The Punisher: Dirty Laundry

Run the Comics World (Girls)

I’ve been keeping track of Comic-Con news all weekend, especially on the DC side of things, to get a better gauge of what we can expect to see from them in September.  During one of their panels, a female fan cosplaying as Batgirl spoke to Jim Lee about gender diversity, complaining that women weren’t getting centrally featured on any of the covers to the Justice League titles.  The exchange got quite scintillating, apparently, ending when Lee asked if the women have to be dead-center on the cover or if off-center is okay.  Over on Comics Alliance, a comment from Angelica Brenner on the matter remarked that Lee’s joke “kinda sours the whole ‘promise of diversity’ deal.”

I am by no means the voicebox of Jim Lee (although that sounds like an ideal job for me), but I don’t think the joke was motivated by chauvinism, nor does it indicate a flippant attitude towards diversity, or women in particular.  I think he was simply poking fun at the issue, which was not only incorrect (Ryan Sook’s cover to Justice League Dark #1 features not one, but three women prominently on the center of the cover), but rather superficial as well.

With team books, the cover’s central figure usually features the team leader or the most recognizable (read: marketable) characters, especially for a debut issue.  Superhero team leaders are usually men because men compose most of the team, and that’s because most superheroes are male.  So yes, it’s true a lot of women aren’t featured centrally on these covers, but by the same token, neither are a lot of men.

So the most important question to ask is: why aren’t there more female heroes?  To offer a theory, let me tell you a bit about myself.  I’m a writer who takes stabs at fiction now and then (none published yet, probably for good reason).  In almost all my stories, my protagonist and a lot of the principal cast are male.  I’m a guy; I’m much more familiar with how guys think or act; I hang out with a lot of guys; so I have more ideas for guy characters.  Considering the very vast majority of comic book writers are dudes, it stands to reason the number of male characters is exponentially larger than that of women.

RETROSPECTIVE: SDCC 08 – One Week Later

This was my first year going to the San Diego Comic Con and I had a blast! It’s a little overwhelming at first because it’s so massive, but once you get your bearings it’s a lot of fun. My main frustration with San Diego is also one of its biggest positives – that being the aforementioned size. On one hand it’s great, each lap I took around the floor I found something new. It’s always great to find new things, especially things like a life-size Batman statue made out of Legos. At the same time, I spent half of my day trying to figure out when Bruce Campbell was going to do his signing. I’d forgotten that the signing area was upstairs, and unfortunately none of the people working the con were very helpful. There was even one point where I asked a group of three who each told me a different location! When I finally found what I was looking for, Bruce had already come and gone. On the plus side, I did get to meet Jon St. John (the voice of Duke Nukem) and he was awesome.

I can’t blame the con though, I went into it without much of a plan. Wizard World is small enough where you can get your bearings easily; there are signs everywhere to make sure you know what’s happening where and when. San Diego is just too big for that. I saw some great stuff and consider it a great learning experience. Next year I’ll be ready. Hell, I might even get to see a panel.

The biggest news for me came at my favorite booth. In the back corner they had the playable Ghostbusters game next to a mock up of the firehouse. A nice touch was the green slime dripping down the door. Ghostbusters is my favorite movie, so seeing that made me want one for my house! It also made me want to steal the proton packs they had on the floor, heh. The big announcement was The Real Ghostbusters cartoon coming to DVD in the fall. It’s a massive 25 disks or so, but it’s also the complete series. Growing up, every Saturday morning was Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles, and Transformers. The series may not hold up that well, but it’ll be great to dash down memory lane.

My advice to any future Comic Con newbies: Be ready and be flexible. Even with a totally mapped out plan, you’re very likely to miss a lot of stuff. Be ready for the crowds and the surprises (guests, signings, or footage) and have fun with it.

– Ben Berger

Comic-Con 2008: Complete Progamming schedule

The full programming schedule is available now. I noticed a high increment in game related panels compared to previous years. Many people will not like this as it doesn’t have any relation from the comics.

Friday is Star Wars day. Artists scheduled for panels include Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Robert Kirkman, Eric Larsen, Jim Butcher, Kevin Smith, Frank Miller and Brad Meltzer among others.

Media & games related panels include Watchmen, Stargate, Prince of Persia, Star Wars, Spaced, Resident Evil: Degeneration, Ghostbusters, The Wolfman, American Dad, The Spirit, World of Warcraft, The Venture Brothers, 24, Robot Chicken, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Eureka and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along among a lot more of other panels.

A highly recommended panel is the Kevin Smith one. I don’t even like his movies, but his panels are hilarious.

Check the full list for Friday here.

For Saturday there is lots of panels to pick from: Ralph Bakshi, Joe Hill, Ben Templesmith, Steve Niles, David Mack, Dean Koontz, J. Michael Straczynski and media events for Futurama, The Simpson, Heroes, Dollhouse, Terminator Salvation, Battlestar Galactica, Pushing Daisies, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Fringe and Starship Troopers 3.

The full list of panels for Saturday is here.

Comic-Con 2008: Sunday Programming!

Sunday is Kids day! That’s good, because if it were a Saturday a lot of people would be pissed. Usually, Sundays has the fewer panels of the convention, but this year there are a lot of interesting ones to attend to.

Highlights include a Smallvile screening and Q&A, a Jack Kirby Tribute, Zuda Online Comics, Terry Moore, Dave Stevens Tribute, Supernatural screening and Q&A, Hamlet 2, Jeph Loeb, Len Wein, Mark Waid and Grant Morrison among others.

The one I’m not going to miss (and I’m sure it’ll be packed): The Life of Michael Turner Tribute Panel: — Celebrate the life and times of acclaimed artist, creator, and Aspen Comics president and founder Michael Turner, as Aspen Comics and a host of popular comic book creators pay special tribute to the creator of the best-selling titles Fathom, Soulfire, and Witchblade, and the cover artist behind the mainstream comic event hits Marvel’s Civil War and DC Comics’ Identity Crisis and Justice League of America. In honor of Turner’s tremendous spirit and body of work, as well as his countless contributions to the comic book industry, Aspen Comics will return the favor by remembering Michael Turner’s amazing life both in and outside of comics at this very special tribute event.

Check the complete lineup here!

Comic-Con 2008: Thursday Programming!

Wow! Lots and lots of things to do this year at Comic-Con San Diego, and this program is only for Thursday. Can’t wait for Friday & Saturday announcements.

Featuring panels with Stan Lee, Grant Morrison, J. G. Jones, Eddie Campbell, Geoff Johns, Bill Willingham, Ed Brubaker, Jim Lee, Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola and Kevin Smith among others. I’m personally salivating for the Doctor Who & Torchwood panels!

Check the complete programming here.