It’s a bit depressing to think that John Rogers is going to be leaving “Blue Beetle” before long.

Newsarama: Right up front, John, are you leaving Blue Beetle?

John Rogers: It’s temporary, although I don’t know exactly when I’m coming back to the book. What happened is, essentially, Keith and I always wanted to tell the origin story and #25 wraps up that origin for Jaime.

As I was breaking year three, and the nice folks at DC came to me with two other projects – one of which is a really great opportunity right now. And I said, why don’t we back off Blue Beetle for awhile? I think we’ve got it to the place, the cast of characters, where other writers can write it. Sean [McKeever]’s doing a great job with Jaime over in Teen Titans. So I said let someone else take him for awhile. I can’t keep him to my chest – he can’t be my baby for too long.

So I’ll start working on these two other things. One is a big crossover mini-series and the other is possibly another ongoing title. So while I’ve got that work, I’ll be away from Blue Beetle, but I always reserve the right to come crashing back and grabbing the reins, being the pushy bastard I am.

NRAMA: So what you’re saying is that you don’t know when or if you’ll be able to do it, but you hope to come back, right?

JR: Absolutely. I love Jaime; I love all the characters. It’s continually been the most fun I’ve had in my writing career. I have a real sense of ownership having spent the time to build this character up into somebody who had a story and a really great supporting cast. I want to go down the road with him, so I might kick in for a story when I can, but right now I want to really concentrate on these other projects.

Rogers’ work on “Blue Beetle” has been absolutely phenomenal. I’d love him to stay with the book from now on, but I am looking forward to seeing what other comics he’ll be producing…

Green Lantern #28

We start seeing the other colors in the coming war — of course, we’ve already met the Green Lanterns, the Yellow Lanterns of the Sinestro Corps, the purple energy weilding Zamorrans, and two outcast Guardians, who seem to be champions of the blue energy of hope. Now, the Controllers are seeking the energy of avarice, orange, to empower themselves, and we meet two potential champions of the red energy of rage and hate.

The bulk of our plot in this issue, however, focuses on the trial of Laira, a Green Lantern who’s been accused of murdering a Sinestro Corps member named Amon Sur — the son of the GL who gave Hal Jordan his ring. Since she did pretty cold-bloodedly slaughter him after he’d surrendered, she’s found guilty and tossed out of the Corps. And once that’s done, the Guardians reveal the second of the ten new laws — they give the Green Lanterns permission to kill any enemies of the Corps. And Hal has a heart-to-heart talk with Sinestro — held prisoner on Oa and facing a death sentence, the guy who used to lead the Sinestro Corps is overjoyed by the new law, because it means the Guardians are coming around to his way of thinking.

Verdict: Thumbs up. First, I enjoyed the brief glimpse we got of Ysmault, the demonic planet that used to head the horrific Empire of Tears, last seen in 1986’s “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2” by Alan Moore. I’m hoping Qull of the Five Inversions survived, just because he’s such an absolutely, diabolically nasty piece of work. I was a bit disappointed with the trial — the Guardians admit that they didn’t explain the first new law properly, but still convict Laira for misinterpreting it. And the various new colors of Lanterns show some promise — let’s hope the writers can keep the good stuff coming.

 

Dave Stevens, creator of “The Rocketeer,” has died.

Born in Lynwood, CA on July 29th, 1955, Stevens is best known for his work on his creator-owned The Rocketeer, which was first published in as a backup in Mike Grell’s Starslayer in 1982. Stevens’ style, which was wholly his own, but owed much to pulp artists of the earlier part of the 20th century was loved by his many fans, while his story merged the pulp sensibility with a modern sensibility.

Stevens’ first professional comic work was inking Russ Manning’s pencils for the daily Tarzan comic strip starting in 1975. Dave always kept at least one finger in comics while he was working on storyboards or animation, providing covers for Comico’s Jonny Quest series or other work.

The Rocketeer appeared in small installments throughout 1982 to 1995, and was turned into a film in 1991 by Walt Disney Pictures. The comic book version, in its way, helped usher in the re-popularization of Bettie Page.

I always loved Stevens’ beautiful retro artwork. His work on “The Rocketeer” was at the very bleeding forefront of the rebirth of pulp, and he influenced so many other artists. Hats off, folks.

RASL #1

Jeff Smith is a guy who’s best known for writing the very popular “Bone” series for over a decade. It was a very kid-friendly series, with lots of funny characters and jokes. It always looked like a cross between “Pogo,” Carl Barks’ Disney comics, and “Lil’ Abner.” He recently did “Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil” for DC, and it was still a pretty kid-friendly comic. His new series is called “RASL,” and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna be too kid-friendly at all.

