#Joe Hudlin

[kemetic-dreams]

Robin Hughes Harris (August 30, 1953 – March 18, 1990) was an American comedian and actor, known for his recurring comic sketch about "Bé-bé's Kids". He was posthumously nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in film House Party.

Robin Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1961, the family moved to Los Angeles, where he attended Manual Arts High School. Harris then attended Ottawa University in Kansas. According to The Washington Post, "...in the funeral program was a picture of him as a lean high school track star. He earned an athletic scholarship to Ottawa University in Kansas, and he never gave up playing basketball."

During this time, he began to hone his craft of comedy. He worked for Hughes Aircraft, a rental car company, and Security Pacific Bank to pay his bills. In 1980, he debuted at Los Angeles' Comedy Store.

During the mid-1980s, Harris worked as the master of ceremonies at the Comedy Act Theater. His "old school" brand of humor began to gain him a mainstream following. Harris made his acting debut playing a bartender in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988). Harris also had roles in 1989's Do the Right Thing and Harlem Nights. Harris played the father of Kid in House Party (1990). He followed up later that year with a small role as a jazz club MC in Mo' Better Blues.

In Harris' "Bé-bé's Kids" routines, Harris' girlfriend Jamika would insist that he take her son and her friend Bé-bé's three children with them on a date, as she continually agreed to babysit them. The children would regularly make a fool out of and/or annoy Harris. "We Bé-bé's kids", they would proclaim, "we don't die...we multiply."

The Hudlin Brothers had intended to make a feature film based upon the "Bé-bé's Kids" sketches, but Harris died while the film was in pre-production. Bébé's Kids instead became an animated feature. It was directed by Bruce W. Smith and featured the voices of Faizon Love (as Harris), Vanessa Bell Calloway, Marques Houston, Nell Carter, Jonell Green, Rich Little, and Tone Lōc.

In the early hours of March 18, 1990, Harris died in his sleep of a heart attack in the hotel room of his hometown Chicago's Four Season Hotel after performing for a sold out crowd at the Regal Theater, at the age of 36. At the time of Harris's death, his wife was pregnant with their son, Robin Harris, Jr., who was born six months later, in September 1990.

In 2006, a posthumous DVD, titled We Don't Die, We Multiply: The Robin Harris Story (2006), was released. The film features never-before seen performances by Harris and accolades from such contemporaries as Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer, D. L. Hughley, Robert Townsend, and Joe Torry. The film features a rap performed and dedicated to Harris by his son, Robin, Jr.

#african #afrakan #kemetic dreams #africans #brownskin #brown skin #afrakans #robin hughes harris #bebe kids #rich little #dl hughley #martin lawrence #bernie aber

[greensparty]

BEST DOCUMENTARIES OF 2022

Documentary as a genre can encompass any medium: feature film, TV mini-series, or even podcasts. Here are my picks for the best Docs of the year:

Honorable Mentions:    

Meet Me in the Bathroom  Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern

Nothing Compares  Kathryn Ferguson

Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99  Jamie Crawford

George Carlin’s American Dream  Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio

The Beatles and India  Ajoy Bose and Peter Compton

Freedom Uncut  David Austin and George Michael

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, A Song  Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine

Sidney  Reginald Hudlin

10. Back to the Drive-In  April Wright

9. Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres  Suzanne Joe Kai

8. Is That Black Enough for You?!?  Elvis Mitchell

7. Claydream  Marq Evans

6. If These Walls Could Sing  Mary McCartney

5. Stutz  Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill sits down with his therapist for a doc about the therapist and his approach, that is insightful and thought-provoking.

4. The Pez Outlaw  Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel

This profile of a man who smuggled rare Pez dispensers into America in the 90s and made millions is so crazy and outlandish you need to see it to believe it!

3. Moonage Daydream  Brett Morgen

Morgen’s doc about David Bowie was made with the Bowie Estate and had some rare footage of the rock legend, but it was really the sci-fi approach to the subject that made this electric!

2. Good Night Oppy  Ryan White

The inspirational story of Opportunity, the Mars rover that was expected to live 90 days and explored Mars for 15 years, was the big screen Event Movie of documentaries in 2022!

1. Last Flight Home  Ondi Timoner

Ondi turned the camera onto her father Eli Timoner towards the end of his life with a cinema vérité account of the family confronting death. This went beyond a movie or a documentary and was truly an emotional life experience that was captured on film by one of the people experiencing it. Nothing but respect and admiration for Ondi and her brave filmmaking at such a time.

