Our Own Nathan C interviews Michael Uslan! Uber-Batman Fan and Bat-Film Producer

Longtime Pal and Signal Corps Founding Member NathanC is at Texas Public Radio in San Antonio. In addition to his regular duties making radio happen, he covers cinema and programs the Summer Cinema series for TPR.

He also does a lot of interviews with film-related folk.  Now Nathan has landed an interview with Michael Uslan!

Uslan is a former comics writer, and is now a producer of Batman movies going back to the 1980's and running up to the upcoming Dark Knight Rises.  Uslan's memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman, has just arrived, and I'd heard about it via the buzz its gotten on the comics interwebs (people were pretty happy Uslan, who is such a champion for comics and Batman, was chatting a bit).

Its a great interview!  Listen here.

Guest Post: CanadianSimon Takes on The New 52 - Week 2

Its week TWO of DC Comics' relaunch, and CanadianSimon is back with another round-up of reviews!

Simon and I picked up some of the same books, and I'll be talking about some of my goods later this week, but I thought it'd be fun to start off with Simon's $0.02.

I won't bother re-introducing our reviewer, but I would point you to his reviews as offered up last week for more official Trusted Signal Corps Opinions.*

Take it away, Simon!

I'm back again picking up another three of the thirteen books available in the DCnU.


Batwoman #1
written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman
pencils by J.H. Williams III

Easily the most beautiful book I've read in awhile. This shows that J.H. Williams has lost none of the magic he showed when he and Greg Rucka worked on the Elegy storyline on Detective Comics. I'm always impressed by how J.H. can shift so effortlessly between art styles using one approach for Batwoman scenes and another for her alter ego Kate Kante. Many of the action scenes have the inspired layouts and panel border designs that you would expect from a J.H. book. As well the colorist Dave Stewart continues his stellar efforts on this title.

Hmmm...looking back on what I just typed "on this title" hits upon my only nitpick of this book. It really reads like the next issue of that aforementioned Detective Comics run. The follow up to that seminal run had been oft delayed until finally they had it line up with the release of DC's New 52. For me, it's not a big deal as I've read what comes before so I wasn't lost but I wonder what it is like for new readers. That's not to say that there aren't a few wonderfully designed info dump pages that try and catch the reader up on things.

Anyway, this is a gorgeous book and a good story and I'll be back again to pick this up next month. Although at some point I might just stop getting this titles as I'll want to own art this beautiful in hard cover format and I don't have the budget to start double dipping.

Demon Knights #1
written by Paul Cornell
pencils by Oclair Albert

I will confess, I'm a sucker for Arthurian mythology. One of the first grown up books I read was Le Morte d'Arthur that my Aunt picked up for me at her job as a university librarian. I've been hooked on Arthur ever since. That said Cornell's Demon Knights is right up my alley and it doesn't disappoint.

The first issue is very much a team assembling piece. We get to see the origin of The Demon/Jason Blood shortly after the death of King Arthur and not long after that we see that Madam Xanadu/Nimue are travelling together. At this point I have to mention the amazing Vertigo series Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner and Amy Reeder Hadley. 

They stop in a small village which, unknown to them, is about to be over-run by a horde of marauders. At the village they run into the immortal barbarian Vandal Savage and the Shining Knight. One doesn't need to know anything else about these characters but for long time readers it's a neat nod to past continuity. As well we meet 3 other characters, although we only get to see two of their faces.

This is all pointing towards the team having seven members which is not only a magic number but is the right number to draw an analogy to The Seven Soldiers teams of yore of which the Shining Knight was a part of. Again, go get the four volume Seven Soldiers trades written by Grant Morrison.

Anyway, the heroes(?) are assembling and the villains are amassing and I just want to know what happens next!

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1
written by Jeff Lemire
pencils by Alberto Ponticelli

Once again Jeff Lemire shows that he knows how to write a first issue. There's enough information in here to introduce you to the main and supporting characters but not too much to get in the way of the action. Personally I love the one off reference to a vacation on Mars that Frankenstein talks about which in itself is an oblique reference to the Frankenstein Seven Soldiers stories written by Grant Morrison that I've already mentioned.

