Panel Vision - Art of the Prank

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It’s April Fool’s Day, which usually means a day of disbelieving anything you see on the Internet but I’ve elected to celebrate the holiday a different way.  Rather than a fake review I’m looking back at one of my favorite super villains of all time through the lens of one of his few starring roles: Oswald Loomis- The Prankster.  Created in 1942 by Jerry Siegel and John Sikela, Prankster is one of the few non-powered villains in Superman’s rogues gallery and a proud member of the joke-themed villain cadre alongside the likes of The Trickster and the Joker. 

He’s been through a number of iterations, starting off as a cartoonishly fat character who’d go after Superman using deadly practical jokes and gags.  He also got somewhat re-imagined for the New 52 era but neither of those are the Prankster I’ve chosen to focus on today.  No, instead I’ll be looking at the Prankster of Superman #660 from 2007, written by Kurt Busiek with art by Mike Manley and Bret Belvins, color by Lee Loughridge, and letters by Rob Leigh. 

Cover Story - Top 12 Lex Luthor Covers

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Lex Luthor.  It’s a name that wrings loudly through the halls of supervillain infamy alongside such titans as Dr. Doom, the Joker, Loki, and Thanos.  Created in 1940, Lex Luthor is one of the oldest and most well known super villains of all time.  He’s appeared in almost every Superman-centric piece of media we’ve had, played by countless actors and enjoyed numerous solo comic appearances as a protagonist in his own right.  

His obsessive dedication to destroying the man of steel has shaped up to be one of pop culture’s greatest David vs. Goliath stories running across decades and multiple iterations of the character: he’s been a rogue scientist, a business guru, President, and a superhero in his own right.  This Sunday will mark Luthor’s first live-action appearance on the CW show Supergirl, played by Jon Cryer, and while that’s not quite as momentous as it might’ve been given we live in the Superhero Age I’ve still decided to mark the occasion with a deep dive into the top 12 Lex Luthor comic covers.

 

IT Trailer Breakdown

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This might be an uncouth statement, but I’ve never really understood the big deal about clowns.  I mean, we all collectively agreed that zombies and vampires are overdone, with the days of the werewolf being indisputably numbered, but for some reason clowns just keep on hanging in there as a reliable boogeyman.  

Maybe that’s because there aren’t actually that many clown horror films to see really.  There’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space, certainly, but that was more of a horror-comedy while more recent offerings like Clown or 31 seem to have flown completely under the radar. 

Honestly, I’ve never even been that on board with the idea of clowns being inherently scary.  I understand the mechanism by which they can be twisted to invoke dread but most of the time when people say they’re afraid of clowns they really just mean they’re afraid of creepy clowns and, spoilers, it’s the creepy they’re afraid of.  

All of this is part and parcel to why I’m not terribly on board with everyone’s new favorite Horror trailer for the remake of IT, the Stephen King novel whose original TV adaptation put killer clowns on the horror landscape back in 1990.  As I probably already gave away I’ve got some harsh words about both the original and this trailer for the remake but let’s watch said trailer before going forward. 

Batgirl Film to be Directed by Joss Whedon

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Well, call me Captain “I told you so.”  Granted I didn’t predict Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and director of Avengers, would walk into WB and pitch a Batgirl film but on the topic of the DCEU transitioning to more of a Batman shared universe my predictions have been well documented.  Hell, I’m the guy who pitched a Batman-centric shared universe back in June of last year, before Suicide Squad had a chance to come out and thoroughly cement the irredeemable nature of the DCEU.  Even then, the clues were there for anyone to see so long as they were looking. 

Regardless of your own opinions on the DCEU thus far it can’t be denied that Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Suicide Squad have resoundingly failed at their respective tasks of launching a popular new Superman brand, starting the DCEU, and continuing interest in the DCEU.  Given that failure, it makes sense DC/WB would start drawing down the scale and cost in these superhero ventures and low and behold, before Batgirl, of the 5 announced DC films with actual directors 3 of them were Batman-centric.  Now that number’s jumped up to 4 making it 2/3rds of DC’s upcoming projects that are likely to actually happen so let’s dive into this announcement and see what it could add to the blossoming Batmaniverse. 

Is Deathstroke coming to Justice League & Batman?

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Earlier today Ben Affleck posted a cryptic video on his twitter that seems more or less like a major DCEU confirmation.  The video was a brief clip of the DC Comics super villain and deadly mercenary Deathstroke slowly walking inside some kind of carrier jet and eyeing the camera menacingly.  Many, myself unfortunately included, have taken this to mean that Deathstroke will be included as a villain in 2017’s Justice League movie, the project Affleck is currently involved with. 