#best of 2022 #lists #nothing compares #trainwreck: woodstock '99 #george carlin's american dream #the beatles and india #george michael freedom uncut #hallelujah: leonard cohen a journey a song #back to the drive-in #like a rolling stone #is that black enough for you #claydream #if these walls could sing #stutz #the pez outlaw #moonage daydream #good night oppy #last flight home #sidney #meet me in the bathroom #documentary #film geek

[jmovielover]

Disney+ Originals (Part 4)

Godmothered (December 4 2020) "An inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training tries to prove that people still need fairy godmothers." (Directed by Sharon Maguire)

Safety (December 11 2020) "Aided by his teammates and the community, Clemson University football player Ray McElrathbey succeeds on the field while simultaneously raising and caring for his 11-year-old brother, Fahmarr." (Directed by Reginald Hudlin)

Soul (December 25 2020) "Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz -- and he's good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul." (Directed by Pete Docter)

WandaVision (January 15 2021-March 5 2021; Miniseries) "Living idealized suburban lives, super-powered beings Wanda and Vision begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems." (Developed by Jac Schaeffer)

Flora and Ulysses (February 19 2021) "An imaginative and creative 10-year old cynic never could have predicted that her little squirrel would be born anew as a superhero and have the uncanny knack for helping her and the lovable but broken people in her life." (Directed by Lena Khan)

#disney+ originals

[deadlinecom]

[brettsinger]

American Flagg! and More

My guest this week is comedian Al Bahmani! Spoilers for Black Adam and American Flagg. What nationalities would enjoy the Black Adam movie? What is the comic American Flagg! about? What does Howard Chaykin do every year? What did TV shows did Gerry Conway write for? And J. Michael Straczynski? What characters did Gerry Conway create? What's wrong with Superman movies? What should Zack Snyder be directing? Who is Hitman? What's a good way to get rid of comic books? What did Amazon do to Comixology? What is the Hoopla app? Why won't George RR Martin ever finish Game of Thrones? What is Six String Samurai? Who should do a movie of The Spirit?

(Long) Reading list: American Flagg! https://amzn.to/3Xn0DFk

Wild Cards novels, some comics https://amzn.to/3D5qEAO

Tuf Voyaging by George RR Martin https://amzn.to/3XJ3oQZ

The Armageddon Rag by George RR Martin https://amzn.to/3GWrktF

Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel by Reginald Hudlin, Aaron McGruder and Kyle Baker https://amzn.to/3XH6rdb

King David by Kyler Baker https://amzn.to/3XJ0Xy6

Contract with God trilogy by Will Eisner https://amzn.to/3J4hyby

Old Shazam! comics

The Cold Equations (also Twilight Zone episode) https://amzn.to/3QWid0l

Pre Alan Moore Swamp Thing

John Ostrander Suicide Squad https://amzn.to/402dLBE

Hitman by Garth Ennis https://amzn.to/3kx6cTa

Issue #13 of Hitman Zombie Night at the Gotham Aquarium

Issue #34 of Hitman, Superman story

Hellblazer by Garth Ennis https://amzn.to/3GTmdu9

Preacher https://amzn.to/3wjozha

The Kingdom by Mark Waid https://amzn.to/3XKA0tH

The Boys https://amzn.to/3WrUXZl

The Foot Soldiers https://amzn.to/3J376Rq

Unknown Soldier by Garth Ennis https://amzn.to/3J0ajRS

Powers https://amzn.to/3QT6U9k

Once and Future by Kieron Gillen https://amzn.to/3J0j1zp

Young Avengers by Kieron Gillan https://amzn.to/3QWOB33

Uber by Kieron Gillan https://amzn.to/3wj9VGs

Avengers: The Children's Crusade https://amzn.to/3Xqo6Wf

D.P. 7 https://amzn.to/3HjFNB1

The Stars My Destination, novel and graphic novel https://amzn.to/3ZPAQHo

Google steve bissette rick veitch for a bunch of stuff

Klaus by Grant Morrison https://amzn.to/3kupGYv

Longshot by Ann Nocenti https://amzn.to/3wk6uzo

Fabian Nicieza X-Factor with Joe Quesada artwork https://amzn.to/3iPc4Xw

Watch list: Mo Amer - The Vagabond (comedy special, he was in Black Adam) https://www.netflix.com/title/80239503

Dealer's Choice Twilight Zone episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuxhcHiRDo

The Nightcrawlers Twilight Zone episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfGT4kzTevI

Once and Future King Twilight Zone episode (written by George RR Martin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6vdsmrNerI

Paladin of The Lost Hour Twilight Zone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdgpx_VtO30

Invincible https://amzn.to/3kzBJnh

Six String Samurai (full movie) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaPP00uNkNI

Check out Comics Who Love Comic Books!

#comic books #comics #comedians #comedy #marvel #dc #mcu

[folderolsoup]

Black Panther Annual #1 (2018)

Reginald Hudlin

Ken Lashley

Matt Milla

Joe Sabino

#black panther annual #black panther #namor #sub-mariner #reginald hudlin #ken lashley #matt milla #joe sabino #Marvel Comics

[tilde44]

can we get back to associating comic book superheroes with writers and artists, rather than dumb actors?

batman.  frank miller.  neal adams.  jim lee.  alan moore & brian bolland.

spider-man.  stan lee & steve ditko.  todd mcfarlane.  bendis & bagley.

captain america.  joe simon & jack kirby.  ed brubaker.

black panther.  priest.  reginald hudlin.  ta-nehisi coates.

wolverine.  chris claremont & frank miller.  larry hama.   barry windsor-smith.  adam kubert.

thor.  walt simonson.  jack kirby.

iron man.  no one gives a shit about iron man. 