The comic follows a so-far unnamed protagonist who is a dimension-hopping art thief. He breaks into a seventh-floor apartment from the outside, steals a painting, gets chased by the cops, drinks some liquor, and gets chased by a sinister camel-faced gunman. Who is he, how does he travel between dimensions, who’s pursuing him, and how can he survive? No answers yet.

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s a weird, violent story, and so far, it’s more than interesting enough to make sure I come back for more.

Powers #28

Recap: Someone’s giving people a virus that gives them superpowers, and a serial killer — possibly the same person giving out the powers virus — is targeting blonde teenaged girls around the city. Former detective Deena Pilgrim is a suspect because she has the powers virus. Former techno superhero Triphammer has a daughter who’s been murdered by the killer. The cops and Detective Christian Walker — himself a secret superhero — are stymied. And Walker’s friend Calista, the new Retro Girl, has a plan to fix everything.

Calista’s plan is set herself out as bait for the killer — she’s a young blonde teen, and if she doesn’t let on that she has powers, she has a chance of taking the killer down before he knows he’s in trouble. Walker’s opposed to the idea, but Calista insists. Meanwhile, Deena’s been ambushed by a crime lord and his goons who think they’re gonna make out good by taking her down. She’s badly outnumbered, but she still manages to wipe everyone out. And how does the stakeout with Calista go? As you’d probably expect, not at all well.

Verdict: Thumbs up. This is the most convoluted and confusing and suspenseful mystery I’ve seen from the “Powers” comics in quite a while. A surprisingly small amount of really adult content, though I’m sure the gratuitous nudity and cussin’ will be back in force next issue.

As promised, here’s my review of the new direct-to-DVD animated movie “Justice League: The New Frontier.” Obviously, it’s based on Darwyn Cooke’s extremely popular miniseries “The New Frontier,” featuring DC heroes making their debuts in the 1950s.

Well, let’s just get it right out there — I loved this movie. The plot is pretty much just like the plot of the miniseries/graphic novel: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are joined by new superheroes like the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Martian Manhunter, as they face an alien threat that could wipe out human life on Earth.

Of course, the movie has a limited run-time, so lots of stuff had to be cut — some of the stuff they removed really shoulda been left in, because it was awesome, and some of the stuff they left in really should’ve been removed. I wish they’d been able to include more of the Losers, Karin Grace, and the Challengers of the Unknown, I wish they’d left Hourman out entirely (Nothing against Hourman, but when Superman says “Hourman is dead,” what the viewer hears is “Our man is dead.” What? Who’s their man? It’s confusing). Those are the dangers of adapting comic books to film, I guess — it’s impossible to include all the keen stuff that you wish they’d kept from the book.

But those nitpickings aside, this is really a glorious movie. The animators do a great job of replicating the artwork from Cooke’s comic. The animation is just gorgeous — by now, Warner’s has a lot of experience animating superheroes, so the action is downright dandy, and they do a stellar job of replicating the stylized look of the ’50s, from casino design to retro rockets to clothing and hairstyles.

They’ve got voice work by a lot of recognizable stars — David Boreanz is Green Lantern, Neil Patrick Harris is the Flash, Lucy Lawless is Wonder Woman, Kyle MacLachlan is Superman, etc. Honestly, I usually dislike movies that do this — it’s usually just stunt-casting, where actual voice actors could do a better job. But I thought everyone in this did a great job. The only person you could really identify was Lawless, ’cause she has a very distinctive voice. With everyone else, you completely forget the characters are being voiced by famous people — as far as I’m concerned, this means they do a darn good job of getting the characters down.

Listen, if you’re planning on getting this for your kids, think again. There’s a sticker right on the front of the case that says “First ever Justice League animated movie rated PG-13.” And they ain’t kidding about the rating, either. The first scene in the movie ends with a guy putting a gun to his head and blowing his brains out. Not long after that, Hal Jordan, his plane shot down over Korea, shoots an enemy soldier, and a nice big splatter of blood hits Hal in the face. This is definitely a movie worth seeing, but don’t traumatize your kids with it, okay?

I’m sure by now everyone is aware that Zach Snyder, the guy who directed “300,” is working on an film adaptation of Alan Moore’s “Watchmen.” Well, earlier this week, Snyder released some promotional photos of his actors in costume. For instance, here’s the Comedian:

And here’s one of Ozymandias:

I’m not gonna include all the pictures here — go click on the link above to see the rest.

