Comic fans: The Dark Knight Rises

[conversationpc]

Superman looks more like Superoldfatman in that picture.

[Rip Rokken]

Superman looks more like Superoldfatman in that picture.

LOL, not fat, but purposefully older! It's set in the future, after super-heroics have been outlawed I believe. (been a while since I read it). Excellent story, but the whole metahuman registration / regulation / outlaw angle has been beat to death by everyone now. It all does bring up an excellent point though (as did Kingdom Come) -- that superheroes cause millions of dollars of damage when they fight. I think that was one of the reason they corralled a bunch of them in.

Notice Captain Marvel is Superman's reflection in the table in that pic?

[Rip Rokken]

I'm a HUGE Superman fan, HUGE, and I've never.. EVER watched one single episode of Smallville.

It's quite often stupid, but addictive. I've watched every episode since the pilot, and just bought the entire series on DVD when they went on sale for $9.99 each at Best Buy on Black Friday.

If you never watch another episode of Smallville, definitely check out "Absolute Justice" from last season. Double-length episode brings back the Justice Society, and does each one of them dead on -- Dr. Fate, Hawkman, and others. Probably my favorite episode out of all of them. Here are some clips:

Dr. Fate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjnQz3idDOc

Hawkman in a KICK ASS scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033H6xrDA3g

One thing you may not like -- they use the Superman Returns suit in Smallville. He hasn't put it on yet, but his mom sent it to him and it's hanging in the Fortress of Solitude. BTW, if you liked the Donner films, there is also a lot of cool homage to them in Smallville, from the Krypton scenes to the Phantom Zone square mirror looking prison, to "Kneel before Zod!!!!"

TONS of Superman mythos characters in Smallville, too -- so many that it's like he'll meet everyone and fight every bad guy before he even puts on the Super-suit, lol! Supergirl, Zatana, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Arrow, Luthor, Braniac (evil and good versions), Martian Manhunter, Krypto, even the freaking Wonder Twins... that's barely scratching the surface. Oh, wait.... and DOOMSDAY and DARKSEID!!! No joke!

[YoungJRNY]

I'm a HUGE Superman fan, HUGE, and I've never.. EVER watched one single episode of Smallville.

It's quite often stupid, but addictive. I've watched every episode since the pilot, and just bought the entire series on DVD when they went on sale for $9.99 each at Best Buy on Black Friday.

If you never watch another episode of Smallville, definitely check out "Absolute Justice" from last season. Double-length episode brings back the Justice Society, and does each one of them dead on -- Dr. Fate, Hawkman, and others. Probably my favorite episode out of all of them. Here are some clips:

Dr. Fate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjnQz3idDOc

Hawkman in a KICK ASS scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033H6xrDA3g

One thing you may not like -- they use the Superman Returns suit in Smallville. He hasn't put it on yet, but his mom sent it to him and it's hanging in the Fortress of Solitude. BTW, if you liked the Donner films, there is also a lot of cool homage to them in Smallville, from the Krypton scenes to the Phantom Zone square mirror looking prison, to "Kneel before Zod!!!!"

TONS of Superman mythos characters in Smallville, too -- so many that it's like he'll meet everyone and fight every bad guy before he even puts on the Super-suit, lol! Supergirl, Zatana, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Arrow, Luthor, Braniac (evil and good versions), Martian Manhunter, Krypto, even the freaking Wonder Twins... that's barely scratching the surface. Oh, wait.... and DOOMSDAY and DARKSEID!!! No joke!

I've seen the stills of Darkseid as well as Doomsday and I watched about a half an episode and it was just ridiculous. There are a lot of tie-ins to the Superman mytho's but the depiction of the characters and the way most characters are portrayed are SEVERELY out of character and ridiculous. They've actually put in Smallville continuity in the new origin re-told Origin of Supeman called Superman: Secret Origin. During his teenage years and his affection for Lana Lang, there was a part to where she makes an advancement towards him and his heat vision acts up, kind of like when he gets aroused in anyway shape or form like an adolescent thing, so that was a little Smallville reference but other than that, the show is a completley different continuity to every that has ever been done with Supes.

[YoungJRNY]

Superman looks more like Superoldfatman in that picture.

Haha, well the story is set in the years WAY after Superman's era has ended. So in this story, Superman is older and hasn't been seen in the public eye for decades. He is retired, working on his family farm in exile and doesn't want refereed to as Superman anymore, just Clark and is still in mourn of Lois Lane, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen's death, who was killed by the Joker, who is then killed by a new hero called Magog. It isn't until a new set of Super Hero's and meta human's, led by Magog, who take over the world and completely do things differently and is the complete Anti-Superman (as well as Wonder Woman, Batman, and all of the others in Supe's family and era) and things get so sickening in how these new hero's are acting, that it takes Wonder Women to coax Superman out of retirement and end the non-sense. Great stuff.