#comics

[geekcavepodcast]

The History of Marvel Comics: Black Panther Trailer

Marvel and SiriusXM have partnered on a 6-episode documentary podcast all about Black Panther. The History of Marvel Comics: Black Panther will be hosted by Nic Stone. The podcast “explores the comic book origins of the Black Panther through conversations with the creators who shaped T’Challa’s journey, celebrates the innately Afro-Futuristic world of Wakanda, and analyzes the larger social impact of the character.” (Marvel Comics) Some of the creators featured on the podcast include Brian Stelfreeze, Christopher Priest, Don McGregor, Joe Quesada, John Ridley, John Romita Jr., Reginald Hudlin, and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The History of Marvel Comics: Black Panther launches on February 14, 2022. 

#black panther #history of marvel comics black panther #history of marvel comics #marvel podcast #nic stone #marvel #siriusxm #t'challa #wakanda #TGCLiz

[biggoonie]

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BY J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC

Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, PETER DAVID, REGINALD HUDLIN & JOE QUESADA Penciled by MIKE DEODATO JR., MARK BROOKS, RON GARNEY, TYLER KIRKHAM, JOE QUESADA, MIKE WIERINGO & PAT LEE Cover by MIKE DEODATO JR. ON SALE MARCH 2020 J. Michael Straczynski concludes his Amazing run — and everything changes for Spider-Man! First, Spidey gets some new digs — but can he stand living with the New Avengers? In the shocking story line “The Other,” the vicious Morlun takes Spider-Man to the brink of death — and beyond! If Peter Parker has any hope of surviving, he has two choices: evolve or die! Then, Civil War erupts — and things really get wild! Spidey in red-and-gold armor! Spidey back in black! And Spidey unmasked in front of the world! But brace yourself for the big finish: As Aunt May lays dying, what would Peter and MJ give for One More Day? Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) #515-545, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN (2005) #1-4 and #24, MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN (2004) #19-22, SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN (2006) #41, SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SKETCHBOOK and SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY SKETCHBOOK. 1136 PGS./Rated T+ …$125.00 ISBN: 978-1-302-92313-6 Trim size: oversized

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BY J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC GARNEY VARIANT (DM ONLY) 1136 PGS./Rated T+ …$125.00 ISBN: 978-1-302-92434-8

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BY J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC QUESADA VARIANT (DM ONLY) 1136 PGS./Rated T+ …$125.00 ISBN: 978-1-302-92435-5

#Spiderman

[meccacon]

Guests for the 7th annual MECCAcon 2020 #MECCAcon2020 include :: N Steven Harris Greg A. Elysée Brandon Thomas Newton Lilavois Kenesha Williams Khary Randolph Sebastian A. Jones Chuck DragonBlack Collins Dorphise Jean/ Diana Lee Aiesha Little Reggie Hudlin Ka'ramuu Kush Dewunmi Roye Okupe David Walker Ezra Claytan Daniels Milton Davis Troy-Jeffrey Allen Nick Allen Joe Illidge Keithan Jones TaLynn Kel Nicole Smith Shenequa Golding Bill Johnson Michael Flood Lynne Marie Tyrone Jackson Brian Johnson Larry Stroman Games on Krack's Krack & Slapz Tony Puryear Shawn Alleyne +++++ More details to come in the following months. STAY TUNED, cuz EYE don't eeem know yet, lol. I do know that if you're reading this, I'm sincerely grateful that you're still among us in the physical. - Maia Crown Williams, founder/CEO, Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts - MECCA & MECCAcon IFF. bit.ly/meccacon2020 sketch still loading... 💻 📱 #MECCAcon2020 illustration by none other than @nstevenharris 🏆 this is just a rough sketch... but DAMN!! 🖤#crescentcitymonsters #ajalaaseriesofadventures #isnanathewerespider #comiccon #blackindiecomics #blackindie #blackcomics #blackfilm #blackgamers #blackfilmmakers #blackchefs #blackgardeners #blackBLACKNESS 💪🏿 #snakeplant #monstera #birdofparadise 🌱 https://www.instagram.com/p/CAN9ChXJflv/?igshid=rgzog01fpfmi

#meccacon2020 #crescentcitymonsters #ajalaaseriesofadventures #isnanathewerespider #comiccon #blackindiecomics #blackindie #blackcomics #blackfilm #blackgamers #blackfilmmakers #blackchefs #blackgardeners #blackblackness #snakeplant #monstera #birdofparadise

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of September 4th, 2019

Best of this Week: House of X #4 - Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia and Clayton Cowles

No More.