But I have a problem with this issue and it's the art. After being treated to a great cover by JG Jones we get interiors by Alberto Ponticelli. I'm not at all familiar with Mr. Ponticelli's previous comic work but I find these pencils to be rough, too rough in fact. I keep thinking that maybe a different inker could have cleaned them up a bit more but what do I know. I mostly read comics for the stories these days but bad art can take me out of my happy place and while I wouldn't want to call this bad it certainly knocked me out of the zone.

I've checked the solicits and Ponticelli is down as penciller for issues 2 and 3. That's going to make my decision very difficult if I keep up with this book as I love Lemire and I love this concept but I just don't love this art.

*If you're interested in offering up your own reviews, don't hesitate to contact us and let us know!

Small Post Wednesday

It's been a long day capped off by a lovely evening out.  We went to Austin's The Highball (a restaurant/ bar/ bowling alley/ performance space) to see a live production/ reinterpretation of an episode of the WB show Felicity.  I was more aware of Felicity as a sort of demographic-pleasing phenomenon than anything and, never actually ever saw it while it was on TV.  But, my pal CarlaBeth (who I've been pals with since small times), had directed the show for the Institution Theater, and it turns out...  it was really, really funny.

The cast was great, and I was familiar enough with the show via cultural osmosis (Jamie had subscription to Entertainment Weekly) that I knew exactly what was happening.  It was kind of odd to realize how much I knew about a show I'd never seen.

Prior to the show we met up with Hilary (whom I have known since even smaller times.  4th grade, people.) of The Flyin' A's for dinner at The Highball (one stop shopping, people.  Dinner and show.) and her lovely friend, Laura.  

Add in my trip to College Station today, and I am beat like a kickdrum.

So, as this almost a "No Post" day, here's Julie Adams menaced by our fishy friend, The Creature from The Black Lagoon.

Working Man Superman or Hipster Superman?

Young people these days...  
...no respect for history.

I've now read a few articles wherein reviewers or the reader described Superman as a "hipster" in the new Action Comics #1.  Apparently the wardrobe of jeans, t-shirt and work-shoes is being taken by younger readers than myself as intentional code for Superman having been into saving the day since before that went mainstream and got lame.

Here and here for a couple of examples.*

look at this F'ing hipster

This is, of course, the third or fourth or fifth go-round in a year where folks freaked the heck out over Superman not appearing as the regular old Superman they're used to (and which had become a party pinata of derision).

1)  Superman: Earth One - remember the "hoodie controversy"?  Wherein it was suggested that the young Clark Kent (was he even 21?) wearing a hoodie was clearly emulating Edward from Twilight and had gone "emo"?  Le sigh.
2)  The image above, revealing Superman's new look for the start of Action Comics, which nobody at the time referred to as "hipster" but as "whut?"  Truthfully, I thought the image was symbolic and was surprised when it became the actual look for issue #1.
3)  When DC revealed the new costume for upcoming issues of Superman without the red underwear and kids looking at the image fixated on the fact that the costume design had detail around the knee and proceeded to freak out that Superman supposedly had knee pads (he doesn't.  They literally saw it wrong.).
4)  The new movie costume, which is a significant departure from the comics.
5)  And now... Superman: Hipster

Its a curious bit of what I am inclined to believe are different readings by different generations looking at the same totems.  Absolutely nothing about jeans, t-shirt and durable work shoes says "hipster" to me (if Superman had an ironic mustache and Kanye sunglasses, we could have that discussion).  Instead, I see "working class joe" or "the worker", which is what I assume anyone of my generation or older would conclude, and something that, it occurs to me, younger readers may have few media-created images or references to draw upon.

More of the New 52 - First Week - First Impressions (Swamp Thing, Static, Men of War, OMAC)

We've already covered some of the New 52 in a previous post, and discussed Action Comics #1 at length.

In this installment, we'll discuss OMAC, Men of War, Static and Swamp Thing.

OMAC - written by Dan Didio and Keith Giffen, this title resurrects the Kirby creation from Kirby's reunion with DC and DC's decision to let Kirby pretty much do whatever the hell he wanted to do.  Like a lot of Kirby's work post-1960, its almost impossible to ignore the sheer energy of that series and to want to capture some of the residual energy of that era that's still rippling through the DCU 30-odd years later.  