[verslibre]

that superheroes cause millions of dollars of damage when they fight.

That would be good for the economy. Probably better than wars, too.

[verslibre]

If you never watch another episode of Smallville, definitely check out "Absolute Justice" from last season. Double-length episode brings back the Justice Society, and does each one of them dead on -- Dr. Fate, Hawkman, and others.

Justice Society or Justice League?

Hawkman in a KICK ASS scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033H6xrDA3g

Phew...homey, that was stank, yo! The REAL Hawkman would never have conveniently turned his back so Col. Tigh could turn him into a shishkabob! That was like "Here ya go! Skewer me!" Puh-LEEZ!!

TONS of Superman mythos characters in Smallville, too -- so many that it's like he'll meet everyone and fight every bad guy before he even puts on the Super-suit, lol! Supergirl, Zatana, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Arrow, Luthor, Braniac (evil and good versions), Martian Manhunter, Krypto, even the freaking Wonder Twins... that's barely scratching the surface. Oh, wait.... and DOOMSDAY and DARKSEID!!! No joke!

I can only assume the way they handle characters like Doomsday and Darkseid on Smallville is, at the very least, questionable.

[Rip Rokken]

If you never watch another episode of Smallville, definitely check out "Absolute Justice" from last season. Double-length episode brings back the Justice Society, and does each one of them dead on -- Dr. Fate, Hawkman, and others.

Justice Society or Justice League?[quote]

Society, as in the Golden Age JSA. It's a really cool double-length episode, and the classic JSA heroes are handled incredibly well -- costumes are outstanding. Only a few JSA heroes actually star in the current story (Hawkman, Stargirl, the Star Spangled Kid, Dr. Fate, and Sandman), but they have lots of flashbacks and memorabilia of the other heroes in their old headquarters -- Jay Garrick (The Flash), the original Green Lantern, Wildcat, Hawkgirl, etc.). On the wall they have an old panoramic painting of all the JSA heroes (looks like The Last Supper).



























Now tell me that ain't cool!

[Rip Rokken]

...things get so sickening in how these new hero's are acting, that it takes Wonder Women to coax Superman out of retirement and end the non-sense. Great stuff.

I seem to remember Superman screwed Wonder Woman up in the air... wait, that was in "The Dark Knight Strikes Again", and when they did it, it caused earthquakes and tidal waves, lol!

[Rip Rokken]

There are a lot of tie-ins to the Superman mytho's but the depiction of the characters and the way most characters are portrayed are SEVERELY out of character and ridiculous.

Do you like Powergirl?

[verslibre]

Whoa!!!!!!!

[No Surprize]

There are a lot of tie-ins to the Superman mytho's but the depiction of the characters and the way most characters are portrayed are SEVERELY out of character and ridiculous.

Do you like Powergirl?

I just became a comic book geek!

[brywool]

Superman hasn't had a good movie since 1978...

The only Superman movie I liked was the second one. I thought the rest, including the first one were terrible. To watch them now, man, they are just SO dated. At least with the second one, there was some conflict going on. Just thought it was better.

Yeah, I picked up Alex Ross'x "Mythology" coffee table book. That guy's art is SO freaking great. Love it.

I didn't dig Hawkman on Smallville. I absolutely can't stand Green Arrow on it. Since Lex is gone, that show is just garbage. Can't watch it.

As for Marvel, I could never dig their art. That was years ago, but I didn't think their artists were that great. Alex Ross and Mike Grell (?) were super good artists, especially Grell's earlier stuff (DC).

Comics were cool though. I had a ton of em and they're all gone. Bummer.

[brywool]

...things get so sickening in how these new hero's are acting, that it takes Wonder Women to coax Superman out of retirement and end the non-sense. Great stuff.

I seem to remember Superman screwed Wonder Woman up in the air... wait, that was in "The Dark Knight Strikes Again", and when they did it, it caused earthquakes and tidal waves, lol!

By the way, this art SUCKS. It's terrible...

[verslibre]

By the way, this art SUCKS. It's terrible...

That's Frank Miller, post-Daredevil, drawing in the "experimental" style he wanted to draw The Dark Knight Returns in. I don't like it, either. His Sin City art was a step back in the right direction, but still not as good as his Marvel heyday.

