Panel Vision - Great Ten

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As the 21^st century prepares to exit its adolescence and enter its quarter-life crisis period, the idea that this will be the Chinese century seems more and more assured.  Chinese tastes and interests have grown into a major box office force for American blockbusters, Chinese industrialism drives a lot of the global economy, they’re the only people with the billions to dictate commands to the likes of Apple or Google, and recently they’ve established themselves at the forefront of the Green Energy push. 

This means that everybody has to adjust, hence why we see a larger Chinese presence in US blockbusters like Transformers 4 or Iron Man 3.  Comics are usually slow to adapt to these kinds of trends save for one exception at DC comics, who got on board the China train as early as 2006- 2 years before their coming out party to the world stage that was the Beijing Olympics.  They did it with a new prestige team of superheroes meant to embody various aspects of Chinese culture known as the Great Ten.

Panel Vision - History of the Justice League HQ

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So, over the weekend we got yet another pic leaked from the upcoming Justice League movie.  I briefly considered doing a full write-up on the picture but honestly I don’t have enough material in the anti-DCEU tank anymore to pull it off.  Anything I might say now I’ve already said- the design palette is ugly, the actors look lost,  and the scale of the film seems small and drab.  However, the picture did get me thinking about the Justice League’s headquarters.  

While I’m not keen of the shipping container the DCEU seem to be operating out of it’s not that far from the team’s first HQ in canon, certainly no more so than CW’s unused hall/hangar of justice from their ‘Invasion’ crossover event.  Given that the League’s always had a cooler history of headquarters than the Avengers, who’ve always just lived in Tony Stark’s house, I figure now’s as good a time as any to dive into the history of Justice League headquarters.

 

Cover Story - Top 13 Justice League Europe Covers

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For those not following current events, I write this Cover Story in the wake of the UK’s landmark bad decision to leave the European Union.  This isn’t a series about politics (though lord knows that’s never stopped me before) so I’m not going to devote this page to the plethora of ways in which this is a monumentally bad thing for everyone involved.  Instead, I’ve decided to focus on a nostalgic look back at happier times for Europe and for myself with one of my all time favorite comic books: Justice League Europe.

Running from 1989 to 1993, Justice League Europe is my exhibit A in my argument that ‘90s comics didn’t suck.  It was essentially a spin-off of the very popular 1987 comic Justice League International, an effort by authors Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis to bring the DCU into a more multicultural age.  This was the era when genuine comedy and flawed humanity were introduced to the DCU and it remains one of the most creative, fun, and enjoyable eras in the company’s history.  

Justice League Europe followed in those same footsteps, adopting the ingenuous and hilarious central gimmick of being the superhero team equivalent of Euro Disneyland.  It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s action packed, it’s Justice League Europe; and with that said, let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on the top 13 covers.

Cover Story - Top 10 Black Canary Covers

Edited by Robert Beach

Hello, and welcome to Cover Story, diving as little into the world of comics as we can. Legends of Tomorrow is still blowing up our screens, and as such, we’ve got another Cover Story to celebrate their team. This week’s episode had a major emphasis on White Canary. Because that character doesn’t exist in the comic, I’m showcasing Black Canary, which is pretty much the next best thing, especially for Arrow fans.  

While Black Canary has only enjoyed an ongoing comic once in the history of DC, she’s been featured on plenty of Justice League and covers and throughout the Birds of Prey book that helped make her a standout name in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. With that said, let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on one of the biggest female heroes of DC comics. 

Panel Vision - History of Martian Manhunter

Edited by Robert Beach

I am a huge Martian Manhunter fan. I’ve liked the character since before I could remember, though I’m fairly certain my love for the Manhunter came from owning his action figure as a kid. I kid, but a big part of my love for this character does come from nostalgia. Specifically, it’s nostalgia for the 4-issue Martian Manhunter mini-series from 1988 written by J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Badger. This was basically the first “adult” comic I ever read when I was younger. Previously my experience with superheroes was relegated either to animated shows or re-printings of classic silver age stories.

Martian Manhunter was how I was introduced to the broader DC universe and discovered my favorite incarnation of the Justice League, the Justice League International. Coming back to it now, I concede that the comic doesn’t quite hold up, but it’s still enjoyable and allows me the chance to talk about the history of the Martian Manhunter: a subject I’ve been meaning to tackle for a while now.