Add to your bookshelf: Genius Vol 1

Tomorrow, (May 27, 2015), marks the release date of "Genius," Vol 1, which collects the five issue mini series, (and "pilot" issue), of the story of a young Black teen named, Destiny Ajaye, who unifies all the gangs in South Central L.A. to fight against the police.

A Black female as the lead character in a comic-book would be enough to grab a headline, but this series was catching a lot of people's attention last year--when it first came out--because it was released during the time of grand protest and upheaval in Ferguson, Missouri.

In "Genius," Destiny is fighting against the police, after having witnessed the brutal murder of her parents by the LAPD; meanwhile, in real life, the people of Ferguson took to the streets, destroying property--especially police cars, after the local district attorney said that he would not press charges against the police officer who killed a young, unarmed, Black man.  (Coincidentally, this Vol 1 release comes right on the heels of another rebellion against police murder, this time in Baltimore).

The story in "Genius" is not perfect.  There are a lot of things a revolutionary would disapprove of:  For instance, Destiny is not using ideology to become a revolutionary leader; she actually ends up being the top dog in the gang underworld by sleeping with a top gang-member and killing many rivals.

She is also uniting gang members based mostly on revenge, not mostly on the idea of creating a better world.  (There is also a dialogue problem because I cringed every time I read something that sounded like it was coming from a Nuyorican in the Bronx, rather than a South Central Chicano).

Despite all this, I really like this story because it shows people actually fighting back against the police--in the only way they understand, and it's a story that tells us that there is potential for a kid in South Central to be a military genius.  One great thing I really liked about the character is her understanding that she also needs to win public opinion during the fight with the LAPD.

For anyone interested, you can download the pilot/preview issue for free and read it on your tablet or mobile device.

Orchid Comes to An End with #12

***SPOILER ALERT***

The beginning of this month brought us the ending to Tom Morello's maxi series, "Orchid."  In 12 issues, first-time comic-book Writer, Tom Morello, and Artist Scott Hepburn told us the story of Orchid: a young girl who only cares about the survival of herself and her immediate family, but transforms into a great fighter of all oppressed people living in fear of the evil dictator, Tomo Wolfe.

This last issue is action-packed with lots of great moments where you don't know if the cast of characters will survive the final battle with Tomo Wolfe.  But, of course, there are last-minute reinforcements to come save the day, personal sacrifices, and some unexpected surprises to keep you hanging on.

There's even a nice epilogue to show what all the key characters ended up doing after their hard-fought victory and to show the new--much better--community that everyone now enjoys.  (There's even a scene that leaves enough room for a possible sequel).

Orchid's gradual transformation from a person willing to just do anything to survive, into someone who finally only wishes to do all she can do away with the current living conditions of all who live in misery was the whole point of this story. And it takes new friends, many battles, many deaths, and the help of a magical mask to help her become the courageous and ferocious fighter for the people that she becomes.

For now, "Orchid," can be collected in 12 separate issues or three volumes.  But, I'm hoping, Dark Horse will release some sort of special edition hardcover containing the entire 12 issues.

From the Back Issue Bin- Punisher: Going Out West

Recently, while I was at Emerald City Comic Con, I was able to talk to one of my favorite comic-book writers, Matt Fraction. I was happy that he autographed a few of my Punisher War Journal books that he penned back in 2007. These particular books were special to me because they were part of a storyline called, "Goin' Out West." I enjoyed this storyline a lot because it was a very political story that dealt with the issue of immigration.

The villain here was the Hate-Monger, who was leading a group of high technology-powered Nazis that were killing immigrants, (or would-be immigrants), near the U.S./Mexico border in the Sonoran desert. This was very important because, around the same time, there was a lot of controversy at the Arizona border due to "The Minutemen," armed militia groups who had taken it upon themselves to "patrol" the U.S./Mexico border.

In the story, instead of Minutemen, they are Nazis, which is essentially what they are, and exactly why I like the story so much--because they truly are villains! (Not heroes, or patriots, or whatever someone else might come up with to dress it up).

Frank Castle, the Punisher, does not like what these Nazis are doing. And although he usually spends his time taking out mob bosses or super-villains, he decides to infiltrate them so to best kill them. Although most of the story is about how Frank goes about infiltrating the Nazi camp and the repercussions of that, the beginning of the story does shed some light on some of the reasons why people go come to the U.S. from Mexico. In one whole page, Staurt, (a sort of sidekick to Frank), reads him some information, including this passage:

"Maquilas or maquiladoras, depending on your grasp of Spanish, exist throughout Mexico and Latin America in these--these special zones. No tariffs or taxes. They bring raw goods in and ship finished crap out. They're...dictatorial sweatshops, basically. NAFTA-sanctioned sweatshops."

I like this story so much that I even went ahead and bought a hardcover collected trade and recommend the same to anybody who is looking for a good story. As long as you don't mind a little violence.

