The Amazing Library-Man

(From deadspin.com)

NBC Picks Up David E. Kelley’s ‘Wonder Woman’, Michael Patrick King’s Drama BY NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 21, 2011 @ 7:39pm PST Email This Wonder Woman will fly this pilot season after all. New NBC entertainment president Bob Greenblatt capped a day of high-profile pilot pickups with a surprise order to David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman reboot. Additionally, he formally greenlighted another hourlong project from an A-list showrunner, Michael Patrick King’s Mann’s World. Both shows hail from Warner Bros. TV. Meanwhile, the commitment to the J.J. Abrams/WBTV-produced drama Odd Jobs starring Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn, whose script came in very late, is being rolled to next season when it will be applied to the same or new Bad Robot project. And Greenblatt has passed on the Josh Schwartz/WBTV supernatural drama Ghost Angeles starring Rachel Bilson. WBTV took Kelley’s Wonder Woman spec out to the networks in the first week of January. At the time, NBC was the most interested but, with Greenblatt still on the sidelines, the network couldn’t commit to the type of license fee that the studio was seeking in order to do the show Kelley had envisioned, and WBTV decided to shelve the project. With Greenblatt now firmly taking the reins and Kelley just delivering one of the most promising new series for NBC this season, Harry’s Law, NBC stepped up to greenlight Wonder Woman. The project is described as a reinvention of the iconic D.C. comic in which Wonder Woman —aka Diana Prince —is a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life. “I had a lot of fun writing it,” Kelley said of the script at TCA last week when the project had just been put on hold. “It’s a huge project, and it was probably a bit too much to ask anyone to try to chew on it for next season. But I’m confident it will still happen. It’s a very complicated piece, which is the most fun thing about it.” Mann’s World, which King will also direct, is a one hour drama following the complicated life of Allan Mann, a celebrity hair stylist in glamorous Los Angeles as he navigates the complexities of his business, his family life, and his goal to stay relevant in a world that moves quickly. The project is already casting.

As a game the first iteration of LittleBigPlanet was fun but flawed.  Conceptually it was ingenious, a 2D sidescrolling platformer with an adorable mascot that also featured a fairly robust level creator.  Sadly the controls were far from perfect and there was a real lack of precision for jumping that is key to this genre of game. And while the community was strong and turned out some amazing custom levels, the controls really turned a lot of people off of the game.  

Fast forward to now and the release of LittleBigPlanet 2 and Media Molecule should have a bona fide hit on their hands.  Everything that worked in the first game was kept in place and then refined and expanded upon and the controls got a fine tuning to match the pace and lay out of the story levels.  If you want nothing more than a fun 2D platformer in the vein of the Super Mario Bros series, LBP2 has you covered, but again where the game really shines is in the community feature. Like the first game, LBP2 features a robust level creator, but again in the sequel it has been expanded upon and improved tenfold. Media Molecule have essentially created a game that could be its own gaming platform just through the level creator.  As a member of the beta team I played levels that were games unto themselves—an Atari 2600-esque run n jump game, a top down action RPG (complete with boss fights), a top down racer (a la RC Pro Am for NES), a Geometry Wars twin stick shooter clone, proof of concept of a 16bit style RPG, and so on.  Even in just the few days since the games release I have seen some amazingly creative community levels.

If the original game was a proof of concept, the sequel is the polished, finished product.  I personally hope that Media Molecule resists the temptation of doing semi annual sequels and instead offers periodic title updates and new level packs for download through the games built in store.  In closing LittleBigPlanet 2 is the first game of the year that shouldn’t be missed and should end the year at the top of many Game of the Year lists.  I highly recommend it.

