Category Archives: Comics/Books

Shazam! Shazam! Shazam!…movie

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been a long time coming, but they’re finally going through with the Captain Marvel…I mean…Shazam, movie. I don’t remember the last time I was so excited about a DC movie.

There’ve been rumors running around for a long time about a Captain Marvel (it’s hard for me to call him Shazam. It doesn’t feel right) movie. I’ve been let down before, but when Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), confirmed that he was going to play Black Adam, I knew that my prayers to the Geek Gods had been answered. Those virgin sacrifices upon an altar made of comic books and old issues of Dungeon Magazine worked.

I’m not going to talk about the history of Captain Marvel or anything like that (this link is a great start). I’m going to talk about why I love The Big Red Cheese.

An interesting redesign

Me and Captain Marvel (Not Shazam, godammit!)

One of my oldest memories is waking up early to watch the Shazam! tv show. I didn’t really understand it, but i remember having to watch it every week. I don’t think I was even three years old.

Growing up, my great-uncle Irving used to bring me comic books. Huge packages of random comic books. Mostly he’d bring me Marvel, but sometimes DC. This exposed me to a wide rang of heroes, but I never got one of that weird guy with the white cape and lightning bolt. I used to buy comics at the local Lamstons (a NYC chain similar to Woolworth’s) and they had a small variety of books. I mostly picked up Spidey and Captain America. It wasn’t until I discovered real comic books shops where I saw The Power of Shazam!

Captain Marvel and Superman

Captain Marvel stories are like Superman stories, but goofy and fun. They’re not afraid to be for kids. It’s pure childhood wish fulfillment: an orphan child that becomes a superhero through his own heroism, and then spreads his power to others. He builds a family that he never had. I didn’t realize it until I started writing this article, but I did the same thing with Song of Simon. In Watchmage, you could analyze Nathaniel as the wizard Shazam that gives power to others (Hendricks). It’s proof that the experiences of your past (even things you barely remember) color your writing.

My favorite Captain Marvel appearances come much later, as a member of the JSA and Marvel universe in general. He’s the moral compass that keeps other heroes from sinking too far. He believes in redemption and fair play. He’s as powerful as Superman. I think that he’s more powerful, with the combined might of several gods and the wisdom of Solomon, but they usually have the two fight to a draw (don’t even get me started on the DC Injustice bullshit). The JLA Unlimited episode “Clash” is a good example of the differences between the two (including Marvel wanting to stop fighting around all the bystanders, and Supes not caring.

I especially his interplay with some of the younger women in the JSA, like Stargirl. It shows his duality, a teenage boy in a grown man’s body. At one point the JSA had an intervention to ward off his interest in her. He chose to leave Stargirl and the JSA rather than reveal his secret, as the wisdom of Solomon advised against it. Sometimes wisdom hurts.

I haven’t read any of the new Captain Marvel, but from what I’ve heard, I don’t know if I like it. They made him less of the moral hero and a little bit shady. That takes away from what appeals to me about him. He stands out because he’s unadulterated goodness. He’s the hero that others should aspire to be like, even Superman.

You know why I like Captain Marvel? This:

We’re done here *drops mic*

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.8/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

The Mask: Comics and Secret Identities Part 2

Posted on by
1

Welcome back. This is a continuation of a previous post. I suggest that you read the first part before this one, just so you know where I’m going with it.

Superman and Clark Kent as an Anomaly

Superman poses an interesting contrast to the traditional mask in that he doesn’t wear one. It’s a constant joke among fans that no one recognizes him. I mean, how can anyone be that stupid? I’ll explain below, but first I want to talk about what makes Superman unique.

Both Clark Kent and Superman can be called his “true persona.” He was raised Clark, and until his powers manifested, he was an ordinary boy and unaware of his lineage. This parallels the classic stories of Hercules, Moses, Harry Potter, Jesus, etc. But when he comes into his power, Superman leaves Clark Kent behind. He still carries much of his personality and morality, but they are not the same. He smashed that shell like the many buildings he’ll smash in the future. When you can look at the Earth from a dozen miles up, you never look at it the same way again.

I want to find who said this, but the writer is wearing a mask.

But Supes wants to be Clark Kent again. He doesn’t have to lead a human life, but he chooses to. The “new” Clark Kent is Supes fantasy of what his life would’ve been like if he was a human, not a Kryptonian. In the movie Kill Bill, Bill claims that Clark is an example of how Supes see humans: weak, bumbling, and awkward. I say that it’s a mask, but the one Supes wears to experience some of his old life. Through his upbringing, he is neither human or Kryptonian, but a little of both.

