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New Study Shows Fans Want More Diversity in Comic Book Movies

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New Study Shows Fans Want More Diversity in Comic Book Movies

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Sonia Fraser
http://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/superhero-movie-study-calls-for-more-diversity-on-the-big-screen/
This article covers a study conducted by Geekwrapped showing that comic book fans are calling for more diversity in screen adaptions. It found that caucasian viewers generally  feel well represented by characters in films, but viewers from other ethnic groups not so much. It shows that on a scale of five, black viewers reported feeling represented at 2.4, multiracial at 2.3, and hispanic viewers were the least represented at 2.2. The study also focused on individual characters. It focused on which characters people wanted to remain the same, and which ones fans thought were due for a change. According to this study, Black panther was at the top with 60.3 percent saying he should be the same. Lower down were Captain America, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman. The article stated that this was encouraging evidence that fans were less attached to the race and gender of characters than we might think.

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Star Wars Moving Away From Gender Stereotypes

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Star Wars Moving Away From Gender Stereotypes

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Dylan Sorenson

While not entirely related to comic books, I felt like this article had a great perspective of how gender gets played out in comic book series. The article talks about how many young individuals are conditioned into thinking certain things are "only for boys" or "only for girls", and the new Star Wars movie has flipped many of those sociological machines on their head, creating strong protagonist characters like princess Leia. Star Wars is no longer a story simply about the white males, but about honest protagonists and antagonists. Additionally, this article talks about the future of Star Wars and how it's providing an opportunity for young boys to see the franchise in a non-gendered way that didn't exist when we were growing up.

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I found myself surprised by what was on my mind as I walked out of the theater at the end of . It wasn't how great Lando was and it wasn't how surprised I was that I ended up liking the movie as much as I did. No, it was Qi'ra. Emilia Clarke's character has been on my mind from the moment the credits rolled. She's unlike any female protagonist the franchise has featured so far and I've been going over her arc in my head ever since, thinking about the ways in which I've related to it at different points in my life. I've found myself wondering two things: one, why I'm remotely surprised a female lead walked away as the most memorable part of a Solo: A Star Wars Story Star Wars movie (even if you're an L3 stan, the statement applies). Two, how much I could have benefited from seeing this character onscreen fifteen years ago.

Growing up, you're Han or you're Luke. Maybe if you're the moody one you're Darth Vader because if you're going to play Star Wars your group needs a bad guy. More often than not, though, you're Han or you're Luke. Later on the dynamic shifted slightly: Anakin or Obi-Wan. You're one of those two, or maybe you're Maul, or Yoda right around the time Attack of the Clones came out. In all the years I spent playing with toy blasters and lightsabers with my friends as a child, though, I never got what I really wanted. I never got to be Leia.

For most of my life I've been conditioned to believe that Star Wars is for boys. Girls had Barbie and My Little Pony and later on in life they had One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl. Boys had sports and boys had comic books, but most importantly, boys had Star Wars. Star Wars, which gave us lightsabers and the Force, which gave us the Millennium Falcon, which gave us the two perfect avatars through which we as boys could focus our budding masculinity: Luke, the straight-laced optimistic dreamer, and Han, the smarmy bad boy. You were one or the other, and you liked it. I thought I liked it.

I always wanted to be Princess Leia. Everything about her was magnetic to me from the moment she graced the screen. The way she held herself, how clear she made it that she didn't have time for anybody's shit, the moment she stood up to Vader, god, everything about her was perfect. It showed me, for the first time in my life, what kind of person I wanted to be when I grew up. But young boys aren't allowed to be Princess Leia. You're Han or you're Luke. There's weakness in looking up to women as young men and it carries over into ever facet of life, even big dumb space wizard laser sword movies.

hit theaters when I was in the 1st grade. I liked the movie well enough-being seven years old at the time I hadn't developed, uh, taste-but was especially excited when I discovered a series of novelizations of the film that told the story through journals written by different characters. My parents gave me the Anakin novelization for Christmas that year. I don't remember reading it. I just remember finding the Padme journal at our local library and checking it out several times, pouring over its pages and then starting the book over as soon as I finished it. The story of a young queen in disguise and on the run drew me in far more than trade disputes and a ten-year-old Podracer with a bowl cut.

I stifled this and had it stifled for years and years, through societal conditioning and my parents quietly ignoring my birthday request for a Princess Leia doll and through being too embarrassed to admit to my friends that I didn't want to be Luke or Han or Vader or a Stormtrooper, I wanted to be Leia. And mind you, this isn't the problem but rather a symptom of it. Even in something as far removed from our reality as a space opera, men have long been encouraged to reject the feminine. It's a toxic cycle. We go on to reject the feminine both around us and inside of us, recognizing it as weakness even at its strongest. It cuts us off from aspects of ourselves that should be nurtured, especially at a young age.

My time in college exposed me for the first time to concepts of gender theory, queer identity, all of the things that make for a generally socially conscious person in the year 2018. I like to think it worked, that it changed me for the better. I try to be more conscious of the way I conduct myself. I try to be more empathetic, more open to views with which I'm unfamiliar. I try to use my position of privilege as a white man to lift up the voices of those without that privilege, all while rediscovering my understanding of my own gender and sexuality. What's harder is reconciling how long it took me to get here and how much I clearly felt this way as a child but was convinced to steer away from. Star Wars has shaped my identity over the last couple of decades, less in the sense that my identity is defined by my being a Star Wars fan and more in that we actualize and understand ourselves through the stories that we love. I love Star Wars and see the world the way I see it because of it. But I didn't learn soon enough the role that gender enforced my experience with it and because of that my relationship with Star Wars has been shifted, stilted, and stifled. It was in ways that make me wonder what I could have learned about myself as I grew up had I not been conditioned by everyone from my friends to marketing teams to distance myself from the ways I related to and aspired to the franchise's female protagonists.

The landscape of Star Wars today is drastically different from the one I grew up with and that's for the better. Three of the four films in the Disney era have been anchored by compelling female protagonists (that's not even taking into consideration characters like Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, and Hera who elevate the Star Wars animated universe beautifully). It's been wonderful to witness as an adult fan of the franchise. I see these movies anchored by these women and on one hand, I'm thrilled because of how indicative of progress it is. Star Wars is no longer a story about white men. A galaxy far far away suddenly looks far more like the world I see outside my window. But I also see an opportunity for young boys to experience Star Wars the way I wasn't able to. I see an opportunity for them to embrace feminine heroes, ones that don't reinforce traditional perceptions of what masculinity should be. I see the argument makes against Poe Dameron's hotheaded recklessness, traits the franchise has put on a pedestal in the past, and hope that those same boys take the message to heart: even the healthier aspects of traditional masculinity can quickly become toxic if taken to the extremes so much of fiction encourages men to.

I never got the chance to learn these lessons from Star Wars growing up, but it hasn't stopped me from trying to make up for lost time. I look to Jyn Erso and remember how important it is to allow yourself to believe in something bigger than yourself, to give yourself to it and let it change you for the better. I see Rose and am reminded that love wins where hate never can. Rey's reconciling her past with her future and finding her place in a confusing world came to me when I was fresh out of college and navigating a new world. Qi'ra shows me a character who recognizes that her femininity is perceived as weakness by the powerful men surrounding her and uses their preconceived notions of what she's capable of to outplay them all. And, as always, the princess who became a General serves as a North Star for me in adulthood just as she did twenty years ago the first time I saw her mouth off to the scariest man in the galaxy like he was a Long Island used car salesman trying to upsell her. The difference is that now I'm comfortable enough in my identity to, rather than suppress it, let it guide me every day.
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My Complicated Relationship with Gender and Star Wars - Geek.com

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I found myself surprised by what was on my mind as I walked out of the theater at the end of . It wasn't how great Lando was and it wasn't how surprised I was that I ended up liking the movie as much as I did. No, it was Qi'ra.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/unwomenasiapacific/sets/72157665885807251/
This web comic has a variety of comics that tell of social disadvantages that are on women and men with in subject areas. some comics are of pregnancy expectations and how males are desired more by males. Some subjects are generalized and serious. one comic has a man that is abused at work and that causes him to abuse his family. The comics bright to light inequality and injustice to gender. I do not agree with every message the comics make but they are a point of view that is not often seen directly in a comic format
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https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/diversity-in-comics-whats-been-done-and-what-needs_us_5933b75fe4b0649fff211a07
This article talks about why diversity has not become more prominent in comic books. It states that it is usually because the sales for the more diverse comics are not as high as the regular ones. So while it is something we have been hearing about this article states that it is a loud minority who has been calling for more diverse comic books.
There was an issue of She-Hulk that recently came out which apparently went out of print after 12 issues because it was not selling.
This article complains that the people who are calling for more diversity in comic books have not been going out and buying them themselves. So, if people want to see more diversity in comic books then they are going to have to be the ones that go to the store and purchase these issues.

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Kalen Leone
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswomanfiles/2013/01/23/what-do-comic-books-teach-us-about-gender-attitudes/#2ea834072c16
Here is a Forbes Magazine article on how comics and graphic novels progress with society. The US' first states Maine and Maryland were the first states in 2012 to make gay marriage legal, so in 2012 there was the first gay marriage ever documented in comic book history! Northstar, of the X-Men married his boyfriend in the comic reflecting the progress of the US social agenda! This article also highlights the negative ideas in comics that are a reflection of society. For example Batgirl is incredibly weak compared to Batman and the writers didn't even giver her a bullet proof suit! SMH!

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https://io9.gizmodo.com/10-examples-of-how-it-looks-when-artists-sexualize-male-1628021803
Initially, I was going to write on an article talking about the over-sexualization of women but then remembered that they creators over-sexualize men too; so I found this article. This article was interesting because it highlighted the opposite of what many may think of regarding gender and over-sexualization. The article was broken down into ten different examples of how comics also over-sexualize men. The 10 topics were varying from films and comics to the overly sexualized fan-art. This article brings up a good issue in a sense that, both men and women are overly sexual in comics. Many may say that this is entirely one-sided, but if you look into the MCU alone, there are several characters. The number one on the list is Thor. In his movies, he is always shirtless and mildly flirting with Jane Foster. He makes her, a brilliant scientist, seem like a goofy moron around him. This overly sexual version of Thor degrades both genders in these types of scenes. There are many ridiculous depictions in this, but there are also some very humorous parts with the Marvel swimsuit edition being my favorite.

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This short clip was hilarious to watch, Spider Man’s original theme song is used but throughout the entire video, he is being made fun of as a superhero. There are several scenes where his actions contradict the benevolent super hero that he is. For example, arriving late to a crime scene and realizing it is too late to save anyone. Superheroes are never late, especially not when it comes to saving their town or helping their citizens. Here Spider man is not a perfect superhero; they’re making a joke out of him.