My thoughts: Not bad. But far from perfect. Rorschach and the Comedian look the best. I really wish they’d made Nite Owl look more like Nite Owl and less like a Batman clone. Ozymandias’ outfit is just a bit too rubber-muscles for my taste. I’m not entirely opposed to Silk Spectre’s costume, but I’m also not convinced it’s the right look. Of course, a lot of these costumes will probably change some during the course of filming.

I do wonder when we’re gonna see what Dr. Manhattan is gonna look like. Is it gonna be giant blue nekkid Dr. Manhattan? Or giant blue Dr. Manhattan wearing bike shorts or something?

So whatchoo think of the costumes for this? Excellent? Awful? Somewhere in between? Are you looking forward to the movie?

Can you believe Bahlactus has called a one-week break in Friday Night Fights?! This is the worst thing in history, or at least since my last post!

Well, fine, if we’re gonna be non-violent, I can be non-violent, too.

From the bizarre and yet strangely hilarious Garfield Minus Garfield website, which photoshops the cat out of “Garfield” comic strips, here’s Jon Arbuckle having pants-related difficulties.

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

Now that is definitely nonviolentastic.

Let’s hope we’re back to the standard face-punching Friday Night Fights next week.

Justice League: The New Frontier Special

You might remember that I recommended DC’s “The New Frontier” graphic novel last December November. Well, DC has now released a sequel, published to help promote the recently-released “Justice League: The New Frontier” direct-to-DVD animated movie. We get three short stories, all written by “New Frontier” creator Darwyn Cooke, all set in his version of the retro-cool 1950s/60s.

We start off with an “outtake” from the original graphic novel, with Superman ordered by the government to take down Batman. Next up, Robin and Kid Flash star in “Dragstrip Riot” as the two go undercover to break up gangs of murderous drag-racers and saboteurs. Finally, Wonder Woman and Black Canary strike a blow for Women’s Lib in the Playboy Club.

Verdict: Thumbs up. The first story is the big winner — it’s the only one that’s actually drawn by Cooke, and there ain’t nothing finer than a story with Darwyn Cooke art in it. On top of that, it’s got one of the best Superman-vs.-Batman slugfests I’ve seen since “The Dark Knight Returns.” The Teen Titans story isn’t as epic, but it’s exactly the kind of stuff the original Titans specialized in, and it’s completely drenched in early ’60s coolsville. The Wonder Woman/Black Canary story is, in some ways, the weakest. The art is tremendously cartoony, Wonder Woman’s personality is badly warped for comedic purposes, and Black Canary has little purpose other than reacting to Wondy. But it’s definitely the funniest story in the book, with a couple of funny guest stars, several cool moments, and numerous funny lines.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of “New Frontier,” I’ll have my own review of the movie on Monday.

Got a note from Will Terrell from the Lubbock Sketch Club today…

Hello Friends!

The Lubbock Sketch Club artists will be on the First Friday art Trail in Lubbock this week at the Hard Tops Gallery (2228 Buddy Holly Ave) from 6-9pm. Come visit us, hang out and sketch, or just introduce yourself and show support for our little group. We hope to see you soon!

Also… there may be crackers and wine 😀

Art, comics, and crackers and wine?! What’s not to love?!

Justice Society of America #13

While the JSA’s new members are moving into the team’s headquarters, the new Mr. America and the rest of the Justice Society are tracking a serial killer called the Heartbreak Slayer who targets people who claim to be gods and tears out their hearts. Mr. America has found out his name: Gog. Sound familiar? The Kingdom Come Superman fought a bad guy named Magog, and in the regular DCU, a villain named Gog tried to poison Superman with Kryptonite. Kingdom Come Supes goes to talk with Regular DCU Supes (Ya know what? There’s at least one too many Supermen in this comic), and they end up preventing Gog from killing the Greek demigod (and occasional nemesis of Wonder Woman) Hercules. Herc puts up a fight, and by the time they’ve got him knocked out, Gog has managed to teleport away.

Verdict: Thumbs up, with some concerns. Like I said, there are way too many Supermen running around this joint, which is probably a symptom of the Too-Many-Characters-itis that this comic already suffers from. On the other hand, I love Jakeem Thunder’s introduction to Lightning and her dad, Black Lightning. I also enjoyed Kingdom Come Superman’s reaction to seeing Lois Lane — his version of Lois was killed by the Joker years ago, and he just about loses it.

In other words, the characterizations in this book are great, if only there weren’t so many characters that we never had time to get to know any of the characters…