LUCIDMEDIA

Lucid Comics – June 3rd

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Thursday, 04 June 2009 13:59

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Lucid Comics – June 3rd
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Please note that this edition of Lucid Comics now comes with an interesting new feature: video comic reviews. This will be a regular staple for the column from now and with the next edition there will be further changes that I hope you’ll enjoy.

[Click Here To Go To Video]

In the News

Fans react to Andrews/Lodge engagement

The big news last week in comicdom had nothing to due with dark reigns or blackest nights, but it was still no less contentious. After a 67 year courtship, Archie broke the tie and officially made Veronica his one and only by proposing to her in the landmark Archie #600. Reaction was swift and split: “Thank God Archie didn't end up with a stock blonde, the generic housewife next door. At least Veronica has edge,” said Cassie, a Veronica supporter. “Veronica is going to make him sign a pre-nup,” countered a poster named “A Happier Place,” clearly a member of Team Betty.

But are academics reading too much into the end of this long-running fictional love triangle? You better believe they are. “People who vote for Veronica-Archie are the idealists, the people who say, ‘I'm voting for the glitz, the glamour, the high energy, the sexiness, the ideal [and] they might not even care so much that it'll only last five years,'” said the Toronto-based registered family, marriage and sex therapist to the Globe and Mail. Meanwhile, Feminist professor Maureen Bradley from the University of Victoria offered this perspective: “The spoiled rich girl is still more appealing, and maybe that's a wise thing to pick in these uncertain times.”

No word on when the big day’s going to be, but one reader with a sharp-memory for Archie continuity posted this glimmer of hope for Betty Backers on the Globe’s website. “I remember reading Jughead's first time travel adventure where he asks Jan Andrews who did Archie finally marry. She responds that he proposes one of the girls first but eventually changes his decision at the last moment. Don’t count Betty out of this yet!”

McDuffie fired from JLA

Dwayne McDuffie announced on his message board that he has indeed been removed as writer of Justice League of America he frequently complained about the behind the scenes decisions of DC Comics, and not because of fan reaction to his run on the DC super-team. “Nope, it was my own doing,” said McDuffie responding to a posted question about whether or not the fans had something to do with his ouster. “I'm told my removal had nothing to with either the quality of my work or the level of sales, rather with my revelation of behind-the-scenes creative discussions.”
He continued: “I have to say I'm a bit disappointed, because next summer was planned to feature a JLA-driven crossover, where my book's story line would have been the driving force. I'm distressed by where I left Black Canary, as my intention was to use the current subplot to strengthen her character and relationships with the new membership, and instead I'm leaving her at the bottom of a hole I'd intended to rebuild her from. I was also just about to get a regular artist for the first time since I've been on the book, which would have been nice. That said, I'm sure DC's going to put together a creative team that will generate major excitement around JLA, which is as it should be.”

DC Dan Didio revealed in his “20 Answers and 1 Question” interview on Newsarama last week that Len Wein was taking over as JLA writer at the end of McDuffie’s current arc. “As of right now, Len’s the writer of Justice League, and once his arc is done, we’ll be able to announce the new direction for the series.”

Captain Britain cancelled

A bit of old news, but no less important, it appears that Marvel has put an end to the adventures of British superhero team Captain Britain and MI:13. On his blog, writer Paul Cornell remarked, “As you may have noticed, there’s no solicitation today for #16 of Captain Britain and MI-13. That, unfortunately, is because #15 is the last issue. A lot of books end without a word from their creative teams, but, with Marvel’s blessing, I didn’t want that to be the case this time.” Although, the series has been a critical success, as well as developing a loyal following, its sales, unfortunately, haven’t been that impressive.

As a result, July’s issue #15 will be the series’ last, though it will come to some kind of natural conclusion according to Cornell. “While we didn’t know this would be the last arc until comparatively recently, I had it in mind that it was possible it would be from the time I started plotting it. Indeed, the end of this arc marks the end of what I had planned for the book when I started. One of the images right at the finish is what I always felt I was heading towards, and I’m very pleased I got there.” The last issue will hit the stands in July.

Comic 2 Film Report

Iron 2 Shoot Half Over

Iron Man director Jon Favreau, in one of his regular “tweets” from the set of Iron Man 2 recently remarked about reaching the halfway point in the shoot. Talking to Empire Magazine, Favreau discussed how the second film’s shaping up thematically. "Tony's expected to be a role model and I don't think he's ready to be one,” Favreau said. “He's under a great deal of pressure and when you're under pressure, I think you find outlets for that. That's one of the tensions of the film: it's one thing to say you're Iron Man, and another thing to actually become Iron Man." Meanwhile, Mickey Rourke talked about the physical demands of playing the villainous Whiplash. “I'm having the time of my life!" Rourke said. "It's been really brutal, because my Iron Man suit weighs 23lb. It's sort of a half-suit, with half my skin showing, with lots of Russian tattoos, because [Whiplash is just] out of a Russian-zone prison." Iron Man 2 comes out May 7th, 2010.

Reynolds, Deadpool Film Will Be ‘Just Like The Comic Books’

After getting shafted with the Bane treatment in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, actor Ryan Reynolds says that the anticipated Deadpool spin-off movie will be more in keeping with how the character’s portrayed in the comics. “I’m intimately involved with it,” Reynolds told HitFix. “It’s going to be just like the comic books. I’m going to have a messed up face and you may see some flashbacks of Wade earlier in his life, but primarily what you see is what you get in the comics and that’s the goal. And there is no better place to draw material from then the comics which are incredible.”

The film’s still in the early stages of development, but already rumours are circulating that Battlestar Galactica’s Starbuck, Katee Sackoff, will play the villainous Typhoid Mary, a character that was (sort of) portrayed in Daredevil spin-off Elektra by Natassia Malthe. But as Reynolds told IGN, the greatest villain in any Deadpool movie, is Deadpool himself. “There’s a lot you can do there, but you’ve got to ask, ‘Who’s the boss? Who’s the guy he’s going up against?’ But it’s breaking the fourth wall; it’s including all those things in a way that works, but it’s not nearly as hard as it sounds. It can really be done.”

One More Victory

Heath Ledger defied one last hurtle to complete awards season domination when his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight won the late actor Best Movie Villain at last Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards. But that was about all the love comic book based movies got from fans. The Dark Knight and Iron Man were both up for Best Movie but lost to Twilight while stars Christian Bale and Robert Downey Jr. lost the gold popcorn to Zac Efron for Best Male Performance in High School Musical 3. Finally, and perhaps most stingingly, The Dark Knight, along with Hellboy II: The Golden Army, lost Best Fight to, you guessed it, Twilight. A bit like getting beaten up by the school dweeb, isn’t it?