But my absolute favorite is when the theme song says, “Spider Man Spider Man, friendly neighborhood Spider Man…” and we can see that he is stealing from a little helpless old lady who may have been his very own aunt May. Parodies are filled with irony and jokes; this video makes fun of Spider Man by going against the typical superhero tropes and converting them into what the average person would do if they one day had super human powers.
-Ruby Rendon

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When you hear superhero what do you picture? An overly buff white man with a red cape and costume flying through the sky? Well you are not alone. It seems as though there is a serious lack of diversity in the super hero industry. Below is a picture I found on the internet that shows the most used representations of a hero. At first glance I noticed just how dominating males are in the industry. Out of all those photos, maybe three or four are women. C'mon America! However at second glance I noticed that this page was whiter than rice. This needs to change! There is no reason we cant make the comic book industry more inclusive. Especially because of the impact this industry plays on setting the standards for the younger generations.  The more steps we take towards inclusion in comics, the better off our society will be. I look forward to the days in the future when I can go to a movie and see multiple races, cultures, and genders fighting crime together on the screen. We can do this!

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Diversity in today's comics- Jessica Conway- Week 5

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Diversity in today's comics- Jessica Conway- Week 5

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https://www.npr.org/2017/04/08/523044892/beyond-the-pale-male-marvel-diversity-and-a-changing-comics-readership

After spending this week's class discussing diversity, I decided to search for an article that deals with Marvel's latest quest for adding more diverse characters to their comics. I was surprised to hear that headlines claimed that Marvel blamed added diversity to a decrease in sales. While this article does not prove or disprove this information, it examines why this statement is probably false. Additionally one has to consider that comic book shops have different sales patterns depending on the region. For example, when Black Panther came out in D.C 300,000 copies were sold out almost immediately. While in the midwest, where the demographic of customers is different, they sold much slower. The author, Ta-Neshisi Coates, of Black Panther even commented on Marvel's remarks and "doesn't think it was fair." He explains that since the readers of the comics are growing more diverse, the content will as well. He points out that recently a comic book America #2, has featured a lesbian Latina, a character that would have never been accepted before now. I agree with Coate's that at this point this is no turning back from diversity. It is a necessary component of the genre.

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-Ruby Rendon

After touching on diversity, I wanted to research more about what other people thought about it as well as get an insight of their reaction. I came across several videos of people being upset, it seems to be a “hot topic” now a day and apparently comics have changed so many of the “classic” characters into a completely different character with a completely different backstory. To my understanding, fans have been a little disappointed and against diversity because its taking away from the superhero they grew to know and love.

Altogether I understand his analogy (6:46), but I also think diversity helps bring new fans in to this genre. However, maybe the best route to consider is creating new superheroes, and giving us their own unique stories so that we are all left with the classic superheroes and they are not forgotten.

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Is Diversity Ruining Marvel Comics? My Opinions On It

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Dylan Sorenson
This article talks about one of Disney's new series, Rocketeer, that will premiere at the beginning of July. While the original story had a male lead role, Disney has decided to take a progressive spin on their classic series, changing the gender from male to female. While this may seem like an easy way to stay relevant in a progress time, it is an honest business tactic by Disney because it shows they aren't afraid to break the mold, even if it means angering certain fans who prefer a male role. While I think the decision is a good one, it does in some ways make Disney look like they are taking the easy way by simply changing the gender roles of an existing character rather than creating a new, female focussed story. The move does, however, open up opportunities for Disney to create more female-centric roles in their comic book series.

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Disney just gave us some brand new details about their upcoming animated series The Rocketeer, which was previously announced back in February.

However, the series will drastically depart from the original comics. This reimagining will see Disney gender swap the classic Rocketeer. It will feature a new character by the name of Kit Seacourt. On her birthday, she will receive a surprise present that reveals she will become the next Rocketeer. She also gets access to the Rocketeer's superhero gear which includes a rocket-powered jet pack.

With her new gear and secret identity in place, Kit will take flight and begin saving the day with her gadget-minded best friend, Tesh, and her uncle and airplane-mechanic Ambrose.

Each episode will feature two 11-minute stories as well as an original song. The show will air on Disney Junior and is targeted towards kids aged 2-7.

Disney Junior's Senior Vice President Original Programming Joe D'Ambrosia added, "The vast storytelling found in the original comic books provides the perfect opportunity to create an exciting new adventure series told from a young girl superhero perspective that the whole family can enjoy together."

Gender swapping the Rocketeer isn't only lazy, but it also completely flies in the face of what creator Dave Stevens created back in 1982.

Originally the Rocketeer was Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a working jetpack hidden away by some mobsters. The jetpack allows him to take flight in ways he's only dreamed of. With it, he goes on to fight crime and have adventures in places such as New York and Los Angeles.

It's no surprise that this was developed years after his death in 2008.

With the gender of the character already being swapped, can we expect Disney to make other significant changes to the characters? Twitter user @POTUSThump specifically brought this up as well as examining Disney's current trends of replacing their top tier characters with 2nd rate lookalikes and wannabes.

The Rocketeer is being reimagined as a girl named "Kit Seacourt."

But... will she be woke? Will she be a "POC" (The "POCateer")? 🤔

And what is Disney's obsession with the idea of replacing their characters with 2nd rate wannabes? https://t.co/WS03ATLhD2 pic.twitter.com/AOQJkck3aZ

- Donald J. Thump (@POTUSThump) June 13, 2018

I believe those are some valid questions. Since they gender-swapped the character what else can we expect? If they continue on changing what the Rocketeer is, they might as well have taken the extra step to just make an original character instead of trying to capitalize on a pre-existing hero.

As it stands, it seems that studios would rather dust off older IP's and "reimagine" them to fit what appears to be a politically motivated agenda and narrative.

We've already seen how this plays out. Marvel tried to replace all of their iconic Avengers with their Marvel NOW! lineup. It was a complete disaster that treated these "diverse" characters as tokens and cheap knockoffs of the iconic Avengers.

By just putting a girl as the lead, Disney isn't being as "woke" as they're attempting to portray themselves. It would have been more meaningful to take a risk and create a new character. Instead, Disney would rather gender swap an iconic comic book character.

If Disney really wanted to up the ante when it comes to representation of other groups then they shouldn't be taking the easy and lazy road of recycling other IPs.

As it stands now, this show just looks like another cheap knockoff of a classic character.

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Disney Gender Swaps Rocketeer in New Animated Series

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Disney just gave us some brand new details about their upcoming animated series The Rocketeer, which was previously announced back in February. However, the series will drastically depart from the original comics. This reimagining will see Disney gender swap the classic Rocketeer. It will feature a new character by the name of Kit Seacourt.

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Emilio Morales
https://www.polygon.com/comics/2016/1/28/10860668/deadpool-deathstroke-deadshot
With in the two major companies of popular superheroes today, DC Comics and Marvel Comics have had trademarks and "copied" heroes. This article tells of how Deadpool is a parody of the Teen Titan villain Deathstroke. The weapons of guns and swords wielded by a merch for higher have the same base story but they differ in personality. There names share a resemblance as well. Wade Wilson is Deadpool and Slade Wilson is Deathstroke. Deadpool does have a personality that is more comical and not to serious in the faces of danger, well Deathstroke is out to complete his mission no matter the maenes. With Deadpool being a more antihero over the years he has been more in the public eye and has had 2 of his own movies as well as his own comic series. Deathstroke has had his own comic series and appeared in the Teen Titans tv series.

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Gender Perception Shown through Comic Books- Alex Massimi

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Gender Perception Shown through Comic Books- Alex Massimi

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswomanfiles/2013/01/23/what-do-comic-books-teach-us-about-gender-attitudes/#3e62087e2c16
This article talks about how depictions of both men and women in comic books reflect what gender norms were at the time. It starts off by talking about how the Super-Man that came out in the 1930s portrayed Louis Lane as a strong independent and respected in her profession. This was meant to be encouraging to women who were supposed to working while their husbands were at war. It is interesting that comics reflect so much about the real world even though sometimes they can seem so far away from reality. Even today we see a rise in the need to portray strong women with the new Wonder Woman movie. Then the ending of Infinity Wars hinted at Captain Marvel coming to the series who is basically a female version of Super-Man. It is really interesting that while comic books can seem so far from reality that they can reflect our views of gender realistically.

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Mad Magazine Utilizes Parodies in an Era of Fake News 

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Mad Magazine Utilizes Parodies in an Era of Fake News 

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Max Weiner
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2018/05/20/How-Mad-Magazine-made-America-think-straight/stories/201805200020
I have heard people say that humor is the best educational device, when you learn something that is simultaneously funny it sticks better.  This article details the importance of Mad Magazine (1952 - present) during an era of Cold War brinksmanship and consolidated media outlets.  Mad gained popularity by criticizing politicians and the media; they pointed out ironies in their messages in a humorous way (similar to shows like The Daily Show).  This provided the public with a healthy sense of skepticism, so as not to believe everything they're told.  Spy vs Spy was a recurring comic within the magazine that pointed out the absurdity of the Mutually Assured Destruction philosophy between the US and Russia.  Today Mad is not nearly as popular, but it has inspired shows like The Daily Show and the satirical news outlet The Onion. We live in a world of boundless information with the internet and it is difficult to know when some article is lying to you. With satirical media that tells you to not trust anyone by pointing out blatant lies, ironies, and hypocrisies, it teaches the public to be skeptical of everything they read inspiring them to seek the truth themselves.

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https://comicbookparody.tumblr.com
This, my opinion, was the most entertaining article I have found for this Padlet post. I have always been a huge fan of parody. In this article it a series of several "Sunday funnies" type of comics. All but one of them are single panels. The theme is Mother's Day, which I found ironic for the other topic being gender. The first one is Aunt May and Ma Kent baking an apple pie together called Aunt May &Ma Kent on Mother's Day. The next is called Marvel Mummas, a comic featuring some of the Marvel character's as small children with their mothers. What’s Batman do on Mother’s Day? is a little darker than the rest but still pretty funny. It's Aquaman asking Batman what his going to do on Mother's Day. Hush Little Baby is a bit confusing to me, it looks as if Mystique is holding a baby Nightcrawler. Superman’s Social Network Nightmare is pretty funny, having Clark Kent's mom posting Superman pictures on his Facebook. Hot Potato is the only one I'm not entirely sure what is going on. JLA Mother’s Day Party has Flash as the only one with a mother. Happy Mother’s Day to Supermoms Everywhere is the last comic that is pretty clever and a great tribute to moms. It has a little boy showing a little girl his mom's "super-mom" costume. The little girl's reaction saying, "So that's how she does it," is relatively clever.  Overall I really enjoy parody comics. These let readers have some fun and humor of something they adore (most of the time) without ruining the storyline. It is just added fun that people can play off their favorite characters in a satirical way.

