Archive Page 2124

February 27, 2022

Catwoman and "The Ancient Roots of Catwoman"– BBC News

The BBC works on their phantasies of what cats mean in conjunction with women, but in their exploration of past and present they never get around to what cats and bats have to do with each other. In the things that they discover about cats, is it mirrored in what bats and Bruce Wayne (or if you prefer, Babs Gordon) mean within that understanding they've thought up? No, because they pry Selina Kyle out of DC Comics and into a BBC history lesson, eresulting in Selina buried under non-comic book understandings derived from non-comic book texts.

These well-worn hyper-sexualised "Catwoman" and desexualised "cat lady" stereotypes have a diminishing purchase today, however. Women have more liberty and power to exist outside the historical "norms": more are choosing to be single, and to be child-free; they have greater authority in the workplace, and the use of the word "spinster", which had fallen out of fashion, has recently been reclaimed by feminists. Even the term "cat lady" is now widely and proudly used by many cat owners – including celebrities such as Taylor Swift – on social media. Does this reflect some sort of feminist reclaiming of the stereotype?

The BBC writer Akanksha Singh has a legitimate question and it means something based on all the stuff they present as their evidence, mostly pop-culture and literary, religious and historical works, but again the problem is it fails to understand comic books, which is where Selina exists. Another issue with this BBC article: it treats the Hollywood versions of Catwoman and the comic book versions as interchangeable, and they're clearly not.

As The Batman movie production (with Zoe Kravtiz as Catwoman) looms for release, I expect the click-baitery of linking articles to the film to mushroom, especially if The Batman begins with a good money-making weekend.

The BBC piece is intelligent and written with an effort at capturing and integrating a lot of connotations about cats and women, but it has a premise that forces it to stray far away from where Catwoman is the true subject, and that is, within comic books.

Green Lantern, I mean Deadpool, offers to match donations to Ukraine refugees – People Magazine via Fark

Ventura California comic book store Seth’s Games and Anime closing – MSN News

Indiana Jones V has finished shooting – Collider

Grant Morrison talks about declining sales with comics – Bounding into Comics

What is the Best Batmobile? – The Star

The latest version reflects the gritty vision of director Matt Reeves’s film. Unlike the futuristic designs of recent Batmobiles, this vehicle is a muscle car, inspired by the Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. It will also feature wider fenders, a battering ram, and, in a nod to Batmobiles of the past, a jet propulsion system that shoots flames. The dark design is said to reflect the brooding personality of Pattison’s Batman."

10,000 copy personal collection to be auctioned

Although an auction of comic books is not in itself rare," stated Maltz President and CEO, Richard Maltz. "The fact that the collection was compiled by a single owner and includes more than 10,000 issues is noteworthy. It includes well-known titles with the superhero archetype produced during the Silver Age of 1956-1969 and the Bronze Age of 1970-1985. Just a few highlights in this auction are Tales of Suspense #39, Amazing Spider-Man #1, Fantastic Four #48, Daredevil #1, and X-Men #1."

Story at AP News

Auction at Maltz Auctions NYC includes link to item photos

DC Comics and Marvel will reprint the JLA/Avengers crossover due to George Perez situation – MSN Gamesradar

George Pérez, a giant of the industry who also happens to be a giant of a human being, disclosed his terminal cancer diagnosis, stating his doctors have advised him he has only months left to live. Pérez announced his fate to the comic book community with such grace and generosity of spirit, it would have been difficult for Marvel and DC to not reprint JLA/Avengers when such a gesture seemed so obvious from the start.

...JLA/Avengers will only see 7000 new copies hit the market. And let's also take a second to recognize while Marvel participated in releasing the JLA/Avengers news to the comic book press, the publisher has more or less been publicly silent about their participation.

More about this at DC Comics

Comic Book Road Show goes to Albany – Albany Herald

Don’t know what that heirloom Superman comic or collection of old baseball cards is worth? The Comic Book Road Show, in town this week, may give you an idea.