For GREAT Miller art, his best work, art AND story-wise, is still Ronin, the "apocalyptic SF" six-issue limited series he did for DC in the mid-'80s. It's awesome.

The Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Wolverine 4-issue mini-series (that Darren Aronofsky is going to base the next movie on) also featured great Miller art.

But yes, that stuff above is...meh.

[brywool]

By the way, this art SUCKS. It's terrible...

That's Frank Miller, post-Daredevil, drawing in the "experimental" style he wanted to draw The Dark Knight Returns in. I don't like it, either. His Sin City art was a step back in the right direction, but still not as good as his Marvel heyday.

For GREAT Miller art, his best work, art AND story-wise, is still Ronin, the "apocalyptic SF" six-issue limited series he did for DC in the mid-'80s. It's awesome.

The Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Wolverine 4-issue mini-series (that Darren Aronofsky is going to base the next movie on) also featured great Miller art.

But yes, that stuff above is...meh.

Ah, yeah, shoulda known, Frank Miller. I ALMOST typed "Looks like the Marvel art I didn't like"- seriously, I almost did that. I remember it from Dark Knight Returns now that you mention it. It's been so long since I read that.

yeah, just never dug this style.


Jim Apparo was also a really good artist and you could spot his stuff from a mile away.

[Rip Rokken]

I didn't dig Hawkman on Smallville. I absolutely can't stand Green Arrow on it. Since Lex is gone, that show is just garbage. Can't watch it.

It definitely has its weaknesses. Never good when you start off with a show hating one of the primary "good" characters, and I never could stand Kristin Kreuk's Lana Lang. She was kinda like Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years -- the show's only angle for her character was her "hotness" (disputable, lol), and she had no depth or redeeming qualities other than that. At least with Winnie, I don't think she was supposed to be amazing though -- she seemed a very realistic "crush" object, where a kid kinda idealizes someone that doesn't really have a lot to offer in the first place. In Smallville, Lana was different -- they were trying to make her out to be the bees knees, but all I saw was someone who was shallow, egotistical and less mature than she seemed to think she was, and not that loyal to her friends. The worst of course was when she married Lex and just instantly became this ice cold bitch who treated her friends like they were 5 steps beneath her. She never did really come back to earth, even after she left the "dark side". She was always a little too important for everyone else. I couldn't stand her, and am glad she got poisoned with a Kryptonite overdose so intense that Clark can never come close to her again. It's what she deserves. Really crappy major character, and I don't miss her.



Another thing that really gets on my nerves is the horrendous, obnoxious dialogue. It constantly tries to be witty and hip, so it comes off very scripted. Chloe's lines are the absolute worst, case in point. I saw someone else online complaining about the same thing, and he said it was like watching "Gossip Girl", except with Superman, lol.

There have been lots of great things about the show, though. John Schneider's character was one of the best -- he was never less than excellent. Love her or hate her, Erica Durance is pretty watchable most of the time.

I know everyone loved Michael Rosenbaum as Lex, and they are still trying to find a way to get him to return to close out the season, even if just in the finale. He's hinted that this may be in the works. He was starting to wear thin on me though, in the same way Lana did. Not enough depth to him.

As of now, I'm still trying to figure out how the heck they are going to finish this final season and have it make any sense. The last few episodes haven't been much to watch, and seem to be going nowhere to further the story. All I know is, he'll end up in the suit, and will end up flying. Wish it wouldn't be the Superman Returns suit, but so far that's what it appears to be.

Another person they've done well, at least in look is Zatana. Yummy!!!!





Serinda Swan

[Rip Rokken]

Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl

[Rip Rokken]

Erica Durance as Lois Lane

[Rip Rokken]

By the way, this art SUCKS. It's terrible...

The art in "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" is even much rougher than the first book. If I recall, it seemed to get worse as the book went on. Experimental, maybe, but I don't like that "trendy" style of art where it's so confusing and ill-defined that you can't tell what's going on in a frame. That's what this book is like at times, and if I wanted to stare at some abstract picture and try to interpret what it means to me, I'd go to a freaking art gallery instead.

[verslibre]

Another person they've done well, at least in look is Zatana. Yummy!!!!





Serinda Swan

Wow, Serinda Swan looks amazing as Zatanna!! (She's one of the "sirens" in TRON Legacy.)

Then again, Serinda Swan just looks amazing...

[verslibre]

Jim Apparo was also a really good artist and you could spot his stuff from a mile away.

Jim Aparo is one of the best comics artists ever. For many Batfans, he's the definitive Batman artist. The Brave & The Bold cover with Batman and Man-Bat is one of Jim's best, and simply one of my favorite covers.