Mutants have been made to suffer time after time after time because humans fear change and their inevitable obsolescence. Two of the greatest mutant extinction events have been the result of either human fear or absolute ignorance. In New X-Men (2001) we saw the utter destruction of Genosha by Bolivar Trask’s Sentinels, a massacre that resulted in the deaths of sixteen million mutants over the course of a single day. This left only a little under one million mutants left until House of M (2005) after which Wanda Maximoff decimated the mutant population, leaving only one hundred and ninety-eight left.

Thanks to the work of Moira MacTaggert and Charles Xavier with Krakoa, the mutant population is returning to normal levels and is looking to absolutely eclipse humanity in a short time span. Of course, humanity doesn’t take this too well, causing the Orchis Organization to activate itself, so it’s up to Cyclops and his band of Mutants to cast the enormous Mother Mold (a sentient machine that would create Master Molds to create Sentinels) into the blasted sun.

This issue was nothing short of heartbreaking.

Jonathan Hickman is doing something amazing with this book by showing just how strong the need for preservation is between both sides. In the last issue, one of the security team members for the Orchis station blew himself up in an effort to preserve a future where humans would be the dominant species. He wasn’t thinking about himself or his future with his wife, Dr. Gregor, the head of the station. He only wanted to ensure that The X-Men couldn’t stop the Mother Mold from being activated.

Scott’s team, now only consisting of Marvel Girl, Monet, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Mystique soldier on after Husk and Archangel are killed in the explosion. Nothing was going to stop them from completing the mission and they absolutely did, but not without each of them being killed in the process. I don’t feel the need to place a spoiler tag here because I have no doubt that either, some of the first issue of House of X takes place in the future and that they will all be reborn or that somehow they will be brought back to life as they will appear in other upcoming X-Series. 

Pepe Larraz absolutely killed this issue with his art alongside Marte Gracia and Clayton Cowles. Every single page has the feeling of large scale epicness to them from the vast emptiness of Krakoa’s Observation room to the different locales of the Mother Mold Base. When Mother mold itself floats into the Sun, quoting it’s own version of the Prometheus myth, it looks enormous at first and slowly descends into the much larger and grander sun. Gracia’s colors are absolutely beautiful as almost everything is bathed in the beautiful glow of the sun. Monet’s red skin shines even brighter as the cuts her way through Orchis security, Nightcrawler and Wolverine’s burning bodies create the perfect ash contrasted by the glowing blue eyes of Mother Mold as Wolverine cuts away the last anchor keeping it on the station and Karimas shining silver arms stand above Cyclops, coated in purple nanobot defeat, as the last thing we see from his visor’s reflection is Dr. Gregor aiming her gun in his face. 

Gracia’s colors are vibrant and help to make Larraz’s lines even more beautiful. They make excellent use of cool blue tones for the few scenes that take place in Krakoa, establishing the still peaceful nature of that location. The space station, however, is awash in heavy yellows and oranges that only set the tone for the book and its high tension, but also works to show us just how dire everything is for either side. It’s high pressure and high stakes. Gracia did a great job of giving things the proper amount of emotional weight through color where Larraz did through excellent facial expression and action.

Normally the brightness of the sun is supposed to represent a better future, but it’s hard to tell who this brighter future is for. The X-Men, ultimately, do win in this war for survival, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory. Karima, who we’ve seen standing beside Nimrod in the future, and Dr. Gregor stand in victory for this battle. Granted, we now that the future where Nimrod reigns has been nullified after Moira’s 10th death, it’s hard not to be afraid by Mother Mold’s ending proclamation and Gregor’s newfound bitter resolve.

Charles and the rest of Mutantkind can rest easy, but can they also live with the cost of what they’ve done if our predictions just so happen to be false? The purpose of Krakoa was to ensure that there would be no more needless mutant death, but in the wake of human fear, more have died. This isn’t like any other time where mutants have been killed and brought back to life years later. For some reason - it just feels heavier. Charles’ tear at the end, with Cowles amazing placement of a “No more” caption feels like a resolution. Charles Xavier is having no more death, not for any of his people and it is powerful.

---------------------------------------------------

House of X continues to be one of my most anticipated releases as the weeks go by. This story of death and rebirth keeps achieving new heights of amazing storytelling and even better art. Jonathan Hickman was the perfect choice to breathe new life into the X-Franchise as I don’t have any semblance of a clue what will be in store for the future of the X-Men.

What do the end pages of this issue mean? What will be the big fallout from the revelation of Powers of X #3? Will Pepe Larraz continue to be godlike in his presentation? We’ll find out next week in Powers of X #4.

Sometimes you just have to sit back and smell the roses. 

Runner Up: Fantastic Four #14 (Legacy #659) - Dan Slott, Paco Medina, Jesus Aburtov and Joe Caramagna

Growing up, I actually thought the Fantastic Four were pretty lame. They weren’t exactly high on my radar because they were a family of explorers, scientists and just general nerds. I got seriously into comics around the time their last book hit the shelves prior to all of the Disney/Fox nonsense and that really awful movie which soured me on them even more. Things changed when I began to read Secret War (2015) and realized that there was so much more that I was missing.