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Kalen Leone
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/10/08/tintin-breaking-free-the-greatest-comic-book-parody-ever-made/
This author writes about his favorite comic book parody ever made and explains why. The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free is about Tintin who is a young thug and punches his boss in the face in order to break free. The author of this article said, "the best parodies are always about something else. Rather than the Scary Movie approach of reprising a scene with a twist, the best actually have something to say and use the imagery and iconography of the parodied object to do just that." This is extremely relevant to the Watchmen because as Dr. Beck stated in the lecture video, Watchmen has a very serious tone. Watchmen created the iconic Rorschach superhero that breaks and enters in order to save the world from evil. This is a very interesting take on a superhero that isn't just a twist but purposeful in the questions that the author and illustrator bring to light regarding superheroes and what it means to qualify as one.

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Ashley Case
https://www.newsarama.com/28303-best-female-superheroes-of-all-time.html#s2
This week I have decided to write about genders in comics. While there a number of female superheroes I still believe that a large amount of superheroes are male, or at least the most known and popular ones are male. Above I put an article that list a number of female superheroes and what they do and their significance. I love female superheroes because I believe they are great and really impact females in a positive way. It is important that females see female superheroes conjuring evil and fighting battles and winning like we see so many male superheroes do. I believe that female superheroes show women that we can do anything a man can and be just as strong and powerful as them as well. I have never been a huge fan of the superhero movies or comics but I am a big fan of girl superheroes and believe that they are very important. I did although go and see Wonder Women and was a big fan and thought it was a great movie and even made me proud to be a women myself.

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Iris Berber
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/women-in-comic-books/
Historically, and tracking all the way up to today, comic books have been read by and made for males. Both those who create comics (artists/writers/etc) and those who read them are men. Fueled by the resurgence of a new wave of feminism, as well as the potential for a new, untapped market that could be profitable, comic book creators have begun to create more female heros that are meant to appeal to women (not men, as previous women heros and characters were). Although I think its great that the comic book industry is trying to pander more to a female audience, I can't help but think that it's more as a token gesture, or to tap into a profitable market. I'd love to see more women involved with the creation of comic books. I think if this were to happen, we'd see more genuine female experiences presented in a comic book format.

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What do comic books tell us about Gender Attitudes- Jessica Conway Week 4

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What do comic books tell us about Gender Attitudes- Jessica Conway Week 4

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswomanfiles/2013/01/23/what-do-comic-books-teach-us-about-gender-attitudes/#312f4e552c16

This Forbes article is interesting because it using comic books as a channel to explain gender inequality in the United States. Professor Christina Blanch uses this fun topic of comic books to present a more serious issue of inequality to her university classes. She explains that comics are helpful for teaching the background of this deeply gender issues in the United States since they have evolved greatly over time. For example, the original Superman comic was released around WWII and Lois Lane's character shows how women were viewed at this time. Later in the 60's we also see this trend of comics mirroring society through books such as the Fantastic Four. During this time Sue Storm entered this group and here super power, being invisible, represented how women often feel in society. Finally, she catches up with present day and mentions how gay rights are even beginning to be reflected in comics. In 2012 X-Men introduced it's first openly gay character, Northstar. I think that comics are a great way to track progress in society. Although I haven't read too many old comics, I believe that I would notice more of a sexist attitude towards women. I am glad to see that even the world of comics is ahead in terms of equality.

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The article I am posting this week discusses gender in comic books. When looked at as a whole, women are severely underrepresented in the comic book industry. Only 26.7% of superheros are women and, from that small percentage, only 12% of them are protagonists. After doing an analysis of all existing powers, data shows  that less-physical powers like empathy, intellect, and telepathy are more represented among female characters. This is because of stereotypes surrounding what women can or can't do. Another interesting study was looking at all of the different teams in the comic book universe. Studies show that 30% of all teams have no women, 12% are all women, and 4.8% include both men and women but have more women. From the 12% of all women teams, its useful to point out that the names derive from femininity in some way, like Femizons, Lady Liberators, and Female Furies. Also notable are the differences in  diminutive names for male and female characters. We see that 28.5 percent of female characters and 12.6 percent of male characters fit in the category. While the industry is trying it's best to alter some features to better represent women, traditional characters tend to keep their names and powers carrying the baggage of the past with them.

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Female characters appear in superhero comics less often than males - but when they are included, how are they depicted?

The recent theatrical release of Wonder Woman briefly catapulted the question of female superhero representation into the mainstream. For some, the character is a feminist icon - even Gloria Steinem wrote about her - and many fans (though not all) felt this wasn't just another superhero movie, but rather a pivotal moment in the portrayal of women in popular culture.

Why all the fuss? Well, the truth is that the comics industry has had a complicated relationship with female characters. They are often hyper-sexualized, unnecessarily brutalized, stereotyped, and used as tokens. They're also rare. Only 26.7 percent of all DC and Marvel characters are female, and only 12 percent of mainstream superhero comics have female protagonists.

I decided to look beyond the gender ratio to see if we could learn more about how females are represented. Using characters from DC and Marvel in the ComicVine database, I analyzed naming conventions, types of superpowers, and the composition of teams to see how male and female genders are portrayed.

Strong men; thoughtful women

Three out of five comic book characters have at least one superpower, regardless of gender. When we categorize these powers, we find that there are some clear gender imbalances.

The difference in male and female powers

Change in % pts

What's that?
Click on a bar and I'll explain the power!

Taking names?
Click on a circle and I'll list gender-titled characters!

NOTES: Percentages are determined only from characters with powers. In DC and Marvel, 62.4 percent of all male characters have powers, and 62.8 percent of female characters have powers.

ComicVine lists over 100 possible powers; however, we removed all powers for which the difference between genders is not significant at a 95 percent confidence level when performing a t-test. Definitions are from both Comic Vine and Superpower Wiki.

The data suggest that less-physical powers - such as empathy, intellect, and telepathy - tend to be more represented among female characters. Men however, often have highly physical powers, as well as those that involve gadgets. Female characters dominate in relatively few physical abilities; and those where they do are often tied to gender stereotypes. Pheromone control - the ability to generate and control pheromones that affect emotional and physical states, such as sleep, fear, and pleasure - occurs five times as often in a female character. Sonic scream appears in twice as many female characters as male; and prehensile hair - the ability to control one's own hair - appears in female characters seven times more often.

Token teams and team members

There are over 2,500 teams in DC and Marvel combined. Roughly half of all characters - male and female - are members of at least one team. The number of females on teams is what you would expect given the relatively low number of female characters. That doesn't mean, though, that female characters are evenly distributed. In fact, 30 percent of all teams have no women, and only 12 percent have more female team members than male. The majority of those 12 percent, however, are exclusively female teams. This means that in actuality, only 4.8 percent of all teams have both male and female characters and have more women than men.

Female percentage of every team

Each dot represents one of 2,862 teams in DC and Marvel.

Particularly interesting are the names of the exclusively female teams - Femizons, Lady Liberators, Female Furies, Holiday Girls, Doom Maidens. A third of all exclusively female team names reference their femininity in some way, and if we look at the all-female teams that are five or more members, that number jumps to half. These groups have gendered names in the way that the male teams generally do not. Only seven percent of their male counterparts with five or more members have a masculine naming reference. Given this highly gendered naming pattern, it seems that exclusively female teams are often specifically defined by their femininity.

Men will be men; women will be girls

Character monikers follow a similar pattern to team names. Consider some of the most popular comic characters of all time: Batman, Wonder Woman, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man. Eight percent of both male and female characters have gendered names. However, not all gendered names are equal; some fit a "diminutive" category. These are titles that are the younger, or infantilized versions of another name. For example, "girl" is the diminutive version of woman.

Comparing the balance of gendered names

Let's look at the percent of female and male characters with equivalent gendered names. For example, we have paired "man" and "woman" as equivalent. Their usage, however, is not balanced: male characters are given "man" far more often than female characters are given "woman".

Interesting imbalances are found between many gendered naming pairs. Diminutive names - those that may infantilize or denote the younger version of a title - are highlighted.

Percent female

Percent male

NOTES: Percentages are determined only from characters with gendered names. i.e. 13 percent of women with gendered names have "girl" in their name.

The names considered "diminutive" are those in red text on the chart. They were chosen by the author, and there are good arguments for both keeping and removing many of these terms. However, the point remains: If we only consider "girl" and "boy" there is still a significant difference: 13 percent for females, 5 percent for males.

In some cases, a character with a gendered name will be listed in the Comic Vine database under their secret identity. For example, there is no Ms. Marvel or Batgirl in the chart above. They are listed in the data as Carol Danvers (and Kamala Khan, etc.) and Barbara Gordon.

If we compare the use of diminutive names for male and female characters, we see that 28.5 percent of female characters and 12.6 percent of male characters fit in the category. Females are more than twice as likely to be given a name that may make her seem weak, less dangerous, less aggressive and not on equal footing with male characters.

Marvel and DC are no longer simply convenience-store singles. Today, they're blockbuster movies, fast-selling merchandise, drama-filled tv shows, and popular video games. The more we see these characters appear in pop culture, the more their representation matters - especially because female characters form such a small fraction of the whole.

Carolyn Cocca, academic and author of the Eisner-nominated book "Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation", expresses clearly why this is such an important concern. She writes: "If the constantly repeated story is that women and girls are not leaders, are not working in professional settings, are not agents of their own lives but merely adjuncts to others, and are sometimes not even present at all, it can reinforce or foster societal undervaluing of women and girls... As there are fewer female characters to begin with, each is overburdened with representing women as a group."

To be fair, this problem does not affect comics alone: media in general - including children's literature, cartoons, computer games and even coloring books - have a history of poor female representation and gender imbalance. And often media reflect our world back to us: while only 27% of Marvel and DC characters are female, that number is only 19% for the United States Congress.

The good news is that things may be changing. Both DC and Marvel have slowly begun to increase the number of female characters in their output. Our analysis did not consider time-series data (we didn't have it), and characters change over time - Wonder Woman herself has been a feminist activist, a house-wife, a sexualized pin-up, and a kick-ass hero in her 76 years. However, while some features may be altered, established and traditional characters tend to maintain their names and powers. They continue to carry the representative baggage of their past.

Data and methodology
Using the ComicVine database, which is fan-edited, information was downloaded for all 34,476 characters in Marvel and DC. The choice of the "big two" was made to cover the greatest breadth and history of characters; these companies have both been around since the 1930s and together they are responsible for approximately 70 percent of the retail market (depending on the month). Data were gathered at the end of April, 2017.