I wish they focused more on this in the recent movie, or at least the next one.

As for nobody recognizing him, it’s because people don’t see the man, they see the mask (or uniform). Last year, Jimmy Fallon did a bit where he had Mets pitcher Matt Harvey ask people questions about what they thought of Matt Harvey. No one recognized him out of his uniform, and hilarity (sorta) ensued.

People didn’t recognize Harvey–even though he was the hottest thing in New York–because he was out of uniform. It makes perfect sense to me that they wouldn’t associate Clark with a red and blue blur (Smallville reference).

Masks and Identity in The Watchmage of Old New York

watchmage small

In my serial (and forthcoming novels) The Watchmage of Old New York, masks and disguises play an important part of the setting. The Dwellers–mythical creatures drawn into our world through people’s dreams and beliefs–all wear magical disguises in order to survive in the city. They know the cruelty of humans, and they understand the danger if they were discovered.

When I devised that, I drew on a few scenes from Maus, where the jewish mice wear (polish) pig masks to move around the ghetto. Maus always had a strong effect on me. Most of my family immigrated before the Holocuast, but still.

If you haven’t read Maus, start.

I know that in real history, some Jews were able to hide their ethnicity, and even do it in America. Here, Jewishness (and all ethnicities) is in danger of being assimilated by the larger culture. They’re–if you will–being thrown into the melting pot. It’s tragic to immigrate and save your life, only to lose your identity.

The Watchmage has to hide his identity as well. At the time the serial begins, he’s already 150 years old, and has lived several lives. Each time he has to build a new identity, but he doesn’t have the luxury of leaving and starting again elsewhere. He will spend all of eternity taking new identities, living many lives that are never his.

Everybody Wears a Mask: It’s Called The Internet

I’m not the first person to point this out, but we all wear masks. You are not the same person at work as you are at the bar. You’re not the same around children as you are around the elderly. That’s normal. A person is not a piece of paper. A person is a gem with a thousand facets, and each facet shines with its own light. People are way too quick to judge another as “fake” when they see a facet they’ve never seen before.

If we were to approach the world as a simple paper, it would surely tear us apart. The masks that we wear protect us from the world. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the world is not a pleasant place.

I’m wearing a mask right now. So are you. You’re reading this through an interface, where you can use any avatar you want and reply as any persona you want to be. Hell, you can be Batman for all I know. We live in a world of masks now: Twitter, Facebook, blogs, they’re all masks that let you deal with the world around you.

Don’t be sad. Don’t be ashamed. When Spiderman or Batman dons the mask, they become something greater than what they were. There’s no reason why you can’t too.

Excelsior.

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist).

The Mask: Comics and Secret Identities Part 1

Posted on by
1

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” –Oscar Wilde

It’s a long-standing tradition in comic books for the heroes and villains to wear masks. Everyone from lone rangers (but not Tonto, for some reason) to secret squirrels (But not Morocco Mole) don the mask. The mask is the symbol of the genre. But why?

Different Secret Squirrel

The logical reason is that they need to protect their true identities from the public. They give rationale like “protecting their loved ones,” and there’ve been enough “women in refrigerator” incidents to give this validity.

Less spoken of is the less virtuous “freedom from repercussions.” They act in anonymity, not unlike the horrible comments at the end of every internet article (but that’s a different issue).

I think there’s more. There’s a psychological aspect to it, where the small and helpless can take on a new identity, free of their former self. Like the Oscar Wilde quote above, once inside the mask, they can be their true selves, or at least the self they want to be.

Which One’s Real, The Man or the Mask (Spiderman and Batman)

I’m going to use Spiderman and Batman as examples, because 1) everybody knows them (who would get it if I talked about Atom Smasher and Moon Knight?) and 2) they are great representations of what I’m talking about. Both heroes are one man with the mask on, and one off. The difference is which one is the true self (or is either?)

My friend, Dr. Osvaldo Oyola, (whose website The Middle Spaces has just about the best comic analysis on the Net) recently wrote an article that talked about Spidey, responsibility, and identity (among other things). Part of the article was born from a conversation we had about The Superior Spiderman storyline and a post I wrote. He noted how when Peter Parker regained his body from Doc Ock, Green Goblin noticed it right away from Pete’s wisecracks.