I scoured my stores for back issue and trade paperbacks of everything written by Jonathan Hickman, Mark Millar and Reginald Hudlin before seeking out the older stories by George Perez, John Byrne and Roy Thomas. I learned to love their love of science, adventure and family oriented stories, so when they finally made their Marvel return, I was excited and so far they’ve done nothing but impress. This particular issue is one of the best examples of how even just dialogue, dynamics and expressions can build a great foundation for a simple yet amazing story. 

The Fantastic Four have been everywhere. Other dimensions,hellscapes, universes and planets, but there's still one mission that they've never completed: their original flight to the stars. After a new gallery opens showcasing the original shuttle that they traveled on in all of its destroyed glory, Reed reminisces of that time with happiness. Ben listens to one of the original black box recordings as they were first getting hit by Cosmic Rays and he's overwhelmed with negative feelings. Two original Pilots for the space flight thank Johnny and Sue for taking their place, saying that they could have become monsters like Ben and Johnny becomes enraged with Sue having to calm him down.

These moments remind us of who these wonderful characters are and always have been. Reed is a scientific mind that's always looking to achieve more and better himself and his inventions. Ben still lives with the inner scars of his transformation despite being one of the most respected heroes in all of the Marvel Universe. Johnny is a hothead and Sue, his sister, has always been there to calm him down. The First Family have been there for each other forever, they know each other better than anyone else does. They care about each other.

Paco Medina captures each of their emotions in a Fantastic way with excellent facial expressions and body language accentuated by Jesus Aburtov's stellar colors. 

Reed stands tall as he marvels at the old shuttle with his kids, his face is full of pride and joy while they look mildly unimpressed. Later while he's working on specs for a new shuttle, we can see how focused he is, how determined. His fantastic beard shows how he's aged from his previous clean shaven self, but he's even more refined.

Ben remembers the original flight with trepidation and trembles as he remember his words when he was first becoming a rock monster. He stomps around in his normal grumpiness, but by the end, knowing that Reed, Sue and Johnny know and care about him so much, he smiles and eagerly helps them on their next journey. 

Johnny, being the hothead he is, does in fact show his anger as his eyes begin to turn orange after Ben is insulted, but we get an amazing flashback to when he was just a young adult in the shuttle program and the rigorous training that he was put through by Ben. This showcases just how much Johnny wanted to go to the stars and shows us how long he's been the ultra determined man that we know and love. Medina draws him going through the training with ease, only having space on his mind and the want to prove Ben and the other pilots wrong, becoming the youngest ever back up pilot in that universe.

Sue, being the ever loving sister, is the calm one as she gets Johnny to back off. She's radiant as a character and Medina portrays as her the linchpin of the family. She's the graceful one, drawn as serious as Reed, but with her normal beauty as well. She shows just how in love she is with her husband as he works on the specs and lays her head on his shoulder, smiling like she does in the flashback.

Nothing super action-y happens in this issue, in fact, one of the best moments is Johnny and Reed having a bonding moment working on the second shuttle. Both comment on how neither is using their powers to make the work easier and they share a laugh together. It's just a nice, warm moment between brothers-in-law doing something that they haven't been able to in years. It was at this time where I just fell in love all over again.

The Fantastic Four are more than just space adventures, aliens and Doctor Doom plots. They are a family in comics unlike any other. Where most teams are just friends that might hang out every once in a while, the FF are a family with a rich history and ever growing numbers with Franklin, Valeria and now Alicia Masters marrying Ben. The love is palpable and I wish I'd understood this for so many years prior. I can't wait for where this next adventure takes them, but I'm all for it.

#marvel comics #marvel #house of x #scott summers #charles xavier #jean grey #jonathan hickman #pepe larraz #marte gracia #xmen #x men #mutants #fantastic four #reed richards #mister fantastic #sue storm #invisible woman #ben grimm #the thing #johnny storm #human torch #dan slott #paco medina #jesus aburtov

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Did Spider-Man being married make finding big name writers hard (SPOILERS: no...)

One of the frequent arguments used against the Spider-Marriage was that it allegedly made high caliber writers unwilling to work on the series and/or made filling the role of writer difficult to do.

In particular Roger Stern’s unwillingness to work on the series due to Spider-Man being married and Ed Brubaker’s public frustration with how the marriage prevented him from writing a story he had in mind is cited to corroborate the above argument.

But let’s deconstruct that idea a little bit shall we.

Prior to the marriage’s introduction in 1987 there had been a total of four Spider-Man titles. Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team Up, Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man, which had replaced the cancelled MTU series. So for 25 years (Spider-Man was created in 1962) there was between 1-3 titles per month, 1-3 writing positions that needed to be filled.

