Here is an “infographic” showing the evolution of Batman’s sidekick, Robin. Notice the presence of Nightwing, Red Hood, and other iterations of their Post-Robin identities…
The Evolution of Batman’s Sidekick, Robin
Batman/Big Bang Theory Mashup
With the passing of the late, great Carmine Infantino, attention is once again turning to his iconic superhero creations, The Flash, Black Canary, and, of course, the ever-popular Batgirl. Infantino co-created Barbara Gordon as Batgirl in 1967 at the request of the producers of the Batman television show.
Yvonne Craig as Batgirl
Batgirl went on to become of Carmine Infantino’s best known characters. Whether she was the TV character played by Yvonne Craig, or the newer version written by the great comics writer Gail Simone, Batgirl continues to be one of the most popular of DC Comics’ characters.
Batgirl
Recent news/rumors about the resignation of Joshua Hale Fialkov from DC Comics has prompted quite a bit of gossip and speculation as to the reason. Word on the street (Yancy Street, of course), has it that Fialkov was asked by DC to kill off the popular Green Lantern character John Stewart. The potential death of one DC’s top African-American characters has not been established as accurate, but it does bring up the question of a possible pruning as it were, of the Green Lantern family tree.
There have been several Earth-based or human Green Lanterns, all but one of whom belong to the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps run by the little blue guys on Oa (you know, the Guardians of the Universe).
So, if one must die (for now anyway), which Green Lantern do YOU think should go?
Hal Jordan Green Lantern the Animated Series
Green Lantern John Stewart animated
Guy Gardner Punched by Batman
Green Lantern Kyle Rayner
Original Green Lantern Alan Scott
Comment below on who you think should be killed off.
Hal Jordan Green Lantern the Animated Series
With the news that the animated Green Lantern series is coming to a close, a few words on this entertaining take on one of our favorite green-clad DC superheroes.
When I started watching this show, my impression was a bit negative. It went something like this: “What, they are sticking him into space? No earth-bound stories? No hot Carol Ferris plotlines? No cross-overs with other DC heroes? (I really wanted a Green Arrow crossover).
At first, while I liked the animation and the general character of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern as presented in the show, I was unhappy with the emphasis on GL’s role as a member of the Green Lantern Corps. On the good side, Kilowog’s personality really shone, and the relationship he has with Hal Jordan was a major plus for the show. The introduction of Razer as a member of the Red Lanterns and his subsequent progression from foe to friend of Hal Jordan and Kilowog provided an ongoing emotional spectrum for the show.
Kilowog
In many ways, this cartoon was an inter-galactic buddy movie, somewhat reminiscent of the old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby shows, with Kilowog thrown in for good measure (or is it more like the Three Stooges? Or the Three Musketeers? Hmmmm…). With plenty of space-combat action, this tale of three misfits who basically stole a high-powered spaceship (and didn’t it resemble a smaller version of the USS Enterprise?), made for a pretty engaging show. But the character and subsequent plotlines that really had me hooked was Aya!
Aya was the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that navigated the stolen Green Lantern ship. As time went on, Aya developed a real personality, eventually taking a robotic form very similar to Razer’s dead wife. An emotional bond developed between Aya and Razer, with nearly catastrophic consequences. In the end, by the season (and, as it turns out, the series) finale, Aya was found to be a sentient, LIVING being, just in time for her to disintegrate in Razer’s loving arms.
Aya and Razer
The show had me hooked. I DVR’d it every Saturday, and absorbed the story of Razer and Aya. Only in retrospect, after hearing the show had been cancelled, did I really sit down and think about the show and what it represented. Buddy movie; On the Road with colored rings; love story; a Star Wars/Star Trek/Lantern mashup; love and hate; Razer and Aya.
One probable problem for the show was that, toward the end especially, the emphasis of the show was the relationship between Razer and Aya. Hal Jordan and Kilowog, the two Green Lanterns of the show’s title, were in effect, sidemen to the main event. Yeah, Hal Jordan’s human unpredictability and refusal to follow the rules usually saved the day, but the emotional heart of the show was the red guy and the robot. In a sense, that was good, but in another sense, it may have hurt the show, as people probably tuned in to see Green Lantern, and ended up in the Red Lantern’s Robot Romance.
Regardless of the direction the show took, it was well worth watching, and discovering it had been cancelled made me mad. Hopefully, the Guardians of the Animated Galaxy (the little blue guys in Hollywood, not the ones on Oa), will see the error of their ways and return to us the continuing story of Hal Jordan, Kilowog, Razer, and the sweet, lovely and incredibly destructive Aya.
Aya
Astro City 2013
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City will return to publication with DC comics beginning in June, 2013. In his interview with MTV Geek, Busiek, who is arguably one of the best comics writers alive, revealed that the entire original creative team for Astro City, including himself, the great Alex Ross, John Roshell, Comicraft, Alex Sinclair, and Brent Anderson, will all return for the newest run of Astro City.
Astro City takes place in, you guessed it, a metropolis called Astro City, which has costumed heroes, villains, and as well as super-powered individuals who chose to not become part of the spandex set.
Check out the Kurt Busiek interviews at Newsarama and at MTV Geek.
Check out the survey below on what you enjoy most about Comic Cons and Comic Shows:
Emerald City Comicon Cosplay 2013
Here we are, once again at Emerald City Comicon (ECCC), the 2013 edition of the uber-popular pop-culture event in Seattle. This is our fourth time coming to this event held at the Washington State Convention Center. But this is the first time we have come on opening day, which this year is Friday, March 1, 2013. Oh boy, it was hard getting in and turning the tickets (purchased online through Eventbrite), for the Northwest’s top comics event.
Emerald City Comicon 2013
Now, having never arrived on opening day before, I foolishly thought it would be like coming in to ECCC on Saturday morning like in past year. Yes, I knew that ECCC 2013 was sold out, but so what, how many people would show up on day 1?
When the neon-green clad ECCC Minions (volunteers who make the whole shebang work), pointed to the line going up the escalator, I figured, “Oh, it won’t take too long to get in…”
About an hour later we were in, after having gone up the escalator, the line was directed out the door into the outside smoking area, thence through the famed Freeway Park (aptly named, as it is a park literally built over the teeming traffic of I-5), and then back again into the Convention Center (past the smokers again), and then, finally into the cavernous room that, from past experience, I knew our actual ECCC passes resided. Thankfully, the weather was a balmy 57 degrees with an overcast sky. For Seattle in the winter, having the line snake through an outdoor park for at least a half hour was a big risk. No rain today (actually it did rain in the morning, but not while we were in line), so ECCC lucked out. Or they had Storm of the X-Men standing by like a good little weather witch.
Once inside the Con, I could tell that they had changed up the layout of vendors, artists, writers, comic dealers, and other booths from past years. At first it was a bit disconcerting, but as we walked around and saw the logic of the floor plan, it appeared to be an improvement. The walkways seemed wider, and bumping into people (and aliens, heroes, villains, clones, and the occasional Sith), was not as frequent as at past ECCCs.
Normally when visiting comic conventions, we like to throw in pics of cosplayers for your enjoyment, but some numbskull (me), forgot to check the battery level of the camera.
More reports and (hopefully), a lot more photos will be posted tomorrow. Excelsior!
Okay, most of my posts and tweets on cosplayers at the Wizard World Portland show are on rather sexy females. Well, I am male, so sue me. But, the best overall custume seen at the Portland show has to be be this version of Galactus! Note the world in his hand, and the little Silver Surfer off of his left shoulder. That was a fabulous detail that just added to the depth and complexity of this world-eater’s outfit.
Galactus Cosplay Portland 2013
Another great costumed cosplayer at the Portland Wizard World con was this cute rendition of a female Hellboy. Should we call her Hellgirl?
This really was a very good custume.
Hellboy-Hellgirl at Wizard World Portland 2013