What Osvaldo notes is that Spiderman is a joking, obnoxious, free spirited hero, but Pete is not. Peter Parker is quiet and shy, always picked on by guys like Flash Thompson and ignored by girls. He grows out of this somewhat over the years, but there’s no doubt that they’re two separate personalities.

Stupid Sexy Spidey…

In this case, the Spiderman mask gives Peter the strength and confidence to be the person that he always wanted to be. He went from a shadow in the back of a classroom to a bright red and blue dynamo that won’t be ignored. Remember, when he first got his powers, the first thing he did was try his hand at Pro Wrestling. He wears a loud costume of primary colors. He wants people to SEE him. He wants to be noticed.

As Spidey says on the cover of his very first appearance, Amazing Fantasy #15: “Though the world may mock Peter Parker the timid teenager, It will soon marvel at the awesome might of Spider-Man.” He couldn’t state it any plainer than that. The mask makes him the man he wants to be.

Batman is a bit more complex. He underwent a psyche-ripping trauma as a kid. He’s obviously insane (people seem to gloss over that). I would say that unlike Spiderman, who affects a strong persona to hide a weak one, Batman is the strong persona that wears a weak mask.

Bruce Wayne is the mask. Batman is the real person. Bruce Wayne is a role that Batman made up so that he can interact in society. His real psyche is so destroyed that he can’t handle the real world without some buffer. He can only handle the world of madmen criminals and two-bit thugs.

Sad Batman is Sad

This damage even bleeds in under the mask. Look at how he treats his Robins, or how he acts around other Justice League members. Hell, he devised methods to kill every one of his friends in case he needed to. No sane man would do that.

But Bruce Wayne would never act that way. He’s just a rich playboy with not a care in the world. There’s no way Bruce Wayne could be Batman, right?

Maybe Bruce Wayne is the man Young Bruce wanted to be before Joe Chill shattered his world. Batman is living out a fantasy through his alter-ego. It’s the fantasy of a normal life, one that he’ll never have.

Read Part 2.

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist).

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and What DC Doesn’t Understand

Posted on by
1

Comic-Con season is the geekiest time of the year. Every day there’s a new thing to go nuts over. This time it’s Wonder Woman’s costume in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (the worst name ever).

I like it, and Gal Gadot looks great in it (what doesn’t she look great in?). I picture Wonder Woman as more muscular, but it’s not my movie, I’m not the casting director. Gadot brings star power, if a lack of acting chops (the awful Fast and the Furious Series doesn’t count) and star power brings in the Muggles who wouldn’t normally see a comic book movie. Gal Gadot is a model, not an actress, and that concerns me with how they’re going to write and direct Wonder Woman.

Dark WW is dark

Dark WW is dark

Notice that her costume has muted colors, similar to Superman and Batman in the previous movies. Does this mean that Batman v. Superman is going to be as dark and morally ambiguous as its predecessors? Probably, and that’s the problem. It’s like Snyder played DC: Injustice and suddenly thinks he understands what’s going on.

DC keeps going for these dark movies, and that’s not true to the characters. Yes, it worked for Batman (to an extent), but that’s because Batman is meant to be dark. Most comic heroes aren’t. Superman is not dark. He’s the paragon of all that’s good in the world (next to Captain Marvel). On an aside, I always thought it poetic that an alien is the best example for humanity.

This is not 300, and this is not Watchmen. Snyder does not understand the characters that he is trying to portray.

The Trollvengers

I love Wonder Woman. Not in a pervy fanboy kind of way, but as a character. She is one of the most complex characters in fiction, a blend of divine warrior, compassionate human, uncomfortable diplomat, and lonely, stoic outsider. She is impossible to portray correctly as a supporting character in this movie. I doubt that anyone could even get her right in her own movie, which is a shame, because someone should try.

I suggest that Snyder look to the old Justice League cartoon from the early 2000s. They had a firm grasp on the characters, mostly because it was actual comic book writers doing it. Dark movies do not equate to good movies. You only have to look at what Marvel is doing right to see what DC is doing wrong.

Like my blog? Check out my debut novel Song of Simon, from Damnation Books, or check out my free, completed webserial, The Watchmage of Old New York. Or just come back here again. I’m pretty damn awesome.

