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What I’m Looking Forward to in the DCnU

It’s been a few weeks, and the dust has started to settle. Here are my thoughts about the big DC Comics announcement that they would be relaunching their universe with 52 new #1 issues — a total revamp of their superhero line. Like many, my knee-jerk reaction was, what? How could they do this? That’s it for me. This quickly turned into cautious optimism, even excitement about the bold new direction, and groundbreaking attempt to turn the superhero comic industry around.

Of course, not everything is a win, nor would I expect it to be. I certainly don’t buy and enjoy all the superhero titles that DC has coming out at the moment. And for every Batwoman, there are still numerous examples of how women and handled so shabbily in the world of superhero comics. (Don’t even get me started on the apparent fate of Mera in the Flashpoint event). Anyway, you can see the whole line-up of newly revamped titles coming out in September at Newsarama. I’m also going to list them all below, separated into five categories.

The “Yes, definitely” category – These are titles I will buy, and I expect to enjoy. Titles I’m really looking forward to for one reason or another.

  • Animal Man (Lemire; Foreman) – The family aspect of Vertigo’s Animal Man series was my favorite element, so the fact the Jeff Lemire is going to focus on Buddy’s family is a big plus for me. Plus, Lemire did some pretty interesting work on Sweet Tooth.
  • Aquaman (Johns, Reis) – Despite the paranthetical reference to Mera’s shabby treatment in Flashpoint above, Geoff Johns has done wonders for her in recent years. I’m on board with Aquaman because I think I read somewhere that Mera will feature prominently. If she does, I’m in. If she doesn’t, Aquaman slips to the next category.
  • Batwoman (Williams III; Reeder) – Most anticipated series in as long as I can remember. Batwoman is way cool, and with alternating artistic arc by J. H. Williams III and Amy Reeder, this is going to be heaven for me.
  • Justice League Dark (Milligan; Janin) I’m a big fan of the mystic side of superheroes, plus Matt Wagner and Amy Reeder made Madame Xanadu one of my favorite DC heroines, so I’m looking forward to this. Peter Milligan does some pretty interesting stuff, especially when he’s allowed to play a little crazy, and with his pet character Shade the Changing Man involved, this sure to be a little crazy. And Zatanna’s involved too. Win!
  • Justice League International (Jurgens; Lopresti) – I’ve been enjoying the JLI reunion. Fire, Ice and Vixen are all characters I enjoy. Plus Dan Jurgens did some fun stuff with Booster Gold, so I’m sure he’s committed to this project.
  • Legion Lost (Nicieza; Woods) – Legion fan here. I would give any Legion title a chance, so I’m on the ride for this one. Plus Nicieza handles team books well. Love Dawnstar too… and Yera is a bonus!
  • Legion of Superheroes (Levitz; Portela) – See above. I’m a big fan of Levitz’ current Legion run, and word is there will be little change in the relaunch. I’m so in.
  • Swamp Thing (Snyder; Paquette) – Giving this one a pretty confident try. I’m been around for all the Swamp Thing series, and all had strands that kept me entertained. This is probably the title in this category that I’m least convinced I will still be buying in a year, but I’m looking forward to it.
  • Wonder Woman (Azzarello; Chiang) – Huge WW fan, but not a fan of this most recent relaunch, which is wrapping up just in time for this next relaunch. Not a huge fan of the new costume, but I’m getting used to it. I’d be on board for just about any Wonder Woman comic, but I have to admit that I’m really intrigued by this creative team. I think Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang are just about the last two creators I would have pegged for Wonder Woman, and that’s probably a good thing. Very excited about this.

Okay, this post is long enough. I will follow up with the rest of my categories tomorrow.

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Filmmaking on the Edge

Just got back yesterday from the 13th Provincetown International Film Festival. I will write more extensively on the festival soon (I hope), but for now I thought I’d post a list of the films I saw and the rating I gave them (based on a 1 – 5 scale; 5 being the best). They are listed alphabetically, and categorized by Narratives and Documentaries.

Narratives

  • Another Earth (5 cats)
  • Happy Happy (4 cats)
  • Higher Ground (5 cats)
  • Janie Jones (4 cats)
  • Mangus! (2 cats)
  • Maria My Love (5 cats)
  • The Perfect Family (3 cats)
  • Varla Jean and the Mushroom Heads (3 cats
  • Weekend (4 cats)

Documentaries

  • Buck (5 cats)
  • Hit So Hard (4 cats)
  • Hot Coffee (5 cats)
  • Page One (3 cats)
  • Tabloid (3 cats)

14 films and a bucketload of parties. Really nice filmmakers and good friends. Festival experienc? 5 cats.

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30 Day Song Challenge Day 30 – Your Favorite Song at This Time Last Year

This is a silly challenge to end the meme with. In reality, my favorite song is my favorite song, and while it does change over time, it certainly doesn’t change in a year’s time. So last year, my favorite song was Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love, just like it is this year. That said, I did have a “favorite new song” last year… a discovery that made me really excited. An amazing song with an incredible video by an artist I had never heard of that just blew me away. So that’s the song I’ve selected for this Day 30 challenge. (And come back tomorrow, because I’ve got a little added extra in store for this meme).

The artist is billed as Fever Ray, which is actually the solo project for Swedish singer/songwriter Karin Dreijer Andersson. Karin first gained acclaim as one half of the electronic duo, The Knife, for which she sang lead vocals. I can’t remember how I discovered the video for Fever Ray’s second single off her debut album. The song is called When I Grow Up, and the video exemplifies the theatrical nature of Karin’s performances. It’s creepy, it’s primal, it mystical, it’s clever and I do hope you’ll take a look. I still enjoy watching this video every time I think about it.

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30 Day Song Challenge Day 29 – A Song From Your Childhood

Two slip-ups in a months. Not bad. So, I should have posted this yesterday, but somehow the time got away from me. There are lots of songs from my childhood, but I’ve included two of my earliest memories of music. Having a sibling 15 years older than me meant that when I was still in shortpants, I had a sister who was listening to the Beatles. Beatles VI was released in 1965, when I was three years old. I don’t know when Mary got the album, but perhaps my earliest memory of a “rock ‘n roll” song was track two, Eight Days a Week. Boppy melody, gorgeous harmonies, this song would remain one of my favorite Beatles songs to this day, largely because of this early childhood memory.

But before even that song, I have a very vivid memory of the song Marianne. I had it on this strange album that was filled with Calypso-themed songs… songs from the islands or something. Harry Belafonte doing Lime in da Coconut and other nonsense. I don’t remember who performed this particular version of Marianne; reviewing tracks on YouTube I think it may have been Terry Gilkyson, but I’m including here a version by the Lennon Sisters and Dick Dale from the Lawrence Welk Show.

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30 Day Song Challenge Day 28 – A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

Emm GrynerI had my own rule for this meme, that I would only include songs for which I could post videos from YouTube. I am now breaking this rule for day 28, a song that makes me feel guilty. There’s really only one song that makes me feel guilty, and by guilty, I don’t mean guilty pleasures, because those don’t really make me feel guilty. During the break-up of my previous serious relationship, I felt plenty guilty, and I have a distinct memory of driving in my car, listening to Emm Gryner’s Science Fair album, and this song in particular, and bawling my eyes out. The song as a whole isn’t applicable to that situation, but in general it is, and some of the lines just pierced my heart. The song is called Revenge, and it’s not available on YouTube so click the link below which will bring you to Yahoo Music where you can listen to this heartbreakingly lovely song. I said Tori Amos’ Tear in Your Hand was lyrically spot on about what you feel when you’re going through a breakup, and so it this one.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/emm-gryner/tracks/revenge–8743615