Support this: Occupy Comics

I was very excited to find out about this, this past weekend: Some one has taken it upon themselves to organize comic-book writers and artists to create an anthology of comics related to the Occupy Movement, that will also be a fundraiser.

Their web-site and kickstarter page gives these details:

Unless you're living under a rock, you've heard about the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread across the country and around the world. We believe this is an incredibly unique movement that transcends the usual partisan gridlock and could have a profound affect on all our futures. Even if it dissolves completely, it has changed the conversation in the country and around the world in a way that deserves to be remembered....

This book is intended to be a time capsule of the passions and emotions driving the movement. We are comic book & graphic novel artists and writers who've been inspired by the movement and hope to tell the stories of the people who are out there putting themselves at risk for an idea. What is that idea? Most of the media will tell you the idea is a vague and befuddled mess, but movements don't coalesce around vague, befuddled messes. We hope that through the medium of comics we can share some of the ideas and experiences driving this movement.

What stood out to me about this project is that the contributors are a mix of indie artists and more well-established comic-book creators. Some of the creators who have already signed on to participate are long-time Marvel and DC writer J.M. DeMatteis; "Manhunter" scribe Marc Andreyko; indie artist Molly Crabapple; "30 Days of Night" creator Steve Niles; illustrator Ben Templesmith; "Hack/Slash" creator Tim Seeley; and many others.

I can't wait to donate to this project and check out the finished product (which unfortunately, will take many months). Support this!

Review: Orchid #1

***SPOILER ALERT***


This Tuesday was the release of Tom Morello's first penned comic-book, "Orchid," (which will be a 12 issue series). It's filled with good art by Scott Hepburn, and lots of background, story set-up and character introductions by Mr. Morello.

The first couple of pages show scenes of how a dystopian future came to be: where the majority of earth's survivors live horrible lives, lorded over by a few people who control small armies, (and don't forget all the scary mutant monsters that have now come to exist due, most likely, to pollution).

We first meet Simon, who's part of a small "Shadow Rebel" enclave that, in the book, is being chased by a caravan of armed soldiers loyal to local dictator, Tomo Wolfe. Simon luckily escapes the solders--in a very dramatic way--and then we then follow him as he walks around his home, among the rest of the "Bridge People."

We actually don't meet Orchid until much later in the book, and we learn that a horrible existence as a teen prostitute has made her callous, clever and tough. She tries to show no sympathy for others except herself, but we also find out that she's been secretly using her earnings, (and what she can manage to steal from her pimp/owner), to support her mother and young brother. How her character transforms throughout this series will definitely be worth paying to see/read each month.

Speaking of paying, this first issue is only $1.oo. so it's definitely worth going to your local comic book shop to check this out. There is also a variant cover by Shepard Fairey/Obey (pictured HERE) that costs more: $3.50 and up, depending on where you buy it. I highly recommend this book--especially if you've never picked up a graphic novel before.

Race & Class in Comics: The New Superman

For those of you that don't usually read comics, you should know that there is currently a big event going on with one of the two big comic-book company's, DC Comics. They are re-numbering ALL their titles and even re-imaging some of the characters to try and bring in new readers who are not familiar with the years of story-lines and confusing continuity.

One of these books is Action Comics starring Superman, who is getting somewhat of a whole new origin story in this first issue. Almost instantly you realize that this is not your father's Superman. This new Superman is younger, brasher, and totally aware of class status! Even Entertainment Weekly noticed this in their review of the book. Below is what they had to say:

"Superman is something of a wiseguy and, dare I say it, a radical: In the first few pages, Superman seizes a super-wealthy law-breaker, holding him helplessly aloft, as the police ask him to put the guy down. 'Sure, officer, I’ll put him down, just as soon as he makes a full confession. To someone who still believes the law works the same for rich and poor alike. Because that ain’t Superman.'"

Another great scene involved a building that i s getting demolished. At the moment that a wrecking goes crashing into a building, Superman comes in to rescue the inhabitants--many squatters, including kids, dogs and whole families. However, right after he rescues them he is suddenly attacked by military tanks. (All part of the uber rich and super smart Lex Luther, who is working with the military). Superman destroys one of the tanks but is weakened, and before one of the tanks can deliver another blow, the masses of people who he just saved come to his rescue! One of the squatters, standing in front of the tank's cannon, yells at the tanks, "Enough! This guy just saved our Lives! My Kids!"

I'm not saying this new Superman is totally class-conscious or anything, but this new take, written by one of the best comic-book scribes out there, Grant Morrison, is worth checking out. There is also great art by Rage Morales who does some great work in this issue, drawing mostly people who are not in costume.