And who filled these roles? Well a lot of people and I’m not going to list them all but broadly speaking (and prioritizing people with actual runs not fill in works or who only did side projects of annuals) we had:

Stan Lee

Steve Ditko

Gerry Conway

Roy Thomas

Bill Mantlo

Al Milgrom

Tom DeFalco

Roger Stern

Denny O’Neil

Marv Wolfman

Peter David

David Michelinie

Louise Simonson

Danny Fingeroth

Len Wein

Christopher Priest/Jim Owsley

That’s a lot of people and some HUGE names there. Of course some of those names got huge later on or else got huge ON their Spider-Man runs.

What was the state of affairs during 1987-2007, during the years the marriage was around?

Well if I recall correctly among the titles published in which the 616 married Peter Parker had an at least semi-recurring starring role we had ASM, Spec, Web, No Adjective Spider-Man (later rebranded Peter Parker: Spider-Man), Spider-Man Unlimited Volume 1 and 3, Spider-Man Team-Up, Marvel Team Up Volume 2, Marvel Team-Up volume 3, Spider-Man Family, Sensational Spider-Man, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man (later rebranded as Sensational volume 2), Webspinner’s: Tales of Spider-Man, Spider-Man’s: Tangled Web, New Avengers, and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Bear in mind this is excluding guest appearances, one shots, mini-series, annuals, What ifs, alternate universe appearances or flashback titles like Untold Tales of Spider-Man.

As you can see that is far MORE titles than in the 25 years preceding it. Now in the interests of fairness obviously those were not all published at the same time and some of those titles were anthologies wherein stories might not be set in the present day where Spider-Man was married...but most were.

In fact at any given time during the 20 years the marriage was in place there was always a minimum of 3 titles in publication and on some months in the 90s there could be as many as 5-7.

That is a lot of writing roles that need to be filled and on occasion writers would handle the chores on multiple books. But that was not the norm the majority of the time each book would have their own individual writer.

There was never ever an instance where there was a gap in the schedule that couldn’t be filled because there was just no writer available willing to work with the marriage, that just plain never happened.

Moreover looking at the glut of titles during those 20 years Marvel apparently felt confident enough that there WOULD be writers willing to work with a married Spider-Man because they drastically increased the amount of space about a married Spider-Man that needed to be filled. In particular there were multiple anthology books during those 20 years meaning there would be even more space per book that needed to be filled. 

But hey, that just tells us they found writers willing to plug those gaps. It doesn’t address the criticism that the marriage was turning away writers of high pedigree.

After all the unmarried Spider-Man had all those names I listed above work on his titles and after OMD he had the likes of Dan Slott, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Marc Guggenheim, Christos Gage, Chip Zdarksy and the guys from Jimmy Kimmel and Agent Carter!

Was the pedigree of writers during the marriage anywhere close to those guys?

Well we did have...

J.M. DeMatteis who during the marriage authored 3 all time classic Spider-Man stories, had an iconic Batman story and an iconic run on Justice League International that forever defined Blue Beetle and Booster Gold and continues to be influential to this day

Todd McFarlane co-creator of Venom, creator of Spawn, a founder of Image comics and the guy responsible for the highest selling Spider-Man comic book of all time

Acclaimed Playwright, showrunner of Riverdale and powerful editor of Archie comics Roberto Aguirre Sacasa

Gerry Conway, Co-creator of Firestorm, Killer Frost, regarded as the Goeff Johns of his day and oh yeah the guy who killed Gwen Stacy

David Michelinie co-author of the greatest Iron Man run of all time, co-creator of Scott Lang and Taskmaster and co-creator of Carnage and the most popular Spider-Man villain of all time, Venom

Tom DeFalco, editor-in-chief of Marvel and one of the two people who helped introduce Spider-Man’s iconic black costume.

Mark Millar co-creator of the Ultimate Marvel Universe specifically the Ultimates who became a major influence on the 2012 Avengers movie and MCU, such as the decision to cast Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Paul Jenkins, generally speaking acclaimed writer in particular on his work on Hellblazer/Constantine

President of Entertainment for Black Entertainment Television (BET) Reginald Hudlin

Acclaimed novel and comic book writer and author of the greatest run of the Incredible Hulk of all time, Peter David

Acclaimed science fiction writer and creator of Babylon 5 J. Michael Straczynski

Oh and by the way, among the people who did small projects or fill-ins were:

Ann Nocenti, acclaimed X-Men and Daredevil writer.

Roger Stern acclaimed Marvel writer, author of what many regard as THE greatest Doctor Doom story of all time and one of the greatest Spider-Man runs of all time where he created the Hobgoblin.

Acclaimed (for some reason beyond me) author and co-creator of The Boys Garth Ennis.

Once upon a time acclaimed and former Geek God Kevin Smith who was poised to be the main writer of Amazing Spider-Man once upon a time.

But that’s not all because want to know who ALMOST wrote for a married Spider-Man?

Acclaimed comic book writer on countless works and (for some reason) fan favourite Grant Morrisson, credited as authoring one of the best Batman runs and Superman stories of all time along with THE best Justice League run of all time.

