the original The Crow film,John Shirley, has teamed with Eisner Award-nominated, Fishtown artist Kevin Colden, to bring the dark spirit back to comics. Concurrently, the film’s producer Edward R. Pressman, in conjunction with Relativity Media and Dimension Films, is in pre-production on a gritty reinvention of the 1994 cult classic to be directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall) and written byJesse Wigutow.

The comic book, which explores its own unique storyline from the film, is set in Tokyo, Japan where the Crow returns in the guise of a foreign exchange student named Jamie Osterberg. When Haruko, the love of his life, is stolen away from him, Jamie must search for answers–ones that turn deadly, and transform him into the spirit of vengeance, the Crow! With a sword that seeks truth, the Crow hunts down those responsible for this crime, discovering a web of horror that may lead him to kill his one true love.

“I was thrilled to help bring James O’Barr’s The Crow to the screen, and am equally thrilled to rediscover the character in this new incarnation of The Crow for IDW—it’s as if he’s come back from the grave all over again,” said Shirley. “It feels like The Crow is taking me on the journey into some very dark realms. All I can do is come along and hope to survive the trip. It helps to have a great talent like Kevin Colden along.”

“I’m very happy to be able to bring back The Crow with such esteemed creators,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. “To be able to lead off with John Shirley and Kevin Colden in a story that takes the concept of James O’Barr’s The Crow in very unexpected ways is as thrilling to me as it hopefully will be to fans.”

Also featuring covers from Kyle Hotz and Ashley Wood, the vibrant, exotic setting and rich mythology of Japan should prove a thrilling and intriguing environment for Shirley and Colden’s fresh take on the beloved hero. The first of the monthly five-issue series will be released in print and digital in July, with more series to follow. Plans have also been announced for The Crow original creator James O’Barr to return with his own new series.

THE CROW #1 ($3.99, 32 pages, full color) will be available in July.

COLOSSALS LEAVE NOTHING BUT DEBRIS

From the Image Comics Website

New dystopian mini-series from Image Comics in July

The future looks bleak for humankind in DEBRIS, the new Image Comics/Shadowline mini-series by the co-creators of the critically acclaimed GREEN WAKE, Kurtis J. Wiebe (PETER PANZERFAUST, GRIM LEAPER) and Riley Rossmo (REBEL BLOOD, COWBOY NINJA VIKING). Earth itself, covered with the detritus of civilization, has risen up against humans, as ancient spirits called the Colossals take physical forms constructed from the debris to wage war against the destructive species.

In the midst of this chaos, a warrior woman named Maya becomes the champion of humankind. She sets out to find the world's last source of pure water, combatting Colossals along the way as she fights to save her fellow humans.

"I'm very fond of Scandinavian and European folklore, so I injected a lot of those concepts into the monsters that will appear throughout the series," Wiebe told Comic Book Resources in an April 25th interview. "It's also very influenced by Native American (Canadian) mythology and even a touch of Mayan for some of the creatures. I like the idea that all these ancient monsters were once part of our world and have returned to end us when we are at our weakest."

With a look inspired by video games like Final Fantasy, DEBRIS boasts extraordinary creature design by Rossmo and vivid colors by Owen Gieni (AVENGELYNE) that set the comic apart from many other post-apocalyptic visions of Earth.

In an April 27th interview at IGN about the influence of the revolutionary video game series, Wiebe noted that DEBRIS shares the subject of "a world-changing battle against impossible odds, which is a constant theme throughout Final Fantasy." The IGN feature also included several FF-inspired teasers, showing Maya in battles against various Colossals.

In May, Wiebe also talked about the hotly-anticipated series at iFanboy, where a six-page preview of DEBRIS #1 was posted.

DEBRIS is a monthly four-issue miniseries published under Image Comics' Shadowline imprint. The first issue will be in stores on July 25.


VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Frieza vs. Sensui. WHO WINS?!

NOW AVAILABLE

CBC's very own Jeremias de Leon is not just a writer but an artist and is currently taking commissions:

Go here for his deviant art.  And this is his paypal.

ON SALE NOW:


Michael Turner Wizard World Hulk # 1 Variant


Iron Man, Ultimate Extinction, Ultimate Origins


Spiderman Books including first Black Costume appearance


AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: Including Avengers (Volume 1) # 16, 1st Wonder Man & More


Action Comics # 1 & 2 SIGNED WITH VARIANTS


Death In Comics SET


Yugioh Lightsworn Cards


X- Saber Cards


Yugioh DESTINY Hero DECK!!!


Wind Up Rabbit Cards



BROUGHT TO YOU BY . . .

One of the few Tokusatsu Reviews I know. Great guy with a good set of reviews, a few countdowns and some specials. Tokusatsu is special effects in japanese but it is what the genre of live action stuff like Power Rangers and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight are based off of. Toku Time or Reviewtopia: Toku Time is where you can find him.

Where you can find J1 Studios President, Jason Richson aka Spider Tribble, every single week on the Black Tribbles podcast. 








It's the new, BRAND NEW, Super Mario Dubstep Album. Listen as your favorite music from Super Mario has been transformed into remixes. The album is so addicting, you will feel like you're an addict!


GREEN MUSHROOMS & SUPERSTARS

From J1's own Shinigami (Ray Riley) & Forafire (Forrest Shamlian). FREE TO DOWNLOAD! NOW! 

FREE ALBUM DOWNLOADS

And don't for get the recently released Sonic Remix Album, SPIN DASH AUDIO is also available now. 

RAJIO NIHON . . . the internet Toku Station where they play songs from tokusatsu, anime and give you in depth looks into the world of Tokusatsu. RAJIO NIHON  Take a listen as CBC's Frankie Rodriguez , Jeremias de Leon & Devin Walker go on and give you Tokusatsu News from Japan and around the world on Morphin Bracers.  

And don't forget to catch the Ikaricast from Reviewtopia!! Hosted by Jeremias de Leon aka Xaos, Jeff Williams aka 16 Bit Jeff with Frankie Rodriguez aka Seraph.


Also Don't forget to check out Frankie & Jeremias as they guest on 16 Bit Jeff's 

Episode 6 where they talk about Super Hero fighting games.