What’s more, given that Affleck will also be directing DC’s upcoming Batman solo feature there’s the strong chance Deathstroke will be going head-to-head with the dark knight in his next stand alone film.  While all of this is still steeped in speculation and rumor it’s certainly gotten people talking and raised a number of major questions about what this could mean for the still uncertain DCEU. 

Panel Vision - 5 Things to Expect from Suicide Squad 2

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Edited by Robert Beach

After three weeks in the #1 spot on the box-office charts and a comfortable spot as the 8^th highest grossing film of the year, Suicide Squad is a bona fide hit. Granted, it’s one of those hits like Godzilla (2014) or Cinderella where it makes a ton of money, but the cultural impact is a lot more questionable. Given DC’s track record, monetary success coupled with anything less than audience loathing seems to be enough to register success. With that, DC still has two open slots in their cinematic schedule; it’s probably that time where we all start speculating about what the sequel might bring. 

However, that’s going to be a little different for DC as their films don’t boast much interconnectivity, and Suicide Squad, in particular, wasn’t founded on a franchise mentality. Regardless of quality, the structure of the film was such that any sequel would be more or less free to be another “villains on a mission” movie, swapping out the villains and the mission. And yet, I believe it could do more. I’ve put together a list of 5 things to improve on the first movie in Suicide Squad 2.

Lego Batman Trailer Round-Up

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Edited by Robert Beach

One of the peculiar twists of fate in the modern era of superhero media is that despite DC Comics many, many terrible adaptations in the 2010s, their animated adaptations are incredible.  Seriously, Teen Titans Go is the sharpest superhero satire ever; Young Justice was a milestone hit; Batman: The Brave and the Bold was incredible, and the Green Lantern CGI show almost redeemed the franchise. Now, they’re making a new Adam West animated adventure. 

The real gem in DC’s animated crown, however, has to be Lego Batman, voiced by Will Arnett and ushered into our collective hearts through 2014’s breakout hit The Lego Movie. Arnett is honestly the best Batman of the 2010s, a brutal scathing takedown of the overly macho psycho-thug Batman that dominated the character’s identity from 2008 to about 2013. Now, Lego Batman is getting his movie, and it looks amazing.  

Cover Story - Top 15 Harley Quinn Covers

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We’re currently a week out from Suicide Squad, DC’s latest attempt to salvage the flaming wreckage of their cinematic universe.  I could go on and on about how bizarre it is that the people with the biggest stable of superheroes imaginable keep consistatly getting one-upped by the likes of Ant-Man and Thor (seriously, 9 years ago who outside the comics fandom even knew those guys existed?) but that’s not the point of this particular column.  No, we gather together today because there’s nothing topical happening this week related to comics but I have a compulsive need to make this show link to something.  

As such, we’re getting a head start on Suicide Squad by looking at the career of its most prominent member in the advertisements: Harley Quinn.  Originating in the Batman animated series of 1992 before immigrating to the comics and taking up residence there for 20 years as her character evolved from tragedy to comedy to something close to DC’s Deadpool.  So, let us celebrate this glorious harlequin of comics and dive into the shallow end to get the cover story on the top 15 Harley Quinn comic covers.

Justice League Action Character Roster Revealed

Edited by Robert Beach 

By now, you might’ve heard there’s a new Justice League animated series in the works called Justice League Action. Even though there hasn’t been an official Justice League show since the end of Justice League Unlimited, the team has been represented in subsequent media like The Batman, Batman: Brave and the Bold, and Young Justice.  

This new show will, apparently, be taking the team in a new direction, looking to bridge the gap between Justice League Unlimited and Batman: Brave and the Bold’s emphasis on obscure characters and the more cartoony and wacky animation styles of current superhero hit Teen Titans Go. Not much is known about the show, but we seem to have a tentative character line-up in the form of a character sheet leaked from the folks working on the series.

Static Thoughts - 8 Questions About Gotham Season 3

Edited by Robert Beach

Gotham has now completed its second season and was it ever mixed. The slow development of the superhero landscape has not been kind to Fox’s Batman prequel series. While other shows like Supergirl or The Flash have been able to dive head first into crazy superhero concepts, Gotham plodded along through the muck of its own timeline and the restriction of its central hero, Bruce Wayne, still being a 12 year old.  

This has led the show to attempt many bizarre solutions like bringing in a radically reimagined Order of St. Dumas to target young Bruce Wayne and, more recently, setting up Hugo Strange as the true architect of all Batman’s villains. Batman villains really have become the key to Gotham’s attempts at crafting a larger, multi-season story arc much in the same way Spider-Man villains were the crux of Sony’s now defunct Amazing Spider-Man series.  Monday night’s finale took this to all new heights and has left me with 8 major questions about where Gotham is going in season 3. 