I was not going to pick up this comic as what little I've read by Dan Didio hasn't been my cup of tea, and I wasn't really sure I needed another swing at OMAC, after reading the painfully bad Bruce Jones OMAC series circa 2006.  And I'm not entirely sold on this series yet.  Didio and Giffen are trying very hard to summon the spirit of Kirby in pacing, dialog and design...  but in 20 pages, pretty much nothing happens and I know less about this OMAC than I knew going into the issue.  I suppose there's supposed to be a mystery here, but much like Justice League #1, it feels like the first few minutes of a movie intended to draw you in, but in this case, its not fan-favorite characters like Batman and Green Lantern, its a new, blue OMAC just tearing up Cadmus.  

What's most puzzling is that, no doubt, Didio is the primary architect behind the DC Relaunch and has the most to gain and lose based upon the success of the effort.  And yet...  I have no idea what a "new" reader would think about this issue.  Unlike the original OMAC, we don't meet the face behind the mohawk until the end of the issue, and then, its a blank slate.  I just don't know if this was a particularly compelling first issue.

9/11 post - 10th anniversary

It would be remiss not to acknowledge the events of September 11th, 2001.

But I don't know what to write about it.

Like all of you, I can tell a long story about where I was, and how it affected me personally.  I think these stories are important.  They're how we know the event happened as something other than images on a TV screen or in a headline.

I've told the story before, and I'll likely tell it again sometime, but not here or today.  Its just what happened to me and to Jamie.  It is not what happened in New York or at The Pentagon or in Pennsylvania.  And its not what happened in the days following, with candlelight vigils, American flags hanging from housefronts, and calm unity and certainty in the face of not just tragedy but of absolute and frightening change to how we thought about the world.

This is where I stop, because in reviewing the timeline, I'll start rambling on, and I strongly suspect that our visions of the world will differ, and I don't want to have that conversation.

The world didn't begin or end on 9/11/2001.  It changed.  And like a lot of changes (something we aren't very well equipped at dealing with in a single generation), the world changed enough that we had a chance to reveal ourselves, and for a short while, we were okay, and we got through it.  We remembered that emergency personnel are true heroes, that soldiers go to war for us, and that the civilization we've built will always have some on the outside who will crash against the walls.  That was for a while, and like all changes, this one showed new sides to us that we've not yet reconciled.

This isn't the place for anything else to write on the topic.  No doubt, you'll have skipped this or breezed through it, along with a thousand other 9/11 memorials and tributes that will pass by you today.

I don't know what to think about.  The victims, most certainly.  The first responders, absolutely.  The hi-jackers?  Why they were there and a half-century of policy most of us think about once or twice a year?  A strange man in a cave that we've finally killed a decade later?  The line from there to now and the thousand things I never guessed I'd see?

The fact that in 100 years this date may well be forgotten?  Or that this date in 2111 may well be remembered just enough to be used by mattress stores to discount their wares?

I don't know.  I know we'll see a hell of a lot of replays of footage I watched over and over 10 years ago, and I'll be able to remember sitting in a hotel room on the bed, uncertain of what was live and what was replay and watching the still aircraft on the tarmac for days, wanting to see them move and not wanting to see a solitary plane in the sky.

Some movies I should have commented upon

A Kiss Before Dying - Its hard to watch this movie without thinking how its been emulated a 1000 times over since this movie was released.  Its not a bad movie, and it features Robert "Yeah, totally THAT guy" Wagner as our heavy.

The Red Shoes - People had kittens when this move was restored, and that was the first time I think I'd heard of it.  I missed its theatrical release but caught the movie on cable this week.  A movie that I was expecting to be "good" turned out to be truly a great movie.  Just masterfully handled.

yes, its a movie about ballet, but... uh... yeah, its a tough guy movie with, uh aliens and helicopters and stuff, too.  Totally my usual thing.

Kiss Me Deadly - Man, this is the strangest damned movie I've seen in a long, long time.  50% detective, 25% celebration of sociopath, 20% noir and 5% sci-fi, of all the damned things.  I have very mixed feelings on this movie, but its really hard to ignore.