The story of Rayhan Mazin

*SPOILER ALERT!!!*

Of course, once again, I am late on informing you all of an interesting story! I just recently caught up on my issues of Power Girl and was surprised to read a really great two-issue story arc involving a super-powered individual named Rayhan Mazin. He is very unusual because he's one of the few Muslim-Americans I've ever seen presented in a comic-book. He is from the fictional country of Qurac, and had never used his powers because he feared what people might think of a super-powered person of Middle Eastern descent in America. Basically, the story is about how exactly right he was!

The story starts six months ago when he is on a plane that is about to crash. Knowing how it might look to the other passengers, he decides to use his power (of controlling the weather) to lift the plane up and prevent it from crashing by increasing the wind speed. Unbeknownst to him, Power Girl and Batman have arrived on the scene to be heroes. So, when the plane lands, everyone blames him and we see him cuffed and scurried away.

The next scenes in the book deal with him being constantly interrogated and being denied contact with any friends, family or even a lawyer. Through the whole situation he keeps thinking that if he just keeps cooperating, they will eventually realize that he is not some kind of terrorist and that they will just let him go. They don't; and to make matters worse, he finds out that his father is dying of cancer and they won't even let him visit him in the hospital. That proves to be the last straw and he decides to breakout. (He had the power to do that all-along)!

This is where Power Girl and Batman jump back in the story because they have been asked to capture him. Telling more would be ruining the ending, so I'll stop here. But, this was an obviously great story that's a current reflection on U.S. policy and the way people of Middle Eastern descent are treated in this country. The ending was a little rushed, but still a nicely-written story by Judd Winnick. I strongly recommend you look for Power Girl #24-#25 in your local comic-book shop.

Tom Morello Writes a Comic Book

Last weekend, at the annual San Diego Comic-Con International, (the biggest pop-culture event in the world), Rage Against the Machine guitarist, Tom Morello, announced that Dark Horse Comics will be publishing a comic-book that he is writing.

The 12-issue series, “Orchid,” (which has an October 12 release date for its first issue), is said to be about a “16-year-old street prostitute who learns that she is more than the role society has imposed upon her.” The synopsis that has been circulating on the Internet says:

“When the seas rose, genetic codes were smashed. Human settlements are now ringed by a dense wilderness from which ferocious new animal species prey on the helpless. The high ground belongs to the rich and powerful that overlook swampland shantytowns from their fortress-like cities. Iron-fisted rule ensures order and allows the wealthy to harvest the poor as slaves. This is the world of Orchid.”

What is exciting to me, as a Communist, is that Morello will definitely inject some class-consciousness into his story. In a recent article he said, “It’s like Lord of the Rings meets Battle of Algiers…I wanted to craft a story that has the same visceral impact and political clout as the music I’ve been involved in.”

Other people are also excited that Morello is also providing music for the book as well! He told Rolling Stone, "When you buy the comic book you’re going to get a free song, which is the musical score for that issue. Over the 12-issue arch of the story, there will be 12 musical pieces that make a complete musical score for it."

There is already some buzz on the net about this book: Click HERE for a look at some of the cover and interior art; Go HERE for more information on the Shepard Fairey variant cover; and check out this VIDEO where Morello talks about this project and also reveals his previously unknown comic-book geek history, including how he collected thousands of comics!

Black Panther vs Hate-Monger

In my last blog I informed you about a superhero battling Christian Fundamentalists. Today, a quick summary about a comic-book that came out last Wednesday, Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #521. I've talked about the Panther dealing with racism in a previous post, and here he does it again; although, this time, it is straight-up racism, because the Super-villain is the new Hate-Monger.

As a comic-book character, the Hate-Monger has been around the Marvel universe since 1963, (originally he was a clone of Hitler)! This new version happens to be an average White U.S. citizen who just really hates foreigners. Throughout the first half of the book, (going back a year in this guy's life), we see how he losses his job, starts reading racist literature, shares his anti-immigrant beliefs on the Internet and on the street to anyone who will listen to him and then turns to a life of petty crime to "fund his revenge" because he blames immigrants for everything bad in his life.

Then, all of a sudden, he is given some kind of mystical power from some powerful being that has just landed from somewhere in the sky. (Yeah, I know). Anyway, besides a very silly and clumsily-written scene with a cop, the story was getting pretty good before the issue ended. The issue was written by David Liss, with art by Francesco Francavilla, and is available at your local comic-book store now. The next issue is expected to be in stores sometime in August.

David Hine on 'Nightrunner'

Those of you that do not follow/read Batman comics, will probably not be aware that, in the comic books, Batman has gone on a sort of world tour to recruit vigilantes to be part of his Batman Inc. franchise. (A sort of war-on-crime-army that are allied with--and get funding/resources from--the Batman).