So with only eight issues left of Brightest Day and Deadman’s White Lantern Ring fully charged I’ve been thinking of where exactly the series will end and it reminded me of a panel from week 32 of 52.  Ralph Dibny travels to Nanda Parbat to seek audience with Rama Kushna about possibly resurrecting his deceased wife Sue. When Rama Kushna appears before him, she does so in a blast of light that resembles what we currently know as the White Lantern logo. Geoff Johns was one of the four writers who collaborated on 52, and he has often said in interviews that he plots out his story arcs anywhere from five to seven years in advance—this specific issue of 52 was published in 2006 which would fit nicely into that five to seven year span for the end of Brightest Day.  The image below is a comparison of the scene and the logo, and while they are not an exact match, I feel it’s close enough to warrant discussion, especially if you look at the dialog from Rama Kushna concerning death…

I will be the first to admit that as a character Superman bores me to death—here is a person who can literally do anything he wants and if not for remnants of space rock from his exploded planet and the occasional bit of magic, could never be defeated by anything.  And despite his status as one of the most iconic characters (not just in comics, but in general) his stories have always left something to be desired in my eyes.  So it was with great interest that I had followed the developments of DC’s line of Earth One graphic novels when they first announced last year—they are to provide fresh starts for iconic characters and let interested readers jump right in and not have to worry about years and years of often muddled continuity in the monthly comics (right now Superman is the only one that has been released, there will be a sequel to it, as well as a Geoff Johns penned Batman book releasing this year and rumors of a Wonder Woman book in the works).

This fresh approach worked wonders for me in regards to Superman—here you have Clark Kent moving to Metropolis after graduating from Smallville Junior College looking to make a name for himself and make enough money to take care of Ma Kent.  He realizes he can do pretty much anything and tries out for both professional football and baseball teams, applies at scientific r&d firm, oh and of course the Daily Planet.  It is not until an alien menace arrives on Earth looking for Clark that he dons the cape and tights and becomes Superman. We learn that the threat assaulting the Earth has traveled the galaxy looking for the last son of Krypton—they lived on Dheron, a neighboring planet of Krypton. The denizens of Dheron and of Krypton sadly did not live in peaceful co-existance, and every 20 years, when the planets were close enough in their orbits, the two would go to war.  Eventually a mysterious figure arrived on Dheron and gave them not only advanced technology but explained how to drill into the core of Krypton and destroy the planet once and for all.

After discovering a lone craft was able to escape Krypton, Tyrell (the Dheron general) led his forces across the galaxy destroying every world in his path until arriving on Earth.  After a massive battle in Metropolis, Superman ultimately defeats Tyrell and his Dheron forces and saves Earth from the extraterrestrial invaders.  

One of the more interesting plot points to me was that after Superman saves the world, he is not suddenly beloved by all, in fact many doubt him and question if he wasn’t actually a part of the plot and isn’t here to take over the Earth and rule it for himself. Given the circumstances this is not a stretch, how would you react if someone appeared out of nowhere (with powers beyond comprehension) and singlehandedly defeats and alien attack and apparently wants nothing in return. It’s far more likely you would be suspicious of this character rather than welcome him with open arms.

Ultimately I really enjoyed this updated take on the Superman mythos and am interested to see where JMS takes things in volume two.

So every Friday DC’s official blog, the Source, is unveiling teaser information for the upcoming Flash event “Flashpoint”.  Flashpoint will be written by current Flash and Green Lantern scribe Geoff Johns with art by Andy Kubert.  I’m a bit disappointed with Kubert as the artist as Francis Manapul’s work on the main Flash monthly has just been outstanding, but what can you do.  Yesterday they posted the following teasers “Their marriage was arranged to prevent war”, “Where is his ring”, “They experimented on him in a lab for years”, “He spends his days running Wayne Casinos”, “The spaceship never crashed.”

Today DC released this image:

The most surprising of these is that the arranged marriage is between Aquaman and Wonder Woman.  

So what does it all mean?  Obviously none of these are in line with current DC continuity, especially considering Wonder Woman has been removed from it entirely.  Based off the most recent issue of the Flash (which was a secret origin issue of Professor Zoom/the Reverse Flash) my guess is it’s going to center around the Reverse Flash.  We know he is able to not only travel back in time, but actually change the past—something none of the other Flashes can do.  I’m guessing that he is going to travel back in time and prevent or alter the defining moments that spawned DC’s heavy hitters.  He’ll show up in Crime Alley and keep the Waynes from being murdered, somehow turn Superman over to the government (they experiment on him in a lab for years), instigate a war between Paradise Island and Atlantis (their marriage was arranged to stop a war), somehow prevent Abin Sur’s ship from crashing on earth (the spaceship never crashed), and possibly keep Barry from ever becoming the Flash (where is his ring), etc. 