This piece is, unfortunately, only focused on male and female gender. In the database there are designations for "female", "male" and "other"; however, the decision was made to remove characters that appeared in the "other" category. I had hoped this data would provide insight into non-binary or gender fluid characters in Marvel and DC. Upon closer inspection, however, it was clear that the category is not often used in a gender-inclusive way. Instead, it is primarily used as a label for non-human characters like robots, auras and spirits. Here's a brief, interesting read about battling this binary model in superhero comics.

Because I gathered every single character from both publishers, there are occasionally duplicates of characters. There's a good argument for removing them: They over-weight some of the big characters, because it's usually only the more common, popular characters that are replaced, reborn, or duplicated. However, there's a good argument for keeping them as well. They can be considered different characters (Batman-X is not the same as Batman, for example), and as such, they have distinct genders. Removing duplicates would mean missing out if the character changes gender. For example: There are many iterations of Robin, and not all of them are male.

Thank you to Tyler Shendruk, who provided invaluable assitance during the data analysis stage, and to Nicole Derksen, who created the illustrations and gifs used in this article.

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Analyzing the Gender Representation of 34,476 Comic Book Characters

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Female characters appear in superhero comics less often than males - but when they are included, how are they depicted? The recent theatrical release of Wonder Woman briefly catapulted the question of female superhero representation into the mainstream.

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After reading Batgirl and Harley Quinn, I couldn’t think of another female superhero other than Wonder Woman. I really enjoyed watching this YouTube video because there are in fact other comic books out there with great female superheroes going against what we don’t see enough of in the popular comic books. Some of these super women roles explore homosexuality as well as women essentially advocating for themselves as women.

I mentioned in my discussion post about having different shapes and sizes to portray superheroes. Matt Joseph Diaz describes diversity, and while I was thinking about body shapes and sizes, for both women and males, I disregarded the fact that diversity can be huge representation for everyone. Diaz states that having a superhero that looks like you is inspiring. I agree with his assessment because it builds a stronger relationship between character and reader and therefore influences us to be more like the character.

-Ruby Rendon

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Men of Wonder: gender and American superhero comics

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Men of Wonder: gender and American superhero comics

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http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/men-of-wonder-gender-and-american-superhero-comics
Sonia Fraser
This article looks at the 2011 reboot of DC Comics as a means to attract new readers. it states that this tactic allows authors to reimagine heroes who have been around for nearly 70 years. Ultimately, the reboot was less than successful, since it attracted negative attention over the depiction of female characters found in many of the 52 comics being redone. It considers the idea that superhero comics are not speaking to women, but rather about them, which creates a exclusionary sub culture around superhero fandoms. It raises the question, "why are superhero comics so masculine?"
This article takes a look at the  Comic Code developed in 1954, and the possible role it played in sanitizing comics. It goes on to look at how this sanitization of comics may have lead to the boys only club that seems to dominate the comic scene.

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DC Comic's Pulls The Plug On "Cyborg" Comic Series

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DC Comic's Pulls The Plug On "Cyborg" Comic Series

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Dylan Sorenson
This news has not come as a shock to many fans, who were forced to face cancelation in early January. The series, however, was revitalized for a short amount of time, but quickly was canceled again. Unfortunately, the series ends on a cliffhanger, leaving many fans disappointed with the wrap up of the series and demanding a proper end. Good news for fans, however, is that many of the Cyborg characters will be seen in up coming comic releases, including the Justice League and Green Lantern.

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Cyborg is having a rough year.

DC Comics has canceled its monthly Cyborg comic, according to writer Marv Wolfman. The recently released Cyborg #23 will serve as the series' final issue, with the previously solicited Cyborg #24 and #25 being canceled.

This marks the second time the series has been put on the chopping block in 2018. It previously ended with issue #20 in January before unexpectedly returning in April with Wolfman (who co-created the character in 1980) installed as the new writer. Unfortunately, that second lease on life didn't last very long.

Wolfman explained the situation on his Facebook page, revealing that low sales were the culprit.

Fans have been writing asking about the sad news of Cyborg's cancellation. As most of you know, the book had been cancelled long before I got on it but was surprisingly put back on the schedule a few weeks later because DC loves the character as much as I do and they hoped my presence would help. But, sadly, most fans had already given up on it and didn't even know I was now writing it. Hindsight being 20-20 and all that, I think we all wish we had simply cancelled the book back then and waited a year to relaunch with the new direction I gave it. I love giant robots - have since forever. Long before anime became popular in the U.S. I was watching a local Japanese UHF station in Flushing, NY, that played Raideen and other Japanese giant robot cartoons. I was at Marvel at the time and my constantly pushing it is part of the reason why we launched the Shogun Warriors title. The shame is I think the direction we were going was solid and fun. I had already written the script for #24, which was being drawn, and was in the middle of #25 when we got the word it was cancelled with the book that had just gone on sale, #23. I'm so sorry we couldn't make it work. Thank you everyone who bought the comic and wrote telling me how much they liked where I was taking it. I thank DC for giving us the opportunity to turn the sales around. Cyborg might not presently have his own title but you can still see him all over the DCU. In the meantime, I'm still writing Raven. If you haven't checked it out before, take a look. I really love the very different kinds of stories I'm writing there.

The cancellation is all the more unfortunate because Cyborg #23 ends on a cliffhanger. There's no word on whether DC plans on publishing those unfinished final issues in a new form, whether in a trade paperback collection or in the recently announced DC Giant specials being sold at Walmart.

The good news is that Cyborg will continue to play an active role in the DC Universe. The upcoming Justice League Odyssey features Vic joining forces with Starfire, Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, Azrael and even Darkseid for a new cosmic adventure. Click here for more on the future of DC's Justice League line.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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DC Comics Cancels Cyborg's Comic (Again) - IGN

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Cyborg is having a rough year. DC Comics has canceled its monthly Cyborg comic, according to writer Marv Wolfman. The recently released Cyborg #23 will serve as the series' final issue, with the previously solicited Cyborg #24 and #25 being canceled. This marks the second time the series has been put on the chopping block in 2018.

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The Comic Artists Who Inspired Roy Lichtenstein Aren’t Too Thrilled About It

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The Comic Artists Who Inspired Roy Lichtenstein Aren’t Too Thrilled About It

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/comics-behind-roy-lichtenstein-180966994/
Sona Fraser
To give some background information, Roy Lichtenstein was an American pop artist who satirized comics in his work. His paintings take on the aesthetic of the comics from the 1960s, going so far as to include text and dialogue at times.

This article discusses how Lichtenstein wedded low and high art in his work, ultimately leading to his great success as a pop artist. His use of comics was seen as visionary for his time, but the artists he used are not very happy about it. The article brings up the issue of appropriation of low art by high art. Apparently Lichtenstein used the works of the comic artists without giving credit to the comic artists who produced his inspiration. The article even goes so far as to question whether Lichtenstein's work is even art as it is so close to the material that inspired it, that it may be considered plagiarism.

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Sonia Fraser
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/satyrquaze/blog/what-makes-a-supervillain/46867/
Last week we discussed the nature of superheroes, and their villainous counterparts. This article discusses what characteristics go into a supervillain. The article includes examples from comics like Lex Luther, and contrasts them against superheroes to show what traits stand out as evil. The article gets interesting when the author comes to antiheroes like Tony Stark, who exhibit  traits in common with villains. Not only does he look at the traits of a villain, but he also looks at the situation from the perspective of a villain. The article ends with a discussion of cosmic entities and whether they can be considered supervillains or not. The author argues that there is no way for a mortal to understand the moral workings of a cosmic being, and therefore they cannot be considered villains.

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The Dark Knight has always been one of my favorite movies and movie trilogy series. Not only were they great adaptations of comics but they also added intrigue and had some of the best villains the movie scene has ever seen. Health Ledgers performance as the Joker is arguably the best villain performance of all time. He continually pushes Batman and the city of Gotham to the break in order to prove his point. His point and ideas can be seen in the real world as well which adds to the complexity of the movie.

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Christopher Nolan may have left Gotham City behind. But in a wide-ranging two-hour talk at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, the director offered a unique take on his Dark Knight Trilogy.

"To me, each film is a different genre," Nolan said, about the movies starring Christian Bale as Batman. "They tend to be defined by the villain."

Nolan explained that he saw 2005's "Batman Begins" as a straightforward origins story. "The villain (Liam Neeson's Henri Ducard) is an appropriate adversary," Nolan said. "He's a mentor-turned-enemy." Next, came the second movie in 2008 with Heath Ledger. "'The Dark Knight' for me was always a crime drama in the mold of a Michael Mann film. The Joker was a terrorist, an agent of chaos set loose." Finally, in 2012's the grand finale, "The Dark Knight Rises," co-starring Tom Hardy, Nolan envisioned "this historical epic. Bane as a militarist foe helped that."

Interestingly enough, Nolan didn't necessarily see himself launching a "Batman" franchise, when he took the job at Warner Bros. 13 years ago. "We hadn't planned on doing a sequel," Nolan said. "So shifting genres and the nature of the antagonist felt the way to take the audience on a journey and tell them something different about Bruce Wayne."

Nolan admitted that he approached the comic-book world through a different lens, as a noir-thriller. "Yes, it's a superhero, but it's based on ideas of guilt, fear, these strong impulses that the character has," Nolan said. "Bruce Wayne doesn't have any super powers other than extraordinary wealth. But really, he's just someone who does a lot of push-ups. In that sense, he's very relatable and human. I think that's why I gravitated towards it."

When asked if his "Batman" paid homage to James Bond, Nolan admitted a connection. "We mercilessly pillaged from the James Bond films for certain aspects," Nolan said, adding that they wanted to make him as compelling as 007. He noted how Gotham's chief inventor Lucius Fox is similar to Bond's Agent Q, who has a closet full of gadgets. "But I think if I made my version of James Bond, 'Inception' is far more guilty of that than 'The Dark Knight,'" Nolan said.

Nolan is visiting the Cannes Film Festival - for the first time - for the premiere of a 70 mm print of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," which screened on Friday. "Films that are made in an analog way ought to be presented in an analog way whenever possible," Nolan said.

Nolan spent much of his talk explaining why he preferred shooting on film instead of digital. "Film still stands as the best analogy for the way the eye sees," he said. "For my purposes, I find it to be the most immersive and emotionally involving tool for drawing the audience into the story."

Nolan first saw "2001" at the age of 7, in London with his dad, after it had be re-released on the big screen following the success of 1977's "Star Wars." "I think what I've carried about that experience as far as my own films is really just a sense that films can be anything," Nolan said. "What Kubrick did in 1968, he simply refused to acknowledge that there were any rules you had to play by in terms of narrative."