Cover Story - Top 12 Azrael Covers

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Let’s talk about Azrael for a second.  Azrael is actually one of my favorite superheroes of all time.  A lot of this has to do with how I made the transition from animated superhero shows to actual adult comics.  One of my first exposures to adult comics was a series of audio Batman comics adapting various greatest hits, and I got a hold of a 3-part set that adapted the entire Knightfall Saga that introduced and established Azrael.  From that point on I was hooked on the character and, as luck would have it, he had an ongoing series at the time so it became the first comic I started buying monthly.  

That’s part of why it does wrangle a bit that modern versions like on Gotham or Arkham Knight seem so lacking.  It’s even more frustrating when so much of Azrael’s story plays like the good version of the Assassin’s Creed game plots so it’s not like he’s a character who needed a harsh reworking.  But, given those things have very momentarily catapulted Azrael into the public eye I’ll take what I can get to excuse a deep dive into the comic series that started me down this path with the top 12 Azrael comic covers.

Suicide Squad Trailer 3

Edited By Robert Beach

As I write this, it’s been a little over three weeks since Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice came out, and the overall response has been different than what was expected. This was intended to be the NEW start to the DC movie universe, much like Man of Steel before it and Green Lantern before that. Obviously, that doesn’t seem to be happening.  Critics spent a week or so savaging the film while general audiences reacted with a resounding “meh?” What’s more, the movie struggled to make a major box office impact and failed to open as large as it should’ve in China. 

Finally, upon being knocked out of the #1 spot by Melissa McCarthy’s new comedy The Boss, the writing is more or less on the wall for Batman v. Superman. Obviously, this doesn’t mean the end of the entire DCEU as more films are already in various stages of production now, but it does mean DC is in damage control and course correction mode as all eyes turn to Suicide Squad, just in time for a brand new trailer.

Cover Story - Top 15 Batman/Superman Covers

Edited by Robert Beach

So, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice comes out today, or at least, I assume it did. I’m actually writing this the Tuesday before its release, so it’s completely possible some random calamity befell the intended release date. Somehow I kind of doubt it. By the time this goes up, I’ll most likely have already seen it. For now, I’m eagerly awaiting its release like the rest of us, so let’s talk about comic books instead, specifically some Batman and Superman comics. 

Because Batman and Superman were DC’s biggest success stories for decades and decades, the two eventually ended up in a long-running comic together entitled World’s Finest. World’s Finest was a weird amalgam of elements owing mainly to the fact that it originally began in the late Golden Age and then continuing through to the early Bronze Age of comics. As such, we’ve got some really crazy comic covers to get through. Now it's time to dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on World’s Finest.

J.K. Simmons Cast As Commissioner Gordon

Edited by Robert Beach 

As March dawns, we must accept the fact that we seem to be barreling head first towards the inevitability that the DC movie universe will 1) be happening and 2) be guided by the unwavering hand of Zack Snyder. Between the pretty terrible kick-off of Man of Steel and the ongoing train wreck that’s been the Dawn of Justice marketing campaign, this hardly seems like a march towards quality than a slow descent into mismanagement and insincerity. 

However, one thing that has consistently buoyed this downward spiral is the presence of top-quality actors in various roles sprinkled across the films. Ben Affleck, Jared Leto, and Jeremy Irons are all Oscar winners for a very good reason. Now, the powers that be at WB have added a fourth Oscar winner to the line up with J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon.

Cover Story - Top 12 Gotham Central Covers

Edited by Robert Beach 

Hello, and welcome to Cover Story, diving as little into the world of comics as possible. Fox’s Batman prequel show Gotham will be returning this Monday. While I have plenty of problems with Gotham, the basic premise of following the lives of normal police officers trying to deal with the crazy criminals and rampant corruption endemic to Gotham City is pretty great. In fact, I know that’s a great premise because DC comics made it into a superb comic book in the late ‘90s called Gotham Central.  

Gotham Central has done a lot in the modern era to shape the Batman supporting universe, giving focus to characters now considered a base element of the canon like Maggie Sawyer, Renee Montoya, and Harvey Bullock. What’s more, it’s just a superb comic that shows how interesting a story set in Gotham city can be without even needing the Batman.  Let’s dive into the shallow end and honor Gotham’s finest with the Cover Story on Gotham Central.

Panel Vision - Thrillkiller

Edited by Robert Beach

It’s time once more for everyone’s favorite genre of Panel Vision: topical oddities. One of the curious attempts by modern TV to remain relevant in an era of streaming and binge watches has been a revival of live performances. This has seen a mixed bag of success and interest, but last weekend, the format saw a fairly major success when NBC produced a live performance of Grease.  I don’t really care for Grease myself, though the production did give me cause to remember a very good Elseworlds comic that DC produced called Thrillkiller.