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the teasers pan out over the course of the next few months leading up to the May event.

(From www.superherohype.com)

Despite all the major broadcasters having passed on the show, David E. Kelley tells The Hollywood Reporter that he still thinks his vision for Wonder Woman will air down the road. “I think the likelihood is we’ll see it next year,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m being optimistic but I don’t think I’m being unrealistic.” Kelley noted that the script was “rolled out very late in the game” and said that he would bring the project back to NBC, which reportedly passed. The project reportedly failed to move forward there due to executive reshuffling. He said that the network… would be a “good home for it” under incoming programming chief Robert Greenblatt. “I like to think of it as a smart script and I know he responds to smart material,” Kelley said Thursday of his vision in which Wonder Woman would be explored as a “real complex woman and not just a superhero.” Another option for the show could be cable.

How do you make a live action Batman show without actually having the rights to Batman?  You make the Cape.  NBC’s new superhero drama takes place in the fictional city of Palm City and follows the exploits one former cop turned hero Vince Faraday.

In the series premiere we find that Palm City is rife with crime and prominent city figures have been targeted by a mystery killer named  Chess.  With the death of the police chief by Chess, it opens the door for a private security firm (named Ark) to move in and create the country’s first privatized police force.  Faraday is recruited to join Ark by a friend and meets up with its owner, billionaire Peter Flemming.  After accepting his new position with Ark, Faraday receives an email from the mysterious blogger Orwell telling him a shipment of highly dangerous explosives are being smuggled into Palm City in Ark freight cars down at the rail yard.  Faraday makes the mistake of calling his partner to meet him there and investigate the lead from Orwell—shortly after Faraday’s partner arrives (Marty Voyt), so do Ark security forces.  They capture Faraday and it is revealed that Chess is no other than… Peter Flemming (because no one saw that coming!).  After roughing up Faraday they put a Chess mask on him and release him—his pursuit is then aired live on television so Flemming can frame Faraday as a former good cop gone bad who murdered the chief.  After a pursuit, Faraday is shown going under a tanker car which is then fired upon and explodes—so for all intents and purposes, Vince Faraday is now deceased (of course his wife and son witness this all go down on TV as it happens).

Only of course Faraday is not dead, he was able to remove a grate under the tanker car and fall into an underground tunnel where he was discovered by the Circus of Crime.  After they rough him up as well, he is able to convince them he is not Chess and was framed by Flemming and Ark.  He briefly works with them, allowing them to use his security card (which of course is still functional) to break into a number of Ark owned vaults and steal money from them.  Faraday decides that this is not enough though and decides he needs to do more to strike back at Flemming personally.  The leader of the Circus of Crime (a man named Max) trains Faraday in the arts of illusion (primarily disappearing/vanishing) and a special cape with weighted ends that he can manipulate and use to strike or grasp objects.  He then takes the name the Cape (after his sons favorite comic book hero) and begins his one man assault on Flemming and Ark.

Despite the premiere only covering the timeframe of a couple of weeks, Faraday is not very bright in his foray into superhero-dom.  When he first begins to take down Ark agents he does absolutely nothing to disguise his voice and only wears an oversize hood to partially cover his face (looking very much like recycled concept art from the Assassin’s Creed video game series).  It’s only after failing to make progress, getting poisoned, and rededicating himself and actually training, does he create a mask. 