New Thor, New Captain America, and a Sinister Six Movie: Marvel and “Worthiness”

Posted on by
1

I’m a bit late to the party when it comes to the new Thor and Cap, but I have something to say about it. Both are about worthiness, and I think it’s something that needs to be explored. The Sinister Six movie, is about worthiness as well, but it a different manner. The idea of “worthiness” intrigues me, and it’s a theme I explore in Song of Simon, as well as other blog posts.

Thtop Being Thor About Thor

I’m sorry, I can’t stop using that Thor joke. It comes from a joke in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and I’m a big dumb animal that repeats everything he hears.

A lot of what I hear from the haters is that Thor can’t be a woman because he’s a man. The truth is that he’s not a man, he’s a god. Donald Blake (the traditional Thor) is merely a vessel that the god inhabits. When Blake touched Mjolnir, the hammer deemed him worthy and the essence of the god inhabited him. This is not to say that Blake is completely repressed, a la a D & D Magic Jar spell. Blake’s humanity tempers Thor’s arrogance and impulsiveness.

The Joker agrees.

It’s this counterweight that means that the vessel has to be worthy. It doesn’t have to be a man. It doesn’t have to be a human. It only has to be a moral mortal. There is no reason that a woman can’t be the vessel for Thor.

It makes me a little sad that people were more accepting of a frog Thor than a woman Thor. Verily.

The Falcon as the New Captain America

Right now, Steve Rogers (Cap) had the super serum sucked out of him. He aged 60 years in a few moments. Obviously, he’s not fit to fight in that manner, and someone else has to take up the shield.

I know a few people that might be worthy of it. Hawkeye comes to mind. He was trained by Rogers, and as an Avenger, understands the responsibility of the costume and shield. The cons are that he has his own series, and that he doesn’t have the moral stance to stand up to Iron Man’s and Thor’s crushing egos, not to mention an unhinged Hulk.

They could give it back to Bucky, but Bucky’s involved in some shady stuff right now.

They could give it to Spider-Man, but Spidey has a dozen of his own imprints.

When it comes down to it, there’s no better choice than Sam Wilson, The Falcon. Sam also trained under Rogers and is one of Rogers’ true confidantes and partners. He’s been Cap in the past for a short while. He has the moral background to be the counterpoint to Iron Man and Thor. He currently has no imprint, so he’s free from a writer’s standpoint.

Get ready for “Falcon Shield Punch” memes

Plus, how cool will a flying Captain America be?

It makes no difference that he’s black, enough that I almost forgot to put that in. He’s a symbol of the best America has to offer. That’s the only requirement to be Captain America.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of racists (and sexists regarding Thor) that’ll flip out the way that they did when Peter Parker died and was replaced with Miles Morales. Their opinion doesn’t, and shouldn’t matter. Comics are about good and evil, and if you think that gender or race renders you ineligible, you don’t get comics or America.

The Sinister Six Movie: Redemption and Worthiness

Marvel just announced a Sinister Six movie. It’s due in November of 2016, and is supposed to be a redemption story of a sort. There’s no news beyond that, but I expect it to star guys like Doc Ock, Vulture, Rhino, and Mysterio. I’d rather not see Green Goblin in it, as there’s no redemption for him. Some other options are The Scorpion, Shocker, Kraven, and Sandman.

There are always villains that can be redeemed. Doc Ock has already been Spider-Man in the comics. Rhino is just a thug. Mysterio could easily turn his skills to do good. Vulture’s powers are kinda creepy, so I don’t know how they’d change him. Kraven lives for the hunt, which could make him a great hero.

Sinister, for now.

Spidey’s villains almost always have some sort of humanity within them. They aren’t a lost cause. I don’t mean that they’d be worthy of Mjolnir or Cap’s Shield, but not everyone can be a paladin.

I’m looking forward to these moves by Marvel. I think it’ll be an interesting few years ahead.

Valerie’s Anthology is now in paperback

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone. I just wanted to say that Valerie’s anthology is now in kindle and paperback.

Here are the links.

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Works-Valerie-Z-Lewis-ebook/dp/B00INCPK16/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398869004&sr=1-3

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Works-Valerie-Z/dp/1499148356/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398869004&sr=1-2

You know how I feel about her work. Remember that the profits are going to the Mercy College scholarship in her name.

Keep her work alive.

The Collected Works of Valerie Z. Lewis

Posted on by
Reply

For the past few weeks I have been working hard on Valerie’s anthology.  It finally went live on Kindle last week.

