Panel Vision - Prez (2015) Review

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going

Edited by Robert Beach

This has been a strange year for politics. Mainly this election feels like the capstone on the long trend of social media growing to define the political arena rather than just reflect it. At the time of writing, the most recent bit of bizarre web memetics dominating the conversation about the national election came when the head of Latinos for Donald Trump threatened that “if Hillary wins, you’ll see Taco Trucks on every corner.” 

Naturally, this bit of bizarre posturing has drawn uproarious laughter from most corners, probably because “a taco truck on every corner” sounds like a god damn utopia. Even though the injection of tacos into the forefront of the presidential election seems ludicrous, it made me realize there had been on brilliant voice who saw this all coming, one spot-on genius comic: 2015’s Prez. 

Josh Segarra Cast as Vigilante in Arrow S5

Edited by Robert Beach 

Yesterday, I talked about how CW is approaching the question of what to do with Arrow now that it’s been more or less eclipsed by its adjacent series. My suggestion was that CW is modeling Arrow after Daredevil, bringing in 2^nd rate villains of more popular heroes like Ras Al Ghul and now introducing violent vigilantes ala Punisher in the form of Wild Dog.  

Well, CW seems to be doubling down on this approach by adding a second violent, street-level vigilante to the mix in the form of Adrian Chase, played by Josh Segarra. Much like Wild Dog, Chase is a low-rent Punisher knock-off from the ‘80s with possibly the most uninspired superhero name and gimmick of all time. He’s a hero so lame and non-descript his name is just a synonym for crime buster for he is…the Vigilante. 

Cover Story - Top 25 Supergirl Covers

Edited by Robert Beach 

This Monday could mark the end of a brief, but amazing, era in geek culture. Supergirl season 1 is coming to an end. At time of writing, it’s unclear if Supergirl is getting renewed for a second season, which means this Monday could be the last time Kara Zor-El gets to grace our scenes for a good long while. It’d be a damn shame if that happened given Supergirl is really good and the best adaptation of the Superman mythos since Christopher Reeves’ Superman in 1978. 

With that level of awesomeness, I figured we’d give the show a proper send off if this really is the end for Supergirl 2015. So I’ve culled covers from across Supergirl’s massive history from early appearances in Action Comics, her cavalcade of ongoings and minis in the ‘70s, the metaphysical weirdness of the 2000s show, and even the New 52. Let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on Supergirl. 

Panel Vision - Top 10 Comics of 2015

And so 2015 comes to an end, the comics landscape a severely different place than it was but a year ago.  Marvel is caught in the throws of its first reboot, Star Wars comics are on shelves and the best they’ve ever been, Valiant is in the headlines, Prez is back from obscurity, and the DC You is a thing.  Yes it’s been a year full of change as well as a great year for comics.  Seriously, despite the very important points raised over issues of representation, creator rights and credit, and harassment that have blighted the industry this past year there has been a lot of great comics and we’re here today to list them because that’s how we mark the end of the year.  So with that said here are the top 10 best comics of 2015.

Panel Vision - Comic Book Presidents

In case you aren’t one of my American readers, and I know you exist thanks to blogger’s analytics page, we over here in the states are currently in the midst of a fairly crazy presidential election build up.  We haven’t started the primaries yet but they’re looming ever closer and it’s been a wild ride punctuated by a slew of hilariously awful Republican candidates and the still ludicrous convolution of the Democratic leads.  I’ve already released a number of articles capitalizing on this particular election cycle so here’s another one because if you think the real life candidates are insane…well you’re right but here are a bunch of completely weird and out there superheroes and villains who somehow managed to take the highest office in the land against the better judgment of the electorate and editors everywhere.

Panel Vision - Lady Cop, Forgotten Feminist Hero

Edited by Robert Beach

Last week, CW’s Arrow had a very special episode premiered directed by Lexi Alexander, one of the most vocal female directors of color in genre fiction. It was a pretty fun episode and a good way to mark Alexander’s return to the realm of comic adaptation after directing Punisher: Warzone 7 years ago; however, what struck me about the episode was the character played by Rutina Wesley, officer Liza Warner, head of the Star City anti-metahuman task force. 

You may have assumed that Liza Warner was just some random character made up for the episode, but no, she’s actually an adaptation of one of the most obscure DC characters I can think of: Lady Cop, a one-off character from the DC anthology comic 1^st Issue Special, one of the greatest comics of the 1970s. Given that I’m a massive ‘70s comic book geek, I’m also a major fan of Lady Cop, mainly because her first appearance is one of the most amazing and bizarre comics ever written.

Prez #2 Review

DC has been doing a lot of new and interesting things lately with micro-continuity, genre fusion, and obscure revivals and all of that comes together in the master piece that is Prez, a revival of a 1973 mini-series I spotlighted earlier this week.  Check out my review of the 2nd issue here

http://all-comic.com/2015/prez-2/

Panel Vision - Prez '73

DC Comics recently concluded a 4-year long branding exercise entitled the New 52.  To do a proper autopsy of the New 52 would require several in depth essays over the course of a small eternity but suffice it to say it’s not really being viewed as a success.  So, as a result, DC is now launching a new branding initiative entitled DC You (puny.)  Probably the most suprising title to come out of the DC You is Prez, a comic set in a not to distant future that plays like a weird cross between Idiocracy and The Zero Theorem as directed by VEEP’s Armando Iannucci.  The books is basically a social satire, spoofing the entire 21^st century miasma of corporate interest, political gridlock, Internet distraction, and public exhaustion with a system that seems ever more absurd.

 It’s a good comic, one of the few books DC’s put out in 5 years to feel grounded in the realities of the now and the broadening reader demographic rather than drawing on the conventional wisdom of the ‘90s.  However, Prez isn’t a new comic, it’s actually a revival of a 1973 4-issue mini-series by Superman co-creator Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti, one of the most influential comic artists of all time.  

Panel Vision - Comic Book Futures

With Marvel’s Secret Wars event still raging I’ve been thinking a lot about future timelines within comic books.  The weird thing about comics is that despite the completely blank canvas the future provides writers, they tend to produce a lot of similar imaginings for what tomorrow holds.  The general way things fall is stuff like a post-apocalyptic possibility, a utopian future, and something in between.  As such I decided I would highlight a bunch of possible futures from DC and Marvel that deserve more attention.