That was a lesson that he carried with him throughout his career. "It's incumbent on us to push whatever boundaries we can and not be beholden to the theoretical rules," Nolan said.

His 2000 indie breakout hit "Memento" proved that. "It's often referred to as a non-linear film, and it's not," Nolan said. "It's intensely linear, but it runs backwards. For that reason, you couldn't eliminate a scene, you couldn't change the order. I had to do that in the script stage."

Nolan gave credit to his wife, Emma Thomas, who produces all his films. "Emma is my longest and closest collaborator," he said. "It's great to be able to work with people who don't have an agenda other than helping make the best films you can. It's surprising how difficult it is to forge those relationships."

Another family member who has doubled as a co-worker has been his brother, Jonathan. They wrote much of The Dark Knight Trilogy in rooms - or "in the back of cars, boats, planes" - together. "'Interstellar' was a project [Jonathan] had written for Steven Spielberg many years before," Nolan said. "I took that screenplay and combined it with ideas of my own while he was doing other things."

Nolan grew up wanting to direct, but he majored in another subject in college. "I studied English because that was the academic subject I was best at," Nolan said. "What I found when I studied it, it greatly informed my filmmaking process, my writing process. I began to become at ease with the literary concepts that underline criticism." When he was younger, he struggled with the concept of authorial intent not lining up with a reader's interpretation. "In studying English literature, storytellers grasp evocative symbols," Nolan said. "They do have ... subconscious layers of resonation. That is something I needed to learn and get on board with."

Nolan described his style as a director. He doesn't like to employ a second unit because he prefers to shoot every scene himself - even if it's a quick shot of an actor's hand. "There's performance in those gestures," he said. On movies where he had to divide up those scenes, "it always bothered me afterwards," he said. "If I'm the director, I have to be shooting all the shots that go into a film."

He also doesn't use a common prop in Hollywood. "I don't use a monitor on the set," Nolan said. "I stay by the camera. I want to see where things are in a three-dimensional space."
RELATED VIDEO:

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Christopher Nolan: Villains Defined The Dark Knight Trilogy More Than Batman

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Christopher Nolan may have left Gotham City behind. But in a wide-ranging two-hour talk at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, the director offered a unique take on his Dark Knight Trilogy. "To me, each film is a different genre," Nolan said, about the movies starring Christian Bale as Batman.

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Movies You Didn't Know Were Based Off Comics

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Movies You Didn't Know Were Based Off Comics

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Kalen Leone
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/movie-comic-book-adaptations/
This website lists 40 movies that you didn't know were originally comics. This is why I think it is important for Netflix and HBO to make a comic book genre! This list consists of movies like Wanted with Angelina Jolie and The Adams Family. I feel knowing what came from a comic book and what didn't would make actual comic books much more popular. The original art needs to be appreciated and that way the audience can compare if Hollywood benefited the story or destroyed the story. I hope you all enjoy and get inspired to explore other comic book genres besides the typical superhero/villain story!

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https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2018/02/ever-see-marvel-vs-dc-movie/
This article discusses the idea that almost all Marvel and DC fans have wanted for years, the Marvel vs. DC film. It starts out discussing the barriers and issues that putting together such a film would entail. The biggest issues stated were the production companies being Disney and Warner Bros have to agree and collaborate. This two cinema giants would have to work together to make this work. The article brings up the collaboration with Sony and Marvel to make Spiderman, and how that was ground-breaking. It talks about the collaboration between movies like Alien vs. Predator and Freddy vs. Jason; yes the companies made it work but those films didn't have the results they expected. This may be another reason why they haven't tried to make this film yet, mixing the two universes might water down each other's worlds and aesthetics. Marvel typically is faster pasted and colorful while DC typically seems to be emotionally deeper and darker. These contrasting themes could be great if done right but very easily could be disastrous. There is also mentioning of the cast being complex and who would fill the roles. Would they use existing actors or all new?

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Iris Berber
https://newrepublic.com/article/148198/marvel-killing-movies
This article is about the over-saturation of comic book movies and franchise movies currently occurring in the film industry. Not only does a certain "fatigue" set in for viewers, the films themselves suffer. The article notes that "Avengers: Infinity War" was basically a slew of climactic action scenes strung together. I don't think this is unique to comic book movies or superhero movies, but it certainly occurs in them as well. There is no lag time between superhero movies — it seems there's a new one every week — and this takes away from the anticipation and time for speculation that makes movie franchises so much fun for fans. Fans are getting too much of what they love, and it's ruining the movies.

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http://www.newnownext.com/gay-superhero-movies/10/2017/
as i was reading some of the other post of here i saw one that caught my eye "coming out as a gay superhero" witch made me wonder that i haven't seen any gay superhero and that all of our big superhero's such as super man, spider man, the hulk, honestly any male and woman who is seen as a main stream superhero is straight. reading this article tho i saw that the LGBT world is all around and in comic books. this article talks about that even though we may not have seen it on the movie there are suggestive thought in the actually comic books and how in the show run aways and arrow you can actually see that connection to the LGBT woman and the comic book.

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Max Weiner

https://film.avclub.com/the-dark-knight-1798204595

I recently watched Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, I haven't seen this film for several years. I believe this to be the best comic book movie and is original in many respects. Nolan focuses on Batman and Gotham's dark side and the film is essentially a film noir. It makes all of the other Batman films seem childish. Three supervillains appear in the movie: Scarecrow, the Joker, and Two-Face (we basically see the origin story of how Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face). The film is a complex critique of society and vigilante justice. Why does Batman get to fight crime as he sees it? What makes him a good guy? My favorite part of the movie is the Joker, he plays a remarkable villain and I really believed he's insane.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/fashion/coming-out-as-gay-superheroes.html
Sonia Fraser
This article is about the changes that are happening right now in the comic book industry regarding  the portrayal of LGBTQ characters. It includes sections on different characters both from mainstream comic and from more independent publications who have come out as gay, queer, or non conforming in recent years. The article cites "moving with the times" as a major incentive for producers, publishers, and authors to include a diverse cast of characters in their comics.

The comics we have explored in the superhero genre so far have been exclusively about cis straight men. And why wouldn't they be? Many of the comics that would be considered "classics" are products from another era that was less receptive to diversity in media. Before reading this, I was not actually aware that there were so many comics, that included LGBTQ heroes and supporting characters. I was pleasantly surprised to see unabashedly gay superheroes like Midnighter beginning to come into the mainstream. Honestly, Gay superheroes make sense to me. As I read in a related article (included at the bottom) the dual public/private identity of a superhero aligns quite well with the experiences of younger, closeted individuals.

Related article: The Importance of Gay Superheroes
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hero-saves-the-day-why-lg_b_8130778.html

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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451279/
Ashley Case
I am not big on comic book movies and have not seen many of them but my best friends dragged me to see the newest Wonder Women. I was honestly surprised by the movie and really did enjoy the movie. My favorite part of the movie was the added romance to it which I did not expect (even though I do know that many comics do have romance involved in them). That is something that I really enjoy about comic book movies because romance and drama are two of my favorite genres. Being a female I also enjoyed this movie because it was based on a women being the superhero. This movie gave me a better look at comics and superhero books and movies and did make me enjoy them more.

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Spider Man films Best and Worst -Ruby Rendon

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Spider Man films Best and Worst -Ruby Rendon

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I was eager find out what the best Spider Man movie was to majority of people and among several videos I enjoyed this one the most. Mainly because I agreed with the top two choices.

As I was watching this video I thought about how important it is to stick to the original comic book and it seems like most viewers want the film to stay true. This makes a lot of sense to me because the audience, especially fans, fall in love with the original characters and the relationship they have with one another in the authentic story of the comic book. My favorite Spider Man movie will forever be the first one, the one where we are first introduced to Tobey McGuire as Peter Parker. The casting was perfect, each character even the villain was adored.
Ruby Rendon

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http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2017/10-reasons-why-logan-is-the-best-superhero-movie-since-the-dark-knight/
If you have not seen Logan do not read this because it contains many spoilers.

This article talks about why Logan was the best super hero movie since The Dark Knight. It explains how having Wolverine fight a cloned version of himself is a metaphor for him being his own greatest enemy. This is a theme that is prevalent both in the Wolverine movies and comic books, so to make it that in the final climatic movie that Wolverine fights an emotionless evil version of himself really brings home the idea that Wolverine is and has been his own greatest enemy. I want to analyze the ending seen but do not want to spoil it for anyone. I do not want to analyze every detail of this article but it lists the reasons why this movie was so great and one of them was the emotional connection which I also find to be something that is lacking in most super hero movies. Either way everyone who has not seen Logan should see it. It is an incredible movie even if it was not in the super hero genre it is just an all around cinematic masterpiece.

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https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/06/incredibles-2-hero-worship/563201/
This article explore the main theme in The Incredibles 2 as a way that heros are worshiped. This Article does contain spoilers for the film. There is a law that bans any person with powers from using them. A Brother and sister duo have different views of the law. One is for and he other is ageist. The article tells of the main source of a hero is morality and the abilities people have that separate them is not what makes them a hero. There is three viewpoint disguised, optimistic, cynicism, and realism. The film is targeted for a younger audience and with in the opening weekend it grossed $170 million. Source of Box office.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/06/19/box-office-incredibles-2-flies-past-200-million-in-four-days/#69328c35677f

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The author of this article argues that it is time for everyone to "grow up" and qui watching comic book movies. When he mentions grow up, he refers to choosing a different genre because the comic book movie genre has far surpassed scraping the bottom of the barrel for content. He says that these movies have become bland and have no more originality. They now only rely on crossovers to help keep the genre alive.  He also later states how these movies are a bad place to take pokes at politics. He remarks, "I can think of dozens of better ways to examine the slow erosion of democratic institutions than two guys in tights prattling on about the kind of hero America needs." Although hilarious, this comment provides a great counter to the comic movie genre.

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Another month, another superhero movie staggers to the silver screen, lurching under the weight of its own self-importance, groaning with the expectations of fans, and burdened with a nine-figure marketing budget. I am, of course, talking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, to give it its full, clunkingly portentous title.

Can we all please grow up? Can we acknowledge that Marvel and DC have scraped right though the bottom of the barrel? Can we call time on superhero films? Films which are too dark for kids the comics were originally written for, yet too dumb for any thinking adult.

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Way back in 1989, I quite liked the first modern Batman film - and yet now I curse it. When it was released, it was genuinely interesting and different. A superhero film with highbrow-ish director, a dark feel and adult themes. It was a huge success and I don't begrudge it that. The trouble is it spawned the superhero-filled-multiplex-hell we currently live in.

