Saturday, May 29, 2010

Teen Titans - Jaime, Virgil & Eddie

Teen Titans: Blue Beetle, Static and Red Devil ...

Friday, May 21, 2010

George Perez

The back of the photo says, "Detroit Comic Convention April '94." Never mind what the hell I'm wearing!!! I think I was into "layering" then and --- cringe-worthy --- "Afrocentric accessories! " Let's not even get into the hair, which I think was relaxed, faded and ramped up on the top and sloped in the back. Led astray by "fashion." But, that's me with my cool ass, artist brother, Billy (who doesn't ever update his BLOG!) and the MAGNIFICENT (not an understatement) --- George Perez, artist extraordinaire of The New Teen Titans, Justice League and Wonder Woman fame!!!! Back in those days, my brother and I would hit the comic book circuit, doing the conventions, in an attempt to get him work from DC Comics. (You saps really missed out.) George was responsible for a lot of my comic book history. He did those incredible cross-overs between the Justice League and Earth 2's Justice Society. (This is when DC was really cool. Guys, you kinda suck right now with all of the blood, gore, violence and unnecessary deaths. Criminey! Folks are praying for "resurrections" now! What's up?!?) I was always looking forward to those legendary cross-overs. Plus, anytime George drew anybody in the DC Universe or covers to a random book, it was an event! For those that don't know, George is known for ---- and this is also an understatement ---- for being very detailed. He could put fifty million superheroes in one panel and you could still tell who was who. And, rubble. Who could forget about the tons and tons of rubble after any superhero battle? Massive battles. George is no slouch. And, I'm glad to see that he's still cranking out the incredible work.


Wonder Woman
George is also known for revamping Wonder Woman. I don't think he's ever been given the proper credit for this outstanding work. He grounded Princess Diana (no longer Diana Prince), heavily in the world of the gods, goddesses and creatures of myth. He explained why her name is "Diana," her connection to Steve Trevor, why she was swathed in the American flag, why there was a gun on Paradise Island (renamed Themyscira), where the Amazons came from (women slain at the hands of men and resurrected), explained why these women were on an island of their own, away from men, why her Queen Mother, Hippolyta was the only Amazon to give birth, turned her tiara into a weapon, aged Steve Trevor and hooked him up with Etta Candy, (unfortunately, Diana has never really had a man since), made her opponents more formidable (like Ares, Circe, Silver Swan and Cheetah), made her an Ambassador of Peace, hooked her up with the greatest supporting cast of all time, Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis (currently, two totally squandered and ruined characters) --- and get this, he even took her out of heels and it made sense. George is a genius. He created the perfect template for her future. Too bad people aren't following it. (Grumble.)

The New Teen Titans
What can I say? Comic genius. Along with writer, Marv Wolfman, they breathed new life into DC Comics and a group that was just a side kick/JLA group. Talk about an exciting book that kept me riveted every month! Donna kidnapped and seduced by a god. Cyborg!!!! A brotha who was multi-layered!!!!! Changeling almost dying (when death actually meant something in the DC Universe), then discovering vengeance thirst. (Gar was yummy hairy boy.) Robin into Nightwing. Terra, the traitor and most interesting character of all time and her death (--- that needs to stay to stay dead lest squander its impact). The Judas Contract. Terminator. Starfire vs. Blackfire (bitch from hell --- pardon me --- fucking hell!) Who is Donna Troy? The Fearsome Five. The Doom Patrol. Jericho, a hero with a "disability" and possibly --- what? Gay?!? (Sadly, he wasn't. He was just ... "sensitive.") Tales of the Titans?!? Inside information and backgrounds?!? Yowsa!!! Brother Blood. Runaway children!!!! And, need no one EVER, EVER, EVER forget --- Raven and Trigon. Raven, to this day, still ranks as one of my favorite superhero. (She combated evil in an actual evening gown and pumps. But, I digress ...) Trigon was what formed the new Teen Titans and became the catalyst for many storylines. George Perez brought a world to life with his incredible talent. The illustration above is only a hint of his talent. Thanks, George. Even though I think comics kinda suck right now, I'm glad to know you're still there to make it interesting again. Always looking forward to more. I love you, George. You remind me why comics are wonderful!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Cannonball Crew Boys

These are folks you don't know and probably won't ever know because I created them during the --- dun-dun-dun (cute: "drama [tacky] music") --- the 80s --- (thus the 80s) and the multiple belts and head bands (... and ... the mullet [which I didn't know was a mullet] and bushy - just bushy). More to come. (Ow. I really got multi-racial on this. I really miss these people.) Jonas, Miguel and Fernando. (I think.)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

No Respect for Wonder Woman

DC Comics, through Warner's Animated straight-to-DVD line, started putting out animated movies. It was a dream come true for me!!! (Superman/Doomsday, Justice League: New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths [which included the talents of the beautiful and talented Gina Torrez]. Buy them! We want more to come.) Wonder Woman even got her own. It was wonderfully done. Voiced by Keri Russell, Virginia Madsen, Rosario Dawson (I will always love you for playing Val in "Josie & the Pussycats"), Nathan Fillion and Alfred Molina to name a few. But, unfortunately, “The Execs” (the people who control the money) decided the sales were too slow, even though it made the money it was supposed to ... eventually, so the sequels planned for WW and Green Lantern --- weren't going to happen. That’s really disappointing. Now, get this, people. Not only did DC/Warner decide there would be NO sequels to Wondie or GL, which is disappointing enough --- BUT, there would be NO MORE SUPER HERIONE movies. NONE!!! Lauren Montgomery, attached to the animated Wonder Woman movie, (an INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE talent) had come up with a Batgirl: Year One movie. But, Batgirl’s a woman, (i.e. "super heroine") so it’s not going to happen. GL might get his because of the upcoming live action movie starring Ryan "I'm Hot" Reynolds. It's completely unfair, ignorant and lazy of DC/Warner to decide that Wonder Woman's sales would ruin it for her entire GENDER!!! Green Lantern didn't scrap any plans for any future Superman or Batman (their most popular) movies. Wouldn’t this be the time to highlight some other popular characters like Batgirl, Batwoman, Zatanna, or Black Canary?!? I think DC/Warner wimped out on this one. It's a sorry sad excuse. And, a repeated disrespect for Wonder Woman. (Other issues I'll have to get into when I get angry or "motivated" again.) Sorry, Prince Diana of Themyscira, I would have loved to have seen your further adventures. A bad Superman movie ($5.99 on Amazon) doesn't mean the franchise is dead. As for Wonder Woman? Maybe with the proper promotion, the tides will turn and people will know it's actually there to enjoy.