But he isn’t even the biggest name who almost wrote Spider-Man. Because in the mid-1990s the then editors almost convinced a very big name creator to return to working on Spider-Man. Unfortunately he was turned off of the job when he saw Untold Tales of Spider-Man, a series about a teenage single Peter Parker.

His name is Steve Ditko.

You might remember his work as the creator of the Question, the second Blue Beetle, Doctor Strange and THE CO-CREATOR OF SPIDER-MAN HIMSELF!

Now I’m not saying every one of those marriage era writers did great jobs. I’m not even saying they were all necessarily great writers.

However all of them had a lot of prestige to them and either support from fan adoration or critical acclaim. 

And most of them probably could’ve turned the job of writing a married Spider-Man down if they wanted.

J. Michael Straczynski in particular did not need the job and had more than enough credibility to pick many of his projects.

He is without a shadow of a doubt the single most high profile writer to ever write for Spider-Man exempting Stan Lee himself.

And he not only accepted the job of writing a married adult Spider-Man he actively embraced both facts of the character’s existence. 

As did the author of the greatest Hulk run of all time, the co-author of the greatest Iron Man run of all time and the author of maybe the greatest Spider-Man story of all time.

So...it seems that being married didn’t make it particularly difficult to attract high profile ones.

But please, tell me again how Spider-Man being married was bad because we were turning away big name writers like the guy primarily known for resurrecting a long dead character, killing and resurrecting the hero and replacing the hero because screw originality I guess 

P.S. Wanna know another big name writer who didn’t agree with making Spider-Man unmarried?

This guy...

Who happened to create...this...

#Ed brubaker #is awesome but overrated #Spider-Man #mjwatsonedit #Mary Jane Watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #mj watson #Stan lee #Steve Ditko #Gerry Conway #peter dalglish #j. michael straczynski #Dan Slott #Peter David #J.M. DeMatteis #Mark Waid #game of thrones #george r.r. martin

[counting-to-10000]

Random Franchise Game of the Day 6/29/1927 g2

(...in which a Microsoft Excel function picks a random game in club history) Wednesday, June 29, 1927 (Game 2), at Chicago Indians 8, White Sox 6 Franchise Game 4,016 The Indians battered a pair of Hall of Famers, Red Faber and Ted Lyons, in beating Chicago 8-6. Trailing 6-0 after five innings, the Indians scored 5 in the sixth on five straight singles and two errors. Faber allowed the first four without recording an out and was removed from the game. Faber had pitched well through five, striking out three and allowing only two singles. Lyons relieved and was victimized by two errors, causing one Indians run to be unearned. With the White Sox still ahead 6-5, Lyons ran into more trouble in the eighth. Once again a string of base hits - two singles followed by two doubles - scored the last three runs. One of the doubles was hit by pitcher George Uhle, who was pinch hitting for pitcher Willis Hudlin. The double put his batting average at .326 for the season; he would finish .266 (21 for 79). Leading 1-0, the White Sox scored 5 in the bottom of the fifth to seemingly put the game away. Back-to-back triples highlighted the rally, and an error by Joe Sewell made only 1 of the 5 runs earned. Willis Hudlin, now 10-2 in his first full season in the majors, was the winner. It was the third straight day he pitched, going 3.1 innings as a starter on the 27th (game 1) and facing the final 2 batters on the 28th as the White Sox scored 3 in the bottom of the ninth to win 8-7. In this game he pitched one inning, retiring the side in order. The White Sox won game one, 5-0 as Ted Blankenship pitched a complete game. With the split the Indians were 31-37 and in sixth place, 17 games behind the Yankees. A 1-12 stretch against eastern teams July 8-18 helped ensure a sub .500 season. They finished 66-87, in sixth place, 43.5 games behind the Yankees. The White Sox were in third place at 39-32. They would slump to a final 70-83 record and fifth place, 4 games ahead of the Indians. Box

(originally posted by me on 3/7/22 to another blogging platform which shall remain nameless)

#June #1927 #Chicago White Sox

[deadlinecom]

[thisiscomics]

While T’Challa is in space/the future/all of the above, it looks like Shuri is here to give us our fix of modern day Wakanda.

Presumably conscious of the potential new audience that the Black Panther film may bring, this issue does a nice job of combining aspects of the two Shuris, so that both a comics and cinema audience can find themselves sufficiently familiar with the set up. This is perhaps not as tricky as with some other characters, since Shuri doesn’t have the same volume of comics history as other crossover characters might (created in 2005 during Reginald Hudlin’s Black Panther run, rather than 50 plus years ago), and a recent resurrection would be a convenient explanation for any significant changes, but to do this without making any obvious reference to changes is always a welcome way to tell a story in comics. A good story doesn’t need to tell us what has changed or why, as long as it is just a good story, something that the continuity obsessed section of comics seems to forget. There’s no real need to reconcile the two versions of Shuri, it’s more a question of paying attention to facets of her personality that were perhaps less prominent in previous appearances in such a way that new readers can recognise some of the qualities from the cinematic incarnation.

