Wow, a gay friendly "who should you date" meme. I love comic dorks.

The widget doesn't work in LJ. I got Aurora, Northstar's sister. She's got split personality disorder, but she does cool things with light.

Link to the test.

I like her powers, so that's cool. Also my second was Destiny and my third was She-Hulk. WTF? I would hate Destiny. And I don't know that I like green skin. Where are all the DC women?

I took it twice to see if I could get DC results, and I still ended up with Aurora. So I guess we're meant to be.

Hm, so the Justice League movie creeps closer to production. I think comic movies these days have to be grittier, like Batman Begins, in order to be well recieved. That's part of why Superman Returns wasn't so great. It was the 80s movies redux, which doesn't hold up now. And it was too long. And Kate Bosworth was too young for the part of Lois Lane. Superman doesn't lend itself as well as Batman to that sort of darkness that's more interesting to pay $10 to see.

But I digress.

[T]he studio is envisioning the movie as a launching pad for others movies based on The Flash, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern and Aquaman, as well as a shot in the arm for the Superman franchise, the site reported, citing anonymous studio sources. - From the SciFi Wire article.

I wonder if they'll have Brandon Routh and Christian Bale in the Superman and Batman roles. And whomever they cast in the new Wonder Woman movie that may or may not ever actually be made. That'd be interesting.

I'm also interested to see what they do with it. If it's more Batman Begins than Superman Returns, and how that can hold up to popular (and arguably better) comic book movies like 300 and Sin City, which are based on less mainstream source material. Particularly if it ends up opening or getting buzz around the same time that Watchmen is making the rounds. Not that The Green Lantern is mainstream outside of comic book culture, but you know. I'd like to see Hal Jordan, but I'm sure we'll get John Stewart, 'cause then there's the Tolken Black Guy.

By the way, it is my dream that someone one day make a trilogy of movies from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Sure, there are four chapters, but some would have to be cut anyway to get them to squeeze in. And if someone did that with the love, interest, vision, and deep pockets of New Line/Peter Jackson with Lord of the Rings, it'd be seriously kick ass. Seriously.

I bought $33 worth of comics today. But in my defense, I was catching up (two back issues of Flash, one of All Star Batman and two of All Star Superman). And there's a reboot of JLA, so I had to get the first two issues of that (critically acclaimed!) and I saw The Trials of Shazam, and it's written by Judd Winick and I really liked his stuff with Green Arrow. And Union Jack looked cool (he's like Captain America of England, so infinitely cooler). I was disappointed with the story (haven't read the rest of them yet), and the stereotypical Israeli and Saudi heroes, but I may keep it just for the cover. To, like, put on my wall or something. A superhero in a Union Jack! Eeee. I may have a little "geek wall" where I keep things that are mildly less grown up.

Oh, and best of all! Wildstorm is restarting WildCats! No words to explain the joy! I resisted buying the $8 limited edition, 'cause that'd be dumb. I'm a reader, not a collector. But Grifter's on the cover. YAY. Man, I heart WildCats.

And there's the added joy of wlaking into the comic books store and the person working there's a woman, and the only other customer besides me was a woman. And she wasn't in the anime section. I want to work at the comic book store, where I can wear my Doctor Who shirt and have people respect me for it. Yo.

I just bought the first three issues of The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. Thank you, DC, for giving us a hero named Bart. For real. Clark. Bart. Hal. Oliver. The dorks shall inherit the Earth. Or at least the ones with dorky names. Oh, comics. I heart you.

The guest penciller in #3 is Karl Kerschl, whose style I really like. He talks about it on his blog:

We were trying to achieve a look akin to animation in terms of the simplicity of the line art and the use of colour to separate the foreground and background objects.

I think it works. If I were smarter and knew more about art, I'd know all the technical ways to praise it. I'll just say it looks really cool and, though I'm not a fan of some of the "modern" art styles in comic books (though that depends on the title), I really like his. It reminds me a little of Peter Chung, but less skinny people. Wow, go brain.

Also, I love the internets. When I was a kid I would've given my left foot (or something) to talk to the people who made comics. Now all I have to do is google the artist I like and, wham, I can leave a comment on his blog.

And a word about the subject:

What a great issue. First off, the bad guys are the Turtle and Turtle Man; the slowest men alive. The extreme joy of having an opposite-villian! I mean, Superman can't have one of those. The Man of Silly Putty? Plus it was psychologically heavy: Wally had to face his own fears, including living up to the legacy of his mentor, Barry Allen. I was nine, I don't think I got it. I'd liked the Flash as a kid (my favorite action figure was a Flash figure), and I had no concept of all the plots and stories and characters. But the cover drew me in.

Anyway, considering that Bart Allen is currently trying to come to grips with taking up the mantle of the Flash, and his own insecurities, I think it's sort of cool that #134 was my first issue.

Also, I'm a dork. In case anyone missed it.

Batwoman's lesbian leanings have generated a buzz in the world of comics not unlike the controversy surrounding the death of Superman, but it is hard to imagine that the same level of anticipation would greet Batwoman if Kate Kane, her alter-ego, was more of a butch dyke than a lipstick lesbian. - From AfterEllen, in a spoilery article about the character Susan from the Grendal books.

Maybe it's because I'm removed from the comic community? I don't know. The death of Superman and Batwoman being a lesbian? Whatnow? THE DEATH. OF SUPERMAN. I still have my November 1992 issue of Superman, in its black packing. And the one I opened with the arm band and the poster. Actually, my dad does. Somewhere. If he threw them out I'll KILL him. Ahem.

How are they even remotely close in "buzz"? I was twelve and it was pre-internet, and I still knew enough to make my dad go wait in line at the comic books store. Batmwoman? Eh. I mean, cool that she's a lesbian and all but... it's not like the death of Superman.

I agree, however, that all the comic portrayls of gay men and women still fall within the traditional comic books gender roles (overly mascuiline or overly feminine). But... honestly, I think that's a good thing. Granted, I'd prefer there was a balance. But there's not going to be for a while, and then you get into all the questions like "how many of what kind? perfect ratio? what about the non-binary people outside the butch and femme roles?" etc. etc. etc. And I'd rather have gay characters that show mainstream readers that OMGGASP, gay people can look and act just like they are expected to look and act (by society).

Woo that there's indie comics breaking the mold. That's great. I just don't think Kathy Kane's all bad 'cause she's femme.

So while characters like Kate Kane are quickly becoming the femme lesbian standard in comic books, it is the butch lesbian character of Susan Veraghen who has transcended the surface-level, eye-candy appeal and struck at the heart of readers.

See, I just don't think Kathy Kane is the femme lesbian standard. She's the same character as all the other women in comic books. She just happens to sleep with women instead of men. This is both a good and bad portrayal of a lesbian in comics, depending on what you're trying to get at, I guess.

I also wouldn't say Renee Montoya is the femmiest woman ever. I mean, so she has long hair and hips. Big deal. I don't know what else would make her femme. Granted, I'm not super familiar with the comics any more. Just a wee bit. Wee. But I've never considered Montoya very femme. Things are so black and white sometimes, and so physical. It's dumb.

I dunno. I don't have a point other than that I like comics. Go comics. Yay.