DC vs Marvel: More Things About Comics

I read comics.

Because I have a more than passing interest in comics, I am often led to websites that discuss comics and comic book characters, and, by extension, the TV and film adaptations of comics.

Not all of which have been that good.

Invariably, like the sound of screeching tires, my focus is drawn down to the comments section; that cesspool of trollery and fanboy bitching. I don't know why I even go down there except as a masochistic exercise. Maybe I have too much faith in humanity and need to take it down a peg. Of course it's not all bad. One can often find some interesting debates on there if one is willing to wade through all the one-sentence negativity that tends to pervade.

One thing that I feel like I see all the time, however, and it baffles me, is the "This is why I stopped reading *blank*." comment, where the *blank* is either DC or Marvel. There seems to be quite a bit of A is better than B, or I used to like A but now I like B discourse among fans. Maybe there has always been, but in the age of comment sections, it is more apparent now than ever.

In addition to that, there are more and more articles being written about how Marvel is beating DC in the cinematic universe, or how DC is outproducing Marvel on television. In the wake of the superhero mediasplosion that various films and TV shows have brought about, there seems to be a debate about who has the upper hand. Who is winning this battle? Who is winning in terms of prevalence? Who is winning in terms of quality? Who...  who cares!?

Is it Wolverine? I bet Wolverine cares.

I honestly don't understand why it matters who is winning. It really doesn't. If we are talking about video game consoles, there are endless places where one can find information (both factual and unsubstantiated opinions) about why Xbox is better than Playstation, or vice versa. And wasn't there a third one to choose? I thought there was...

No... maybe I was thinking of something else.

Anyway, this debate, as vitriolic as it can be, actually has some use to us as consumers because these things are major purchases. If you're considering buying a gaming system that costs $500 or more, you are probably going to want to do your research. What games are exclusive to each console? What bundles are available? What are the peripheral services and features? Which one sucks balls? These are important questions you want answered before dropping the better part of a week's salary on a TOY.

DC and Marvel are media companies that create and distribute entertainment. Watching the newest episode of The Flash does not automatically mean you can't watch Agents of SHIELD also and enjoy them both. You may like one over the other just as the next person likes them both equally. And then there's a third person who thinks Big Bang Theory is still funny and relevant. Let's all agree not to talk to that person anymore.

Bazooper.

Anyway, my point is that it doesn't matter. I like Ms Marvel. I like Batgirl. I like Daredevil. I like Dick Grayson. I don't see why it matters where these stories are coming from. Saying that DC is better than Marvel is like saying that Random House is better than Penguin Books. They are all just putting stuff out there. Both DC and Marvel have their flagship characters, and both have a stigma related to their past styles. DC is known for iconic, godlike characters, whereas Marvel has been known for telling the human stories behind the heroes. I feel like they have both diversified away from their core competency in interesting ways, and that both have some great things to offer.

There is no reason to choose one over the other. This isn't an all or nothing proposition. The debate makes no sense. "This is why I don't read Marvel anymore" is a very near-sighted opinion to have. If you don't like Avengers, read X men. If you don't like X men, read Captain Marvel. If you don't like Captain Marvel, then there is something seriously wrong with you.

I mean it, go read Captain Marvel.

These aren't $500 gaming systems, these are stories. Read them all. Watch them all. Love some of them. But don't get caught up in where they came from. When these two media companies are competing for our attention, we are the winners. If one of them loses, then we all do.

Review: Gotham

Preface: I've been wanting to write a review column for some time, but really didn't know what to write about. Now that I'm back into some comics and TV shows, I have something to review. I kind of hope this will become a weekly thing, but if history is any indicator, it won't be quite that frequent. I'd also like to keep it relevant, that is, reviewing newish things, but who knows.

So, with that...

Gotham

They sell a lot of umbrellas here.

As of my writing this, there are now four episodes of Gotham. I have to say, I am on the verge of letting this show go.

First of all, this does not feel like a superhero comics universe at all. This is a grim and gritty cops and mobsters drama. Some characters from the Batman oeuvre are present, albeit in something of a larval state, but not all of them have anything interesting to do. Episode 1: Pilot was particularly guilty of this. Besides the requisite Waynes and Jim Gordon, there is the Penguin, The Riddler, and maybe Poison Ivy? Oh, and let's not forget Selina Kyle, the future Catwoman, who seems to be photobombing every other scene.

I know that was only the pilot, and they threw everything at us at once to hope something sticks. Still, I had hope for the show.

In subsequent episodes, Oswald Cobblepot, or the Penguin (don't call him that, btw) grows as a character, and is to date the most interesting part of the show. He's playing both sides when we're introduced to him, and continues to do so even after a falling out with his former boss. I'm not sure what his angle is, playing the mob against the cops and against each other, but he's doing a pretty good job of it so far.

Fish Mooney is another one of our main characters, and to my knowledge is not from the comics canon. This is Jada Pinkett-Smith vamping all over the place. She's mean and dangerous, but charismatic throughout. She's an interesting character even if a bit one-dimensional. Whenever it looks like she might have some vulnerability, she completely undercuts it with her ruthlessness, and as much as I want to like her, I really don't. If that's by design, then they're doing a good job.

See the red? Red equals evil.