 In case you’ve never heard of them before, Elseworlds were an imprint of DC comics that re-imagined classic characters in situation that couldn’t fit into standard continuity. They’d take a character like Superman and show us what might’ve happened if he had landed in Soviet Russia or Gotham City instead of Kansas.  Thrillkiller, written by comics legend Howard Chaykin and illustrated by the eclectic but striking Daniel Brereton, takes the familiar Batman mythos and drops right in the middle of 1961. 

Panel Vision - Suicide Squad Guide

So, Suicide Squad is on the way and we’re starting to get a pretty good idea of what to expect.  After the unmitigated disaster that was Batman v. Superman following up a 2 year silence in the wake of Man of Steel’s soft landing with audiences, DC/WB really need a big hit with Suicide Squad if they’re to remain a solvent business going into the tail end of this decade.  

As such, Suicide Squad seems to be trying to pull off an incredibly tricky double act of existing within/expanding the established DC cinematic universe of Man of Steel/Batman v. Superman while also trying to add serious amounts of personality and levity to one of the grimmest worlds in cinema today. 

We’ll see if it actually pulls that ambitious goal off in the end but for now I figured I’d give you a guide to the various members of this cinematic Suicide Squad, owing to how little we’ve learned about them from the trailers.  The only folks I won’t be covering are Harley Quinn and the Joker as I suspect they’ve been around long enough and visible enough for everyone to already know what their deal is. 

Suicide Squad Trailer 2

This is going to be an odd year for superhero films.  Previous years have been defined by major throwdowns like Dark Knight Rises against Avengers or attempts from smaller studios to reassert dominance like X-Men: Days of Future Past or Amazing Spider-Man 2.  This year, we’ve still got some of that, in particular this is the year Batman v. Superman will go toe-to-toe with Captain America: Civil War, but there’s way more weirdness and offbeat entries this year.  In February we’ll be seeing Fox take a chance on Internet love with Deadpool, a movie that only got made thanks to the positive response to a leaked trailer.  Then in November Marvel will throw its hat into the fantasy arena with Dr. Strange. 

And in August DC makes its first attempt to implement this whole “movie universe” approach with Suicide Squad, about a team of super villains conscripted by the government for high risk missions.  Even amongst all the other weirdness Suicide Squad has been the odd man out, mainly thanks to a very bizarre marketing campaign that followed up the first, and pretty interesting, trailer with a ton of images that made the movie look both gritty and ridiculous.  Now we’ve got a second trailer and the film looks…well it still looks gritty and ridiculous but now in the best way possible.

Panel Vision - World Without Batman

Merry Christmas everyone, even to those of you like me who might not observe the holiday.  Christmas has always been a weird time for me as a result of that little wrinkle.  It’s become sort of a known joke at this point that most Jews like me spend Christmas at the movies and enjoying all the Chinese food we can put our hands to but that’s just a small part of a broader phenomena.  Because this time of year is so centralized around traditions a lot of us who don’t celebrate Christmas work to craft our own traditions, so as to still be included in the overall emphasis on traditional celebration while making it our own and preserving a certain sense of identity. 

Me, being a nerd with an aesthetic preference for the trappings of Christmas, I usually spend the holidays hunting down holiday superhero adventures and boy do I have one to share here.  It may not be specifically Christmas oriented but given it’s the same basic plot as It’s A Wonderful Life I think we’ll all count it, this is “World Without Batman.”

Suicide Squad Gets Empire Magazine Covers

In case you didn’t know, DC Comics is looking to start up their own shared universe of films and characters to rival that of Marvel studios.  So far this shared universe experiment has been pretty abysmal as the sole entry so far is the terrible Man of Steel and the pretty bad looking upcoming film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  However, DC has one other flick waiting in the wings to make a splash in the DC shared universe pool and that flick is Suicide Squad.  Scheduled for release late next summer with David Ayer directing Suicide Squad is an adaptation of the DC universe team of the same name, a government developed squad of villains designed to be sent out on high risks missions with the thinking being that because all the squad members are villains they’re powerful but also expendable. 

The trailer for that film leaked earlier this summer to a lot of praise though none of it was from me because I actually don’t think Suicide Squad looks very good but we’ll get more into that later.  Anyway, DC seems decidedly desperate to remind everyone this shared universe experiment is going to happen so they’ve started actively promoting Suicide Squad with a series of snazzy Empire Magazine covers featuring tactical team leader Deadshot, played by Will Smith, team wildcard the Joker, played by Jared Leto, Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie, and, for some reason, Enchantress, played by Cara Delevingne.