In a Lonely Place - Bogart and Gloria Grahame, directed by Nicolas Ray.  Its filed under noir, and I think I can see why, but its a great thriller/ character study and gets past the veneer of most noir and can feel almost awkward in parts as the characters tumble into distrust and their own miscommunications.

"Batmanning": ridiculous, genius or BOTH?

I have to admit, I never really bit on the whole "planking" thing.  It made me feel uncomfortable about my tragic lack of core strength.

But dangling by one's ankles?  AKA:  "Batmanning"?  That I can get behind.

I mean, technically, I don't think Batman hangs upside down by his ankles too often, but I also never played Arkham Asylum, so you guys tell me.

But here's some guys at Purdue showing us how its done:

Maybe it should be called "Draculaing"?
No, that's stupid.
BATMANNING, ya'll!

So, what are other folks saying about the New 52?

What are some of our friends out there in the vastness of Cyberspace saying about the New 52?

Noah Kuttler reviews a whole handful of DC books in one shot.


The Kryptonian has been doing some ongoing coverage:

Action Comics #1 

Batgirl #1 and some more Batgirl coverage 

Gerry at Not Just Otaku takes a look at several releases


Superman 101 has started taking a look with Action Comics 1. Its a daily blog, so check back often (and add it to your feeds. I did, and I'm a better man for it.).

If you've got a link and I didn't post it, send it along or post in the comments!  We'll be doing updates often.

Guest Post! CanadianSimon Reviews Some of DC's New 52

As part of our ongoing coverage of DC Comics' New 52 release-a-stravaganza, we're opening the lines to the faithful Signal Corps and asking you to pitch in with your own reviews (it ain't too late).  

Simon MacDonald is a software developer by day, a comics omnivore by night, and a devoted reader of all kinds of books during the moments the rest of us would waste time sleeping or blinking or something.  He's a proud father and husband, and he still finds time to run and seek the perfect cup of coffee.  

He's got a great perspective on comics new and old, and its always fun when he shows up in the comments or volunteers a Guest Post.  

He took some time off from making Android apps and his own blog to send us the post below.

take, it Simon!

Well's it been awhile since I've gone to my LCS to pick up an actual comic instead of a trade. I've not purchased a new release floppy since Thor: The Mighty Avenger was cancelled and I haven't purchased multiple new release floppies in a long, long time.

That's all changed with this weeks release of thirteen new #1 issues four of which I'm picking up hard copies of and depending on word of mouth I may pick up even more when the digital price drops by $1 in a month.  Here are my thoughts on the books as I read them in the scientific alphabetical order:

Animal Man #1  written by Jeff Lemire pencils by Travel Foreman

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!

Frankly I was blown away by this first issue. This is a master class on how to introduce a character to a bunch of new readers. I can see people who've never read an Animal Man book enjoy this just as much as folks who are fans of Grant Morrison's turn on the title.

The first page is a magazine interview which nicely catches up readers on the history of Buddy Baker, Animal Man. Some people don't like prose piece in their comics but I don't have a problem with it as long as it is used properly and in this case it's a perfect fit.

We are introduced to Buddy's wife Ellen, son Cliff and daughter Maxine and we get a really great scene in the kitchen setting up the tension between Buddy's role as a family man and being a super hero. From there Buddy must stop a kidnapping which serves as an excellent forum to explain and showcase his powers.

The balance of the book then sets up a number of plot points where we see that Buddy may have a problem with his powers, there seems to be something rotten with the "Red" the morphogenic field where Buddy can access his various animal attributes and finally Maxine seems to be coming into some powers of her own. 

There is a certain horror aspect here that really sets me on edge. As a Dad I'm always worried about my kids and stories like Poltergeist, The Shinning and Locke & Key where the kids are in danger really, really make an impact on me.

 Lemire succeeds in making me bite on this book, hook line and sinker. On my first read I wasn't too sure about Travel Foreman's pencils but on subsequent reads I'm really digging the creepy vibe he's able to give the book.  I'm going to have to contact my LCS and tell them to put this on my pull list permanently.