This is the most important thing that I have ever done.  I’ve never stressed about my own work the way that I have about hers.  I guess because it’s permanent.  I can always edit my own stuff, but Val is gone.  Her stories are in my hands now, and the responsibility of that is overwhelming.  It has to be perfect.  I won’t settle for anything less than perfect.

That’s not true.  I’m sure that there are some problems with it that I haven’t seen.  Knowing that they are out there kills me.

Valerie was a much more talented writer than me.  She was a professor at Mercy College. When she died, she was entering a PhD program for Writing.  I’d estimate that there are only a thousand of so Doctors’ of Writing out there.  Literature, there are plenty.  Specifically Writing, a scant few.

But telling people that she was a great writer isn’t enough.  I feared that her stories would fall into obscurity. She deserved a better fate.

Right now the anthology is available for $1.99 on Amazon.  Mercy College set up a merit award in her name, and all of the proceeds are going to it.  Her stories deserve to be read.  For two dollars, you’re getting something that will change you.  She changed me.

Valerie on fire escape from below

New Story: If You Leave Me

Posted on by
1

Hey there dear readers.  I have a story, “If You Leave Me,” in the anthology Twisted Love. If you don’t want to invest the money in buying Song of Simon, or the time in reading “The Watchmage of Old New York,” I’d recommend starting here.  It’s completely FREE, and it’s a pretty good story.  As one fellow author said, “It’s the only zombie story that gets you right in the feels.”

This was a very difficult story to write.  I started it not long after my girlfriend Valerie died.  I began having nightmares that she was still alive and trying to dig her way out of the grave.  I combined it with my own fear that I would someday move on and find someone else to love (a fear that I still have, but that’s a completely different issue).  Writing this helped make the nightmares go away (mostly).

The other stories and poems in the anthology are very good too.  You should download it.

New Watchmage!

Posted on by
Reply

For those of you that are ready my serial “The Watchmage of Old New York,” chapter 38 is ready.  I also decided to go back to a weekly schedule instead of biweekly.  We’re nearing the end, so if you have serial anxiety because you don’t like to wait, you can start now.  You won’t reach the end by the time it’s done.  Believe me, it’s worth the read.

It’s FREE with registration at Jukepop Serials.  If you like history, mystery, fantasy, steampunk, or New York city, you’ll love it.

Captain Marvel and Revisionist History (link below)

Posted on by
2

I’ve mentioned the blog The Middle Spaces before as my go-to site for intelligent discourse about comics.  I’m sending you a link to a recent post about Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) which discusses feminist theory, revisionist history, and the little known WASPs of WWII.  I’m including the first few paragraphs below, and then a link.  You should read this.

As I mentioned in my post “Captain Marvel and More Black Iron Man,” in 2012 Carol Danvers, aka Ms. Marvel (sometimes Warbird, once Binary) took up the name Captain Marvel in a new (but now discontinued) series by that name written by Kelly Sue DeConnick—one of the few women currently writing mainstream comics.  While I developed an appreciation of disappointment felt by some fans regarding Monica Rambeau’s loss of the “Captain Marvel” name, I still like the idea of Carol Danvers using the name and think it works in the scope of her military background and source of her powers.

msmarvelvol1no1Rereading the first major story arc in DeConnick’s series I also came to appreciate her attempt to write Ms./Captain Marvel into a revisionist feminist text. It struck me as a laudable attempt to make manifest the purported feminist subtext of the character.  The “Ms.” part of her former name alone suggests the kind of Gloria Steinem independence associated with the Second Wave of feminism of the era when the first Ms. Marvel title was published. Of course, being written and drawn by men has undermined this ostensible subtext many times over—starting with her halter-top, sometimes backless, sometime mid-riff showing  costume and reaching its height when she was kidnapped, mind controlled, raped, forced to give birth to her own attacker and then allowed to be carried off again “to be happy” in another dimension with her assailant.  Luckily, that was all undone (kind of).

It bears mentioning that when I use the words “revisionist” or “revisionism” in terms of history, I do not mean this pejoratively in the least bit. History requires revision, not only because of the various social and cultural forces that obscure the achievements of and the crimes against various people of different races, genders, classes, etc… but also to counteract the ridiculous notion that there is a such thing as a monolithic “history,” as opposed to competing stories comprised of the different ways knowledge is created through analysis, research and story-telling.  History needs continual revision because it is not only what is being told, but how it is being told.  Some of the historical events that DeConnick uses in this arc are not necessarily newly revealed (to many), but the way in which she uses them are new.

Read the full article here.