So now, a quarter of a century later, having strip-mined the comic world down to the bedrock, we have the inevitable franchise crossovers. I'm sure the thinking that went into Bruce Wayne and Clarke Kent's upcoming get-together was every bit as deep as "These are two really successful brands we've been milking for years and the audience is starting to notice that they're a bit long in the tooth ... and, hey, it worked for Alien vs Predator ".

Of course most of the superhero films aren't actually crap in the way that The Last Airbender or Gigli were crap. Many of them are nicely shot and use A-list actors. They often have talented directors. They even get decent reviews ( although the same cannot be said for Batman V Superman). And yet, an hour after watching the latest iteration of Superman/Batman/Iron Man/The Flash/The Green Lantern, I can barely remember anything about it.

The trouble is the source material. In the case of Batman and Superman, this was originally written for ten-year-old boys. A man who can fly with lasers in his eyes. A man who dresses as a bat dispensing justice to bad guys. It's fun but it's fundamentally very silly stuff; it has pre-teen built into its DNA.

I know that the stock response to this is that there's no reason you can't use superheroes to examine dark, adult themes. No there is isn't, but just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Let's use a food analogy. It's like making hamburger out of Wagu beef mixed with foie gras and then serving it in a toasted brioche bun and topping it with artisan cheddar, oak-cured bacon and hand-brined pickles. Sure, the end result will be good but it will be kind of "stupid-good," the ultimate expression of something quite dumb. A cassoulet made with far cheaper ingredients would be a better, more sophisticated and more satisfying dish by almost any yardstick.

In the 80s and 90s, people used to worry about "dumbing down", where complex ideas in spheres like politics and literature were simplified in order to make them accessible to people who were unwilling or unable to deal with sophisticated thought (tellingly, the term originated in the film industry). These days, I'm more worried about dumbing up, where you take something that's pretty stupid to begin with and then throw money and talent at it until it has a semblance of intelligence and sophistication.

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Does this really matter? The answer is that it doesn't if your dumbed-up burger is just another dish on the menu. But it does matter if your local French and Italian joints have been shut down and replaced by an entire street of huge dumbed-up burger restaurants. It matters if you live in a town where the only dish on the menu is dumbed-up burgers. Now, ask yourself how many superhero films your local cinema is currently playing.

Of course, I know there's a business case for it. I understand that big franchise films come with built in branding. I get that, if you went to see Iron Man, you may well go and see Iron Man 2 all the way through to Iron Man 47. I know these films do well in increasingly important markets like China because they're easy to dub (a total lack of nuance helps). I recognise that big explosions and stunning, yet somehow entirely predictable, CGI are a kind of lingua franca for cinema audiences the world over who don't want to think very hard.

Credit: Reuters

In a way though, the cynical business case is the least of my gripes. Far more troubling is the widespread notion that somehow these films have something important to say. The thing is, like our dumbed up hamburger, they are limited, even crippled, by their form. God knows how many articles I've read saying, "Actually, Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War are about fascism and America's love of authoritarianism."

Well, maybe they are. But I can think of dozens of better ways to examine the slow erosion of democratic institutions than two guys in tights prattling on about the kind of hero America needs.

The obvious way is just better films. Films like Sicario and A Most Wanted Man which manage to say something interesting and thoughtful about the world in which which we live without recourse to bang-you-over-the-head expository dialogue set to music that tells you exactly how to feel - and all for a tenth of the budget.

I'd also include South Park in this. Its 2015 skewering of Caitlyn Jenner was a thousand times more insightful than anything I've ever seen in a comic based film.

I know that suggesting that comic characters might be stupid upsets plenty of people. Well, sod it, in for a penny, in for a pound ... I used to read 2000AD as a kid and I quite liked its epic, six-month-long storylines. But then I turned 14. And comics stopped doing it for me. Yes, even graphic novels. Even The Dark Knight Returns. I put them all in a big trunk and it went up in the loft and there it stayed.

My parents deserve some of the blame for this. Dad was not a fan of comic books. His view was that the second you hit puberty, you put them behind you and started reading John Updike - and you damn well stuck at it until you liked it. And you know what? He was right. The travails of Rabbit Angstrom are better than any comic. They were better when I was 15 and they were a hell of a lot better by the time I was 25 - which is the median age of people who went to see The Avengers.

And yes, I know Persepolis started as a graphic novel - and very good it is too. But it's an exception to the general rule that if you need to shave, you should be reading books where you have to make the pictures in your own head. You can say this intellectual snobbery if you like, but you only have to go a little way down this road before you find yourself arguing that V for Vendetta is the equal of Lolita - and I'm afraid my artistic relativism doesn't stretch that far, even if yours does.

Of course, I can't be reading all the time, so thank God for TV. While Hollywood seems content to feed us an endless conveyor belt of dumbed-up dirty burgers for the mind, TV outfits ranging from Netflix to Channel 4 have recognised that there's a market for drama that doesn't involve men in capes. Series like The Wire, Breaking Bad, Narcos and Deutschland 83 are the real heirs to all those great films from the 1970s like Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now. They're the popular culture people will remember in 30 years time, not some crossover film that started life as an Excel spreadsheet at a LA branding consultancy.

As for Superman v Batman, I'm sure I'll watch it on a plane sometime in the next 12 months. Probably one of those really long flights to Asia.

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No self-respecting adult should buy comics or watch superhero movies

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Another month, another superhero movie staggers to the silver screen, lurching under the weight of its own self-importance, groaning with the expectations of fans, and burdened with a nine-figure marketing budget. I am, of course, talking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, to give it its full, clunkingly portentous title.

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https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/from-avengers-to-x-men-a-brief-history-of-superhero-movies-20150422

As a beginner to the genre of comic books, I picked an article on the history of comic book derived superhero movies. Personally, I have never watched any of these films, so I think this can be helpful to anyone who wants to gain some basic knowledge on what's available in terms of films, and how long they have been around for. The article explains that these films have been around since 1941 when Adventures of Captain Marvel  was created by Republic Pictures. Later 1978, the Superman film was released and proved to be a hit. In all the years since this genre of film has flourished by adapting to new technologies.
At the end of the article, the author compares comic books to modern mythology. I find this comparison very fitting and imagine producing such a film would be extremely fun!

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http://www.vulture.com/article/the-25-best-movie-supervillains-ranked.html Alia Norris
i picked this one because i love the topic of villains, on here is also the villain of Black Panther with i think is super cool because i think this is the first time where i loved the villain and the hero at the same time witch i wont life made me feeling weird the whole move because we usually do not fall for both or under stand where both villain and hero are coming form. but other then that it is a list of twenty five awesome villains ranked and why!

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Max Weiner
https://www.amazon.com/Feynman-Jim-Ottaviani/dp/1596438274
I want to talk about a graphic novel I read that resembles the memoir genre.  The link I provided allows you to see a few pages; I want to discuss the overall book and not some specific page.  Richard Feynman was a brilliant and famous physicist.  He was famous both for his seminal contributions to physics as well as his great talent of delivering entertaining (without simplifying) expositions on difficult topics.  He was a goofy character who had a lot of stories to tell; he was no introvert.  He ended up writing several memoirs of his life.  This graphic novel, Feynman, compiles all of Feynman's memoirs in comic format.  This book utilizes verisimilitude which contrasts with the authentic Fun Home. It is a verisimilitude because the novel was published many years after Feynman passed away. So the stories are accurate (they derive from Feynman's memoirs) but the illustrations represent the author's imagination of Feynman's memories. The book is extremely entertaining and I thought it was interesting that someone would create this "memoir" in such a manner.

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Kalen Leone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMnAGN2gRsw
Hey guys! So the video I posted this week is extremely quirky- it is a bowl of all the super villains trying to destroy one another. The reason I chose this is because it take villains from movies of all genres and it is really interesting to see how every story really shows there is a hero in a villain. They take villains from The Wizard of Oz (wicked witch), Aliens vs. Predators, Alice in Wonderland, Kill Bill, and of course all the typical comic book villains that we already know. The story line of good vs. evil is a widely common theme which I think shows a lot about our society. I often think in times that society must present a winner and a loser. Going off of what we learned about what villains teach us about society I think we should start looking for what each villain represents in the real world in EVERY movie we watch! Not just in comics or specifically super heroes.

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Emilio Morales
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_cEoK1mXms
Many people may have already seen this clip from Kill Bill Vol 2. The monologue is the topic of superheroes' alter egos. Everyone except for superman has to put on a costume to become there hero ego, but Superman takes off the suit and becomes Clark Kent. There are many videos and debates on if Bill makes a good argument by what he interprets as Superman seeing humans as weak and why this alter ego is a fragile person. With us reading on the superhero genre this week I thought this was appropriate video to view as we talk of why we like superheros. Superman is a stand alone even amongst other superheros.

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http://comicbook.com/tv-shows/2018/06/14/game-of-thrones-and-westworld-to-skip-san-diego-comic-con/

Dylan Sorenson
This week I decided to bring up something that's relevant in pop culture but also the fictional world of comics. According to multiple sources, both Westworld and Game of Thrones will not attend Comic Con this year, despite being 2 of the most standout shows at the event last year. This comes in addition to Marvel holding back their participation as well, claiming they are letting fans take in their new movies instead of trying to push them at Comic Con. Is the hype of Comic Con dying out, or is this simply a way for brands to excite people into discovering content on their own? Personally, I think leaving yourself out of one of the biggest conventions in the country is a huge mistake.

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Ashley Case
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/superheroes-vs-super-villains
This week I am posting about superheroes vs supervillains. I found this article that also has a video comparing and contrasting heroes and villains. After reading about this I realized that while villains and heroes are different they are also very similar. I have always thought of heroes and villains being complete opposites but after taking a deeper look into it I can see that they can be very similar. They both have power; they just use it in their own different ways. They also have different kinds of power that may have different effects. Again this is just because of the way that they each chose to use there power. They also each have their own different goals and motives in what they do. This is where the opposite comes into play. Typically the villains motive is the opposite of the heroes motive. There are many ways that Villains and heroes are different but there are also many ways that they are similar.

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Hi all! My post this week is about the overconfidence of villains. We have all been there. It is the climax of the movie and the villain claims that everything is exactly as he planned...but then the hero is victorious. I feel like the build up followed by the collapse is a format set in stone for many villains. Sometimes though I wish that the villains plan did go exactly how they thought it would. This would add that extra layer and keep the viewer always guessing who is going to be victorious. There are some case though when the villain does gain victory. *SPOILER ALERT* Take for example Thanos in the new Avengers movie. Victorious right? Wrong! The avengers will win. Why? Because that is the format. The hero always has to win. I just think it would be cool for a creator to break this format every now and again just to keep things interesting. Attached is Red Skull being...Red Skull I guess. He really needs to work on his insults.  Also notable is the fact that this photo is titled: Captain American Gets a New Villain: President Trump. Showing how comics are very much involved in society and poking fun at present day politics.