If this is news to you, then even more surprising to know will be that there was a small controversy when it was revealed that the person Batman choose to be his representative in France, Nightrunner, was a Muslim immigrant. One right-wing blogger said things like: “The character’s name is Bilal Asselah and he is an Algerian Sunni Muslim and an immigrant that is physically fit and adept at gymnastic sport Parkour. Apparently Batman couldn't find any actual Frenchman to be the ‘French savior’.”

Most comic-book fans saw this reaction by right-wing bloggers as silly--especially because in the DC comics universe, the greatest champion is Superman, a guy who wasn't even born on the planet Earth! Comic Book Resources had a very good article about this when this broke out, back in December 2010, and there were some very good comments to that article, the majority supporting the new character.

The character/controversy came up again today when CBR, highlighting an upcoming story in "Batman & Robin," written by one of the creator's of Nightrunner, David Hine, was asked if he was "surprised by the vehemence of reactions to him in America." Below is the response he gave:


I had no intention of creating a controversial character and as far as I'm concerned there is nothing intrinsically provocative about having a character from an Algerian Muslim background, any more than from any other ethnic, national, racial or religious background. The polarization you're talking about is between a tiny but vocal minority whose views I find deeply repulsive and a massive reaction from reasonable intelligent people who were as surprised as me by the so-called controversy. I don't really want to play into that at all. As I've said elsewhere, the fact that Nightrunner is not White Anglo Saxon Protestant is simply a reflection of the diversity of French society, and incidentally of DC's readership in America and globally through all its foreign editions. Kyle Higgins' scripts for the Nightrunner stories were sensitive and built an intriguing character. That's it. Nothing partisan, or endorsing any particular creed or political stance except perhaps a degree of tolerance that is notably lacking in some quarters.


Hine's response was OK, as it shows that there shouldn't be anything controversial about the character, and that the people who think there is something wrong with that have backward views. But he is wrong in thinking that there is a "tiny" of people who think like this. Of course, in the comic-book world, the vocal minority who complained about this was small, but there are larger right-wing forces out there that are just plain racist. And there are also "Culture Wars" going on in society, (of which mainstream popular culture is a part of), where right-wing forces are trying to get victories.

From the Back Issue Bin: Black Panther

The following scene takes place on page 18 of the 2005 trade paperback of Black Panther, (which collects issues #1-#6), written by Reginald Hudlin, and with art by John Romita Jr.

* * *

"They can't do that," someone yells from inside a room in the White House.

Inside the room, the Secretary of State, Dondi Reese, is pointing out some changes on a memo to her secretary, while a group of military officials and others in business suits continue on with a discussion at a table not far from where she is standing.

"We're the #$%#$ United States of %#$%#$ America," a general says. "Where do a bunch of Jungle bunnies get off telling us they've got a 'No Fly' zone over their thatched hut?"

Dondi, an African-American woman with dark red lipstick and a head full of silver hair, turns around as she hears the general's words.

The room grows silent. "Did I say something wrong," the general asks, unaware that Dondi Reese is standing right behind him. He turns around and quickly opens his mouth to say, "Oh god, Dondi--I'm sorry! You know I don't mean you when I say--"

"Shut up, Wallace," says Dondi.

"--I mean, they're nothing like you--"

"Shut-up," she repeats.

This time the general keeps his mouth shut as his cheeks turn red.

* * *

When Hudlin, (previously known for writing and directing films), took on the task of revamping the Black Panther, he used a mix of action, injected with politics, to create a fantastic first arc. As the scene above illustrates, no matter how high they climb the capitalist ladder, Black people cannot escape National Oppression. This was shown here at the highest level of power; inside the White House.

The story revolves around an imaginary country located in the center of Africa called, Wakanda, which the book describes as being notable for "never having being conquered in its entire history." In the book you learn that the Wakandans have all battled and beat different forces who have tried, through force, to get on their land. Other African tribes, Christian and Islamic invaders in its early history. Followed by French, English and Belgium forces that were lured by stories of Wakanda's gold and riches.

The drama starts because forces inside the White House are thirsting for Wakanda's advanced technology and large oil deposits and have secretly (economically) backed a Super-villain named Klaw, who organizes a group of powerful villains to invade the country. This is where our hero comes in, as he has just recently earned the mantle/title of the Black Panther and is tested, not only with an invasion by a team of super-powered villains, but a team lead by the man who killed his father!

This trade should be easy to find at any local comic book store, or on the Internet. Highly recommended!!!

"God Bless Capitalism"

Check out the banter below between two villains, (one of which is off-screen),
in a recent first-issue (reboot) of Venom [click on pics to enlarge]:





Usually it's some "communist" cold-war era super-villain talking about the evils of capitalism in comic-books. Here we have two villians talking, though in a bit sarcastically, about their love of capitalism. This is from the first issue of Venom, that came out a little over a month ago. Of course, we can't expect more, as the anti-hero of this book actually works for the U.S. military, but that was a breath of fresh-air in that dialogue and the main reason why this blog was created!