Academy Awards again hit with backlash on their new decisions to try and resurrect their show – Deadline Hollywood

Falling double digits from the previous low, last year’s Oscars drew a measly audience of 10.4 million and a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 for its April 25, 2021 primetime airing. The Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall hosted 94th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to air live on ABC on March 27.

For a comparison, see this CNBC Article from 2014

The most-watched Oscar ceremony was in 1998. The telecast averaged 55.25 million viewers. That was the year “Titanic” took home best picture, and Billy Crystal hosted.

Is Moon Knight just the MCU Batman? No, no says producer Jeremy Slater – he's Indiana Jones – Yahoo

The Thriving Comic Book Industry – MSN News

Story has an interview with owner of Tardy's Collector's Corner in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

They've been around for decades, and most people today associate them with a bygone era. But against all odds, in an age of electronic gadgets with endless movies and TV shows at your fingertips, comic books press on."

A lot of pushback against the massive alterations to Comixology – comicbook

"Takes away the fun of reading comics" – IGN

"Now Comixology sucks" – Gizmodo

"Concerns ignited" about Comixology at MSN News Polygon

Forrest Gump and Robert Zemeckis Reunite for comic book – comicbook

Comicbook artist Ian Kennedy has died – UK Times

DC Comics and 50 Cent are making a comic book movie together – MSN

The rapper and actor will produce the movie adaptation, and he also plans to spawn an entirely new franchise from it, too. In a synopsis shared by Deadline, the movie will follow a Black government assassin who "weaponizes invisibility" by disguising himself as a white man to blend into the "Casino Royale haunts of the international elite".

The Batman press promo roundup:

Paul Dano can't sleep at night because The Riddler is so scary – Indiewire

Zoe Kravitz: the chemistry with Pattinson is so intense – Yahoo News

Pattinson: my first Bat-voice was "atrocious" – Hollywood Reporter

Pattinson "in nearly every single scene" in The Batman – Indiewire

"The Waynes don't die this time" – MSN News

Robert Pattinson gives tour of the Bat-Suit and its many features – Yahoo

Comic Book Conventions are returning – The Bookseller

Suicide Squad #15 is last issue – Gamesradar

Would you like to own shares in a copy of Batman #1?

Story at NY Times

Rally, an online service for buying a piece of collectibles, announced on Friday that it would sell shares of a Batman No. 1, originally published in 1940 and an important chapter in comic book history. The company, founded in 2016, sells a variety of collectibles through its online service, including classic cars, video games and sports memorabilia.

"Comic books have been a huge part of that," said Rob Petrozzo, who founded Rally with ​​Chris Bruno and Max Niederste-Ostholt. "We’re always looking for the rare examples, first appearances, the most important moments in every franchise," he said.

Someone covered a $350,000 BMW automobile with Jeff Koons comic-book-derived artwork – Newsweek

Hey, you ever wanted to own a hobbit?

Rights on Lord of the Rings going up for sale again? – comicbook

Frankly this is all very messy Hollywood business, one that we can't fully know the answers to as studios and rights holders largely keep paperwork like this locked up tight. In any event there will no doubt be more updates on this down the line.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will debut on April 12, 2024. Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere in September of this year.

The Batman gets a China release data – Deadline Hollywood

That crying you hear in the background is Disney executives.

Artist Steve Dillon gallery exhibit opens in UK – Downthetubes

Perhaps best known for his work for 2000AD, and his work on American comics such as Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher, Steve Dillion’s comics career began aged just 16, initially for Marvel UK. He died aged 54, in 2016. The exhibition features pieces from his early work at 2000AD and Marvel UK, including a page of Abslom Daak – Dalek Killer, the character he co-created with Steve Moore; and his later work on Punisher and Scarlet Witch at Marvel US. Included is a selection of 2000AD covers, pages from the DC Vertigo books Preacher and Hellblazer, and many others.

Original page March 11, 2022 | Updated April 1, 2022