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Great Super Villains Make Great Superheroes  

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Great Super Villains Make Great Superheroes  

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Ahead of time I want to apologize in advance for some of the language used on this YouTube video. It is not my intentions to offend anyone.

After posting on super villains I wanted to research more on them and what it takes to make an unforgettable villain. This video is more of a rant, but I like it because I agree with the narrator on what the components are to a great superhero, and it should be an equally great and just as cool super villain. More specifically, a super villain with a story that pulls on our strings so we can have a better understanding of their motives to seek revenge, or whatever their crime is. I don’t believe that any crime is justified, however it would make for a better and more entertaining story.
-Ruby

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Why SuperVillains Are Terrible: Fixing General Zod

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http://www.dorkly.com/post/75992/messed-up-marvel-villains
I was very intrigued with the topic this week and instantly decided that I wanted to write about the ultimate villain, The Joker. Then, I realized that it would be much more interesting to see if there are any supervillains more deranged than the clown prince of crime, and sure enough, there are plenty.
I found an article that lists ten supervillains with dark agendas. There were two in particular who stood out to me. The first was Purple Man, the mind rapist. Purple Man has the power of hypno-pheromones, which gives him the ability to make people do whatever he wants. He takes the mind control to a dark, demented place by using this power to essentially rape women. One of his most famous victims was Jessica Jones, who he keeps under his control for months as a sex slave. The other eccentric villain who intrigued me was Mojo, the morbidly obese creature with mechanical spider legs. This man is the definition of disgusting. He controls an entire planet and forces them to watch his strange television shows. His most famous of these shows include Baby X-Men, who he created himself.
After researching these villains, I have come to find that comic villains have no ends of darkness. Their sadistic abilities and crimes genuinely create a terrifying universe.

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https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/satyrquaze/blog/what-makes-a-supervillain/46867/
-Alex Massimi
When I was writing my blog post the thought hit me that the Joker and the Batman both shared the motive of revenge for the things that happened to them. However, Batman's version of revenge is attacking criminals and making sure no one suffered the same way he did. While the Joker wants revenge on all man kind. This article dwells on that subject and asks are these people really super-villains? He talks about someone named Ra's Al Ghul who believes that by wiping out humanity the planet will be saved. So, he is obviously bad because he is trying to kill large amounts of people, but is doing so for a relatively pure reason. He also brings up Magneto, who is a holocaust survivor. After, suffering through the holocaust he wants to do everything he can to prevent the mutants from suffering a mass genocide and seeks to protect his people. What makes him the villain is he attempts to protect mutants by killing non-mutants. What makes Xavier the good guy is he protects his race by attempting to create peace with humans. What I have gathered is what makes two people with the same motive either a hero or a villain is how you go about your goal.

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Week 2- Superhero NPR Post- Jessica Conway

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Week 2- Superhero NPR Post- Jessica Conway

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https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/11/261449394/who-gets-to-be-a-superhero-race-and-identity-in-comics

This NPR article brings an important question to light: Who gets to be a super hero? Unfortunately, many mainstream comics do not fully represent America’s diverse population since they feature primarily white characters. Recently, artists and comic book fans have been reimagining, or “race-bending”, popular comics such as X-Man to given the original characters brown skin. This article reveals the way in which including different ethnicities in a comic can actually make the content much richer. I think it would be wonderful if the comic book genre included more diversity and even other marginalized groups such as LGBTQ characters. The fan base for comic books is diverse, so there is no reason that the Superheros shouldn’t be also! Finally, bringing the amazing qualities of a superhero to these groups will inspire young readers of all backgrounds that they too can do amazing things no matter their skin color.

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Ashley Case
http://allaboutbooksandcomics.com/wp/
I have always thought of comics to be in the comedy genre up until the first week of this class. I have never been too experienced with comics and it is not something I spend a lot of time reading. The comics I did read or know of were ones like Calvin and Hobbs and Captain Underpants. Other comics I had experience with were political cartoons that I had to read for a number of my social studies classes throughout school.
After this first week of class and learning more about comics and doing research on comics I learned that there are many more types and genres of comics, with and without words. While doing research on comics I found this website with all sorts of different comics of all different genres to explore. All this comics are very different. There are many types of different forms, topics, images and comics altogether included on this website.

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Iris Berber

While humor always seems to be a common outlet for people – especially in hard times – I didn’t think that comics were so deeply rooted in history. Since my initial visualization of comics are not of renaissance paintings, I just assumed the art form was a fairly new one.

This article discussed the history of comics and their origination from caricatures in 1700’s Italy. The late 18th century comic styles became more playful and exaggerated alongside an increase in social and political satire but “The New Satire” of 1961 really changed the game.

The post-war period basically birthed the single-panel comic to “condense a complex situation into a single memorable image.” Around this time, comics became increasingly complex where the comic strip was created and eventually the first graphic novel in 1977.

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Illustrated lecture on The History of British Cartoons and Caricatures given by Lord Baker of Dorking, trustee of the Cartoon Museum, at Gresham College in London in 2011 can be seen at:
Characters and Caricatures, 1700 - 1770
The cartoon art form began with 'caricatura'. A caricature - from the Italian caricare, to load or exaggerate - is a drawing that gives weight to the most striking features of its subject for comic effect. The great Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Annibale Carracci and Gian Lorenzo Benini, all drew caricatures. These were technical exercises in virtuosity with the aim of defining the essence of a person in a few deft strokes of the pen.

Many English artists looked to Italy for inspiration, but one man did not. William Hogarth, painter and engraver, believed:

"Everything requisite to compleat the consummate painter or sculptor may [be had] with the utmost ease without going out of London".

Hogarth created a new form of picture-story, 'comic history-painting' full of 'characters', not 'caricatura', copies of nature, not exaggerations. His 'modern moral subjects', that can be seen in The Harlot's Progress and The Rake's Progress, depict critical moments in life, in act and consequence. Time is represented in space, between and within each scene. It is for this reason that Hogarth is widely regarded as the father of British caricature, in spite of himself, and of the comic strip.
'The Golden Age', 1770 - 1830
From the 1770s it was the gentleman amateur and semi-amateur, such as Townshend, Bunbury, Woodward and Nixon, who transformed the artform, introducing a more playful style and a strong element of personal caricature. Social satire blossomed, offering humorous observations on current fashions and social pretensions.

In the 1780s political satire ripened. Print-shops flourished in the City, Westminster and St. James's, many holding caricature exhibitions. The hand-coloured copper-plate etching, freer in style that the engraving, became fashionable: often priced at 2 shillings (10p) or more it was a luxury item, and beyond the means of most.

The French Revolution in 1789 ignited a fusillade of satirical propaganda in France and Britain. Both 'Loyalist' members of the Pitt coalition and the opposition 'Reform' Whigs around Fox sponsored partisan political prints. At first, the Foxites took the upper hand, creating a new type of sophisticated visual and verbal satire. But news from France of the excesses of the Terror damaged the reform cause. By 1795 the Foxites were in decline, and a blast of repressive measures, culminating in the Treason and Sedition Acts, subdued not only the press and opposition, but also the print publishers.

In August 1819, the local Yeoman Cavalry attacked a crowd of peaceful protestors in St Peter's Fields, Manchester. The government response was the repressive Six Acts, including an increase in stamp duty that tripled the price of many papers. The publisher William Hone and George Cruikshank, the foremost caricaturist of the Regency, answered these attacks on Reform with a little 24-page shilling (5p) pamphlet, The Political House That Jack Built. It would go through 50 editions and sell 100,000 copies. Hone had revived the technique of wood-engraving. The hardwood relief block was more durable that the copper-plate, and could be set with the metal type and printed together, thereby cutting costs. Image and text could now support each other, and reach a wider audience.
The Illustrated Magazine 1830 - 1914
The Reform Bill crisis of 1830-2 stirred up a flurry of satirical prints, but topical satire was finding a new home. Following an example in Paris, a number of humorous magazine were launched in Britain. In 1841 the journalist Henry Mayhew and the printer-engraver, Ebenezer Landells founded the most famous of them all: Punch. It was to be a weekly comic paper 'without grossness, partisanship, profanity, indelicacy, or malice'. In its long life it cultivated the talents of more comic artists than any other British magazine.

Vanity Fair was founded in 1868 and revived the tradition of the single-figure caricature in genial colour portraits of celebrities and professional men, a style perfected in this country by Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape').

In the 1880s printers began to use the new photochemical process. A truer facsimile of the artist's work, its tone, texture and detail, was now possible. The greater fidelity benefited two great innovators, Max Beerbohm and Phil May.
Modern Times 1914 - 1961
In the First World War, cartoonists rallied to the patriotic cause portraying an encounter between the national symbols and personifications. The morale-boosting works of Bert Thomas and Bruce Bairnsfather proved popular with British troops at the front.

The first half of the twentieth century saw the heydey of the popular magazine, and cartoons helped to determine its graphic style and character. William Heath Robinson joined The Sketch in 1906 and entertained its readers through two world wars. H.M. Bateman perfected the wordless strip cartoon, and his 'The Man Who...' series of colour cartoons filled the centre-spread of The Tatler in the 1920s and 1930s.

Victor Weisz, 'Vicky', one of Britain's best post-war political cartoonists, was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1935. When he started at the News Chronicle in 1939 his editor advised a crash course in British culture: he soon had a witty command of a British cartoonist's stock references and motifs, including Shakespeare and Tenniel's Alice drawings.

Ronald Searle has been described as 'arguably the foremost graphic artist of [the twentieth] century', and is unquestionably one of the most influential. The malevolent schoolgirls of Searle's 'St Trinian's' appealed to a new public taste for black, cynical humour cultivated in wartime. In his later work a baroque extravagance of detail is painstakingly built up with his extraordinary line - stuttering, fidgety, barbed.
The New Satire 1961 -
Britain was finally coming out of a post-war period dominated by deference and social conformity. A younger generation of comedians was appearing on stage, radio and television. In 1961 a new satirical magazine Private Eye was founded. It was a magazine of political gossip and disclosure that ripped aside the curtains of gentility and decorum that Punch had upheld for over a century. For cartoonists it was a breath of fresh air, publishing cartoons that no other newspaper would print.

For the first time in many decades caricature took centre stage. Two revolutionary artists pushed British satire to the extreme, both visually and politically: Ralph Steadman and Gerald Scarfe. Wally Fawkes, 'Trog', brought intense focus to caricature and political cartooning through his ability to condense a complex situation into a single memorable image.