More examples of Aparo greatness:

[verslibre]

The art in "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" is even much rougher than the first book. If I recall, it seemed to get worse as the book went on. Experimental, maybe, but I don't like that "trendy" style of art where it's so confusing and ill-defined that you can't tell what's going on in a frame. That's what this book is like at times, and if I wanted to stare at some abstract picture and try to interpret what it means to me, I'd go to a freaking art gallery instead.

I can't read The Dark Knight Returns/Strikes Again, and Sin City I can take only in limited doses. And in the '80s, I IDOLIZED Frank Miller. I was really into Daredevil, and then he kicked my ass with Ronin. I could never have guessed, while he basically was sleeping on the proverbial mattress-stuffed-with-Franklins after the first Dark Knight limited series, that he'd reach such stratospheric heights success-wise. FM is a household name. Everybody knows him as the "300 guy" and/or the "Sin City guy," etc. That's not the FM I give two shits about. I prefer the guy who produced this kind of art, years before all that:










(In case the last image doesn't show up, the url is http://www.comicartfans.com/Images/Category_1665/subcat_3448/roninB.jpg. It's badass.)

[RedWingFan]

Do you like Powergirl?

Chick is way too muscular. Looks like a pretty dude with nice fake cans!

[RedWingFan]

Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl

Ah, that's much better!

[SF-Dano]

Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl

Ah, that's much better!

Isn't that the gal that is on V now? Beautiful young lady.

[YoungJRNY]

There are a lot of tie-ins to the Superman mytho's but the depiction of the characters and the way most characters are portrayed are SEVERELY out of character and ridiculous.

Do you like Powergirl?

I just became a comic book geek!

Powergirl had a big influence on the first Crisis that changed the origin and world of comic books. She was the cousin of Superman and wasn't aware of the alternate Earths in the Multi-verse that the Anti- Monitor destroyed forever since everyone involved in that first Crisis that wasn't knocked off had their minds/memory completley destroyed even though the likes of Superman and Batman always had an idea of what happened (Superman brought the first Crisis to attention to Power Girl in Infinite Crisis.)

I never read the first Crisis, don't have the time and money that I wish I had at this point but as of now, Powergirl has her own mini-series and I couldn't get past the few first pages without having a wank. She's interesting and Superman has been here and there making an appearance in her books to make her relevant, which DC is trying to do with her character. She is connected to Supergirl in some way, but the plethora of information is escaping me at the moment but her character is defined, atleast by me, by those big ass titties!

[Rip Rokken]

Jim Apparo was also a really good artist and you could spot his stuff from a mile away.

Jim Aparo is one of the best comics artists ever. For many Batfans, he's the definitive Batman artist. The Brave & The Bold cover with Batman and Man-Bat is one of Jim's best, and simply one of my favorite covers.

For me, it was Neal Adams, and his Batman look was similar. Neal also drew an "reimagined" Batsuit that ended up becoming the inspiration for Batman Begins. He's a legend as a comic book artist.



That pose reminds me of another one of my favorite Neal Adams pieces...



Ran across this... a very cool Wiki page dedicated to the Batsuit!

http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batsuit

[Rip Rokken]

I never read the first Crisis, don't have the time and money that I wish I had at this point but as of now, Powergirl has her own mini-series and I couldn't get past the few first pages without having a wank. She's interesting and Superman has been here and there making an appearance in her books to make her relevant, which DC is trying to do with her character. She is connected to Supergirl in some way, but the plethora of information is escaping me at the moment but her character is defined, atleast by me, by those big ass titties!

LOL... I have the first Crisis as a single-bound graphic novel. I pretty much never get them when they first come out, span too many different series and cost a ton to follow. Ridiculous... speaking of Neal Adams, I saw an interview where he commented on the industry doing that and how much it hurt comic sales.

[brywool]

Jim Apparo was also a really good artist and you could spot his stuff from a mile away.

Jim Aparo is one of the best comics artists ever. For many Batfans, he's the definitive Batman artist. The Brave & The Bold cover with Batman and Man-Bat is one of Jim's best, and simply one of my favorite covers.

For me, it was Neal Adams, and his Batman look was similar. Neal also drew an "reimagined" Batsuit that ended up becoming the inspiration for Batman Begins. He's a legend as a comic book artist.



That pose reminds me of another one of my favorite Neal Adams pieces...



Ran across this... a very cool Wiki page dedicated to the Batsuit!

http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batsuit

ah, crap, Neal Adams. Duh!