Gordon. I like Gordon, but he's your typical white hat cop in a corrupt system. This trope feels a bit played out even in the setting of Gotham. His paladin-like moral code makes some of the choices he has to make even tougher, especially since he has to play the game or face death at the hands of the mob. I feel like this is true to Gordon, but it's just not that interesting, and the conflict he has at home with Barbara feels forced and unnecessary.

Which brings me to Bruce. Oh, Brucey Brucey Brucey. I get it. It's Gotham. Gotham is all about Batman. We've seen the Batman origin time and time again, in two sets of movies, in comics, in animated series. We know this story. Origin stories are always and forever the least interesting part about superheroes. Why do we have to keep cutting away to Bruce Wayne? Why do we have to get an eleven-year-old's perspective on everything? He doesn't even seem like a real kid. He's reading his parents' files, he's following current events on the news, and worst of all, he's boring. I would much rather see a teenage Bruce Wayne. What is that guy like? Is he trying to get into the family business? Is he beating up muggers in his spare time? I'm not really sure when he put on the cowl, but it would be far more interesting if a proto-batman were out there, maybe getting his butt kicked because he's not good at it yet. Maybe he's filtering information to the police, an anonymous tipper. Maybe he tries to get in with some mob thugs with the idea to infiltrate the system. Little kid Bruce is just nothing, and I'm tired of him wasting minutes of this show. Why does Gordon keep reporting back to him like some kind of underling? It just doesn't work.

Don't worry kid, one day you'll be cool.

I do kind of like Edward Nygma as the CSI or whatever he is. He's odd, but in a kind of fun way, and knowing who he becomes later, I get a kick out of him. He doesn't ham it up too bad, he just does his thing and then is gone again doing whatever it is he does. I'd actually like to see a bit more of him, but what we're getting is enough.

So, I'm going to keep watching it for now, but I'm losing my patience with you, Gotham. Be better. We all want you to be better. You've got a built-in fan base, don't blow it.

All the Comics

I've spoken about comics before in this blog.

In my post about damaged nerd cred, I lamented my limited experience with recent comics. In a more recent post, I mentioned attending a recent comic con, and reading a book or two some time later.

My first order of business is to retract some of my statements in the latter post. I talked a bit about the Ghost Rider book from the early 90's, which was my jam. I've gone back and re-read up to about issue 25. It's a decent series, but it's pretty dark. The thing is, I wrote in my previous post about Ghost Rider dispensing "lethal justice" and being a "Supernatural Punisher". This is far from true.

Though they do team up once or twice.

the 1990-96 run of Ghost Rider features a spirit of vengeance with principles. He doesn't kill. At least that is not his goal. He gives the baddies a dose of his "penance stare" which forces them to experience all the pain that they themselves have caused others. This typically tends to be an effective deterrent for most lowlifes that Ghost Rider gets his hands on.

So, with that correction out of the way, let me also say something about new comics. I mentioned later in that same Ghost Rider post, that the new Ghost Rider is not for me, and postulate that maybe Comics have either passed me by or I have outgrown them.

No and no.

Now that is not to say that I like the new Ghost Rider. I don't. The art style by Tradd Moore is not to my taste. He is a pretty great artist, but I don't feel like his style fits with Ghost Rider. His characters are exaggerated and cartoony. It's kind of a surreal style, and the spirit of vengeance should be, in my opinion, more on the realistic side. I could see Tradd Moore taking a stab at one of the lighter characters, or ones that are out in space or something and it working out extremely well.

He already looks kind of like a space alien.

Rocket Raccoon would be a fine choice. My lack of enthusiasm for the all-new Ghost Rider aside, I have gotten back into comics in a big way. There are some really great series out there by some fantastic creative teams.

A lot has happened in comics since the 90s. That goes without saying, since there seems to be a "NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME" crossover event every summer from the big two, Marvel and DC. DC Comics even went so far as to reboot their entire continuity back in 2011 with the "New 52". I have seen more negative than positive feelings on this from the comics community, but like it or not, that's what is out there now. It's actually a pretty good time to get into comics. There are many new titles coming out from Marvel and DC alike as well as some of the smaller publishers. There are also some good jumping-on points coming up in existing titles like Captain America, Batgirl, and Thor who are all either changing creative teams or shaking things up in a major way.

My current favorite titles that started this year are Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Secret Avengers, and Grayson. If I had all the money in the world, I would grab up any number of series that began recently, but these ones are what I'm following now, for better or worse. I've also jumped on board Guardians of the Galaxy, which just finished a story arc, Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman, a new anthology series, Copperhead, a new space western from Image Comics, and Amazing Spider Man, which recently rebooted, and was an easy number 1 to grab, but I think I'm going to drop it after the upcoming Ms. Marvel crossover.

Aww yeah...

The thing is, Marvel (and DC is guilty of this as well) is still doing the thing that turned me off in the first place by running these big cross-title events. There are two this fall from Marvel, Axis and Spider-verse. I have no hope of keeping up with either, because it's just too much and too costly. So I think I'm done with Spiderman for now, because there's no way I'm going to get all the supplemental issues to follow the crossover.

I hear great things about the new Daredevil (which I've read a bit) and Silver Surfer which also began new #1's this year, but I'm just not really attracted to those characters. It's the same old story. I want to read it all, and I get this weird kind of anxiety about the stuff I haven't read. At the same time, there is only so much time and money to devote so I have to be selective. So I'll read and enjoy the titles I have now, and if I drop one, then I'll jump on another.