Peter Fluck and Roger Law had worked together since the 1960s. In the 1970s they began producing three-dimensional caricatures for the [Sunday] Times and other publications. Out of this work grew the satirical show Spitting Image, first screened in Britain in 1983, featuring Fluck and Law's latex puppets.
The British Comic: 1884 -
In the mid-1800s the illustrated magazine took many forms, ranging from the respectable and staid Punch to the more lurid 'penny dreadfuls', which entertained the lower orders with tales of crime and horror. Fearful of the effects this might have on impressionable young adults, more wholesome offerings were launched such as the Boy's Own Paper (1879), filled with stirring tales of sporting prowess and imperial adventure. In 1884 Ally Sloper's Half Holiday pioneered the first proto-comic strips. The magazine was the first to mix strips with prose stories and joke cartoons with the Micawberish 'Ally Sloper' appearing in satirical takes on current events.

The real break came in 1890 when Alfred Harmsworth launched Comic Cuts and Illustrated Chips, the first halfpenny comic papers. They were a runaway success. In 1896 Tom Browne created a pair of tramps who came to be known as Weary Willie and Tired Tim. They held sway on the cover of 'Chips' until it folded in 1953. In the years leading up to the First World War a host of new titles appeared including Puck, Merry and Bright and Funny Wonder. So great was the demand for comic material that many British comic publishers relied on American reprints.

Competition was intense and publishers introduced colour in titles such as Rainbow, which introduced the 'Bruin Boys' led by Tiger Tim, who graduated to his own title in 1919. The cinema inspired several comics including Film Fun and Kinema Comic (1920) featuring real comedians such as Laurel and Hardy. As with most newspaper cartoon strips the story was moved forward by several lines of text that ran below the pictures: the speech bubbles playing a relatively minor role.

Paper shortages during the war hit many comics hard. In the 1920s industry revived: the Scottish publisher DC Thomson began to publish a number of new adventure papers. The Wizard (1927), The Rover (1929), and The Hotspur (1937) were essentially illustrated magazines. However in the late 1930s DC Thomson broke the mould when it launched the innovative The Dandy (1937) and The Beano (1938). These titles offered their readers powerful gag humour with authority-hating characters such as the cow pie devouring Desperate Dan.

In the 1950s the influence of American culture extended into the world of comics and many were imported into the UK. Some Christian groups in Britain were concerned at what they felt to be the pernicious influence of American horror comics. They responded with the groundbreaking Eagle. The quality of the artwork, which included Frank Hampson's science-fiction hero Dan Dare, raised the bar for British comics. Hulton Press followed up with Girl (1951) and Robin and Swift for younger children. DC Thomson responded with a new generation of anarchic characters including Davey Law's Dennis the Menace (1951) and Leo Baxendale's Little Plum, Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids (1953/4).

In the 1950s and 60s new titles for boys offered sport, war and adventure in Lion, Valiant, and Hurricane. Bunty and Judy gave girls ballet and school stories, and for slightly older girls there was romance in Marilyn, Valentine and Jackie.

In the 1970s, the twin influences of American Underground Comics and Punk shook the industry. Viz (1979) revelled in bad taste but earned a huge following and became the best-selling British comic ever. A number of short-lived titles of the early 1970s introduced artists who were to become major names through 2000AD (1977). These included Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon, Kevin O'Neill and Bryan Talbot, many of whom would later work for major American publishers DC and Marvel Comics. 2000AD also produced Britain's first major comic superhero, Judge Dredd.

In the 1980s the Japanese animated series Transformers began to appear on British TV screens while Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball and films such as Akira introduced a British audience to a very different tradition of comic art. In recent years manga, anime and computer games have had a visible affect on the work of younger artists.
The Cartoon Strip and the Graphic Novel
W.K. Haselden is regarded as the father of the British newspaper cartoon strip. From 1904 he began to produce 'reflections' on topical subjects in a panel divided into a series of up to eight frames. During the First World War he effectively lampooned the German Kaiser and Crown Prince in his series Big and Little Willie.

In 1915 the Daily Mail asked well-known children's illustrator Charles Folkard to create a daily feature for their children's corner. Teddy Tail proved so popular with younger readers that within a few years most of the popular papers were running strips: Pip, Squeak and Wilfred was created by A.B. Payne in 1919-20, Rupert by Mary Tourtel in 1920 and Bonzo by George Studdy in 1922. The most popular strips inspired huge followings amongst their young readers. Pip, Squeak and Wilfred appeared on plates, had their own song, and a fan club called the 'Wilfredian League of Gugnuncs'.

The first strip aimed at an adult audience was J. Millar Watt's balding everyman Pop (1921). Watt's strips showed a sophisticated understanding of how a narrative could be developed across the time and space of linked panels. Another adult strip was Norman Pett's Jane (1932). Jane's greatest hour came during the Second World War when every episode saw her lose her clothes one way or another. She was revived in the 1960s and again in the 1980s and 1990s.

Domestic strips were among the most popular and enduring. The suburban family saga The Ruggles (1935-57) was followed by the even more popular Gambols (1950), created by the husband and wife team of Barry and Dobs Appleby. The most popular of all domestic strips featured a drinking, gambling, work-shy northerner Andy Capp (1957). Reg Smythe's original single panel evolved into the most popular British strip ever: at its peak it was syndicated in over 1,400 newspapers worldwide. Another popular export was Fred Basset, Alex Graham's 'Hound that's almost Human'.

A very different tradition was the masculine adventure and detective story. Square jawed Dick Tracy had appeared in American papers in 1931. Britain's first action hero was Garth created by Steve Dowling towards the end of World War II. The exploits of the wartime RAF and a fascination with the space race inspired Sydney Jordan to create Jeff Hawke in 1955.

Office politics was the setting for Frank Dickens' Bristow (1961) and again in 1987 when Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor created the thrusting merchant-banker Alex. Rufus and his friend Flook started out in 1949 as a strip for children drawn by 'Trog' (Wally Fawkes). However in the 1960s and 70s it became a sophisticated satirical vehicle for writers such as Humphrey Lyttleton and George Melly. For ten years John Kent's beautiful blonde Varoomshka innocently picked her way through political minefields, enraging legions of feminists along the way.

In the 1970s and 80s Posy Simmonds' The Webers followed the mid life crises of the liberal middle classes, Steve Bell charted the rise of Thatcherism in his strips Maggie's Farm and later If..., while Tony Husband's Yobs and later Yobettes offered another slant on hitherto uncelebrated sections of British society.

In the same period cartoon strip and comics artists began to develop increasingly complex narratives. In 1977 Bryan Talbot produced what is regarded as the first graphic novel with the fantasy The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. Alan Moore's collaborations with Dave Lloyd on V for Vendetta, Dave Gibbons on Watchmen and later with Kevin O'Neill on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were landmarks within a genre. Others such as Raymond Briggs showed how the medium could range from children's fantasy in The Snowman to a post-nuclear war scenario in Where the Wind Blows. Talbot returned to tackle the sensitive issue of child abuse in the award-winning The Tale of One Bad Rat. There were also graphic novels inspired by works of literature such as Hunt Emerson's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Lady Chatterly's Lover and Posy Simmond's Flaubertian tale 'of adultery and soft furnishings', Gemma Bovary.

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Illustrated lecture on The History of British Cartoons and Caricatures given by Lord Baker of Dorking, trustee of the Cartoon Museum, at Gresham College in London in 2011 can be seen at: Characters and Caricatures, 1700 - 1770 The cartoon art form began with 'caricatura'.

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Real world comics, such as the one linked, are my favorite to read. They attract my attention because of how relatable the comics can be and the comics attention to detail. They normally focus on a singular character and how that character deals with different challenges and struggles they are presented with. The twist is that many of the challenges and struggles are something that humans experience or have experienced. For example, the comic I linked about a video game release is relatable for me and I am sure  others can relate. I tend to be the character in the blue with my friends. My friends always complain about stuff like this and that is why this comic resonates with me.

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Emilio Morales

https://denvercomiccon.com/

As a Colorado local I am happy to see that Colorado convention center will be hold a Comic Con from June 15 to June 17. I have only went once and I had a blast. There are going to be anime voice actors and actresses, comic book wrights and artist, and other guess celebrities. They will be celebrating the last 75 years of writers for Captain America and 35 years of Batman writers. There are lots of venders with collectable comics and figurines. There are many bystanders that are in costume and are generally polite about taking pictures. There are various panels with how to… or Q&A for special guest.

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I really enjoyed watching this video because as you’re listening, LavendarTowne is drawing on her screen and walking us through some comic styles and how she found her own. Visually it’s really satisfying and fun to follow. She mentions that each style is personal, almost like a stamp. I thought that was pretty cool because that’s what makes each artist so unique. From now on I will be paying more attention to the style of these illustrations through our readings.  She states that bigger heads give off better facial expressions/emotion, while smaller heads and bigger bodies portray better body language. I kept thinking of what my style could be just for fun and I think I would lean more to the cutesy and cartoonish illustrations. I then wondered if that was the reason I found cartoonish comic readings more appealing and easier to pick up to read. I love exaggerated from faces, they make me laugh and I find them more memorable.
Thank you,
Ruby Rendon

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FIND YOUR ART STYLE (And How I Found Mine)

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https://xkcd.com/731/

Max Weiner

Growing up I loved reading the comics, the ones in the paper.  My favorites were Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and Foxtrot.  For this post I thought I would talk about another funny comic I enjoy, XKCD. Science is always the theme, a broad subject; and the drawings are very simple, stick figures and almost always black and white. The comic I chose is colored and a single panel. A person sits on a deserted island complaining at how boring and uneventful the ocean is. But from our perspective, we see many exciting events occurring underneath the surface.  This is funny because it's a metaphor that can be applied to life: sometimes life is boring, but if we make the effort to pay closer attention, we will almost always find something exciting. I love how comics can be so simple yet convey deep and humorous messages.

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Before starting this course I realized that I had not spent any reading or studying comic books during my college career. My first instinct was to just see how the course would start out, but then I decided to do a little research for individuals who are beginning to read comics. I came across this website that had a nice introductory track for individuals to start out on. It also gave some interesting start comics and genre's of comics to looks at as well. It talked a good amount about starting a collection of comic's which may not apply to others but maybe a few of you would be interested in that.

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Comic books can be intimidating. The easy solution to learning to love comics is quite clearly "read some," but it can be a challenge to know where to start. The first time I walked into a comic book shop, I walked out with a "Flash" issue that tied into an event I knew nothing about, and focused exclusively on a Flash rogue (Boomerang) without hardly any mention of the hero.
It was weird, and confusing, and I never went back to that store!

Comic books certainly don't have to be this way, though, and after several years of learning to love what I consider my favorite artistic medium in all of storytelling, I have some tips and pointers that can hopefully help.

Without further ado, here's how to start with comic books