As mentioned in the opening the entire thing is a fun riff off of Batman and the Gotham City universe.  Like Batman, Faraday has no real superpowers, instead he uses trickery, deception, and hand to hand combat training to even the playing field.  When he and Orwell (played by Summer Glau) eventually meet, we discover she is very much an Oracle (better known as Barbara Gordon, daughter of commissioner Jim Gordon and former Batgirl) type figure—she’s plugged into a vast surveillance network and guides Faraday with through an earpiece communicator, much like Oracle does for the Birds of Prey in their self titled comic series.  One of the first Ark agents that Faraday goes after is named Scales (played by Vinnie Jones) and is an homage to the Batman villain Killer Croc.  Actually, the look of Scales would be a great way to do Killer Croc in a Batman film.  Jones is a hulking, muscular individual and in the series he gets his name from a skin condition that makes it look like he is scaled.

So while not completely original, the Cape was a fun attempt at bringing the world of superhero comics to the small screen.  It was by no means perfect, but there is definitely potential and room for growth.

It seems that about three to four times a year I’ll be linked to or stumble across a female targeted website that runs a story about what female readers want from comic books and the comic industry.  They usually have some survey questions answered by readers and conclude with statements such as wanting strong, independent, complex female characters, diversity, and other buzzwords.  I do not disagree with any of these statements, and feel they should apply to both male and female characters.  What does bother me is when these stories are invariably run and then conclude and act like there are no comics out there that already meet these criteria—it creates the image that if you’re a female reader and have an interest in mainstream comics there are absolutely no options for you if you want to read about strong women characters, which is absolutely incorrect.  It also bothers me in the sense because it also implies that girls only want or should only read comics with female lead characters.  By that logic as a guy I should only be reading books that feature male characters and not female characters.

But back to my original point, these kind of posts just strike me as lazy reporting and rabble rousing just for the point of rabble rousing.  Is it really hard to swing by DC or Marvel’s website and look and see what books they release and offer a few up as suggestions for female readers looking to get into the hobby? 

Just on the DC end of things you have the following books that either feature only female main characters or are predominately female—Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Batwoman, Gotham City Sirens, Zatanna, Power Girl, Supergirl, and Birds of Prey (which is written by a woman, Gail Simone, to boot).  This doesn’t include titles such as Justice League or America, Justice Society of America, Legion of Super-heroes, Teen Titans, and the Green Lantern books all of which feature prominent, strong women characters on the respective teams.  In fact, one of the Lantern Corps (the Star Sapphires) in the Green Lantern universe is comprised entirely of females and each of the other Corps also have strong female members.  You also have the year long limited series Brightest Day, which also features strong, complex female characters.  And those are just titles being currently published, if you look at trade paperbacks you have titles like Hawkgirl, 52, various Batman collections, Black Canary, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and other numerous collections.

Marvel doesn’t have as many solo titles for female characters since they more focus on team books, but you can still find She-Hulk, Spider-Girl, X-23, and Scarlet solo books.  If you look at the their books you have the Avengers, Secret Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the various X-Men titles that all have strong female characters.  And like DC you also have countless trade paperbacks to work through if you find the idea of jumping into monthly books too daunting.

So as you can see, it’s not like comic book industry is ignoring female readers and doing nothing to diversify their rosters of heroes.  The onus of blame here really falls on the sites that again, just fail to do any kind of research and point their readers in the direction of existing books that fit their criteria.

Now if we could just do something about Hollywood and the TV networks and get that Wonder Woman project off the ground.

My New Year’s resolution is to actually use this blog more.

With that said here are my top five lists from 2010 in no particular order

Comics:
Batman & Robin #16
Green Lantern #55
Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special
Amazing Spider-Man #636
Amazing Spider-Man #637

Books:
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Player One by Douglas Coupland
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking by Paul Levitz

Movies:
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
How to Train Your Dragon
Tron: Legacy
Toy Story 3
The Social Network

Video Games:
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars
Star Wars: the Force Unleashed 2
Red Dead Redemption 

Albums:
Arcade Fire - the Suburbs 
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - the Brutalist Bricks
Ryan Adams - Cardinals III/IV
the Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
Vampire Weekend - Contra 

My character in the newly launched PS3 beta for the DC Universe Online MMO.

Nothing like combining sorcery with the speedforce!