The colour palette in the story is another noticeable quality- in a scene like this, it’s quite apparent that the colour scheme is deliberately chosen to evoke the tones one would associate with an African country in terms of the patterns and cloths used for clothing. Like Ta-Nehisi Coates’s first volume of Black Panther, it seems a lot of effort is being put in to the book to make Wakanda feel like a real place, defining its look and textures, to make it something more than another comic book generic place- so often place names are made up to avoid using a real place, and then they are, for the most part, just the most stereotypical incarnation of the region that we know they are supposed to represent. And not just stereotypical, most often they have to be the worst incarnation of that stereotype, so that Latveria is, more often than not, not just ‘Eastern European Country’, it is ‘Eastern European Country, very rural, run by dictator, think Communism even though that’s been over for some time, and also strange accents, probably’.

With this history of fictional countries being ridiculously profiled by US prejudices, Wakanda was always at risk of being a terrible generic African country (’but not racist, because they have amazing technology, see?’), so this definition of society and culture is always enjoyable to see. To have creators putting the effort into fictional places the way authors do really has a positive effect on the story- there’s no need to go to the extremes of fantasy authors creating maps and several thousand years of history which they then want to infodump on readers to show that they have thought everything out, but the right level of background detail to give a sense of place is what is needed to ground the stories in a true sense of place. Given that the Panther is so connected to Wakanda, it would be wrong to not give the country its place as a background character in the stories of its people. In this issue you get a feel for the city and the landscape, as well as some of the traditions, and it seems that Wakanda is in good hands, both in the real world, with this creative team, and in the fictional world, with Shuri.

From Shuri 1, by Nnedi Okorafor, Leonardo Romero, Jordie Bellaire & Joe Sabino

#comics #marvel #shuri #black panther #nnedi okorafor #leonardo romero

[aion-rsa]

Milestone Animated Movie and More Take Center Stage at DC FanDome

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One of the most exciting traditions DC FanDome is developing is to blast out huge announcements about new Milestone projects, and this year has one of the best: Brandon Thomas, writer behind a whole crate of Aquaman comics (including the critically beloved Black Manta series with artist Chuck Brown) and the hit relaunch, Hardware Season One, has penned an animated feature based in Milestone home Dakota City.

“This has been the thing that Milestone fans have been dreaming about for a long time, and we’re happy to give it to you, finally,” said legendary artist, Milestone co-founder, and Hardware Season One artist Denys Cowan during the publishing line’s FanDome panel. Cowan told viewers that the Milestone animated movie would feature more than one character, hinting that the movie would establish the same broad scope of Dakota City that made the comics universe a fan favorite. 

That same comics universe has been resurgent since the first FanDome: digitized versions of the original comics have been making their way onto DC Universe Infinite, the DC Comics binge read app. And the whole line has been updated for modern times, with Season One relaunches for Icon & Rocket, Hardware, and Static releasing to great acclaim. 

The new Milestone publishing line is set to expand next year as well: the Milestone team is currently working on a Blood Syndicate book. The creative team has yet to be announced, but Icon & Rocket Season One has been hinting at introducing the super powered street gang, so news should be coming soon. 

Cowan and Milestone producer Reggie Hudlin also confirmed during the discussion that Season Two of the Milestone Universe would be forthcoming. It’s not especially surprising – fan response to the announcement of Season One of the Milestone Universe was so strong that the books were moved from digital only to simultaneous print and digital releases.

The biggest announcement (well, in the literal sense) of the Milestone panel is that February sees the release of a 1,300 page (!) collection of classic Milestone comics. Milestone Compendium #1 includes the first 12 issues of 1993’s Blood Syndicate (by the late Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr, Trevor Von Eeden, and ChrisCross); the first 10 issues of Icon from the same year (written by McDuffie, with art by M.D. Bright); the first 12 issues of Hardware (mostly by McDuffie and Cowan); the first 8 issues of Static (by McDuffie, Robert L. Washington III, and the late great John Paul Leon); the first 8 issues of Xombi (by John Rozum and Joe Brozowski; and Shadow Cabinet #0 (by McDuffie, Washington, and Leon). This doorstopper of a book is scheduled for release on February 1, 2022.

It’s a perfect way to get yourself caught up on the original Milestone universe, even as DC continues to build a new one. And they’ll be building that in part with The Milestone Initiative Development Program, a nine week storytelling training seminar with a mission to “ support and elevate emerging diverse writers and artists within the comic book industry” done in tandem with the Kubert School, “where participants can hone their storytelling skills and become the next wave of great comic book writers and artists.” 

“From its earliest years, representation, impact and mentorship have always been at the heart of Milestone Media, and we’re proud and excited to with DC, WarnerMedia and Ally on Next Generation DC and The Milestone Initiative, cultivating the next great wave of diverse storytellers,” said Milestone co-founder and iconic artist Denys Cowan.

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With all of these exciting announcements, Milestone may become a household name in the world of superhero publishing. 

The post Milestone Animated Movie and More Take Center Stage at DC FanDome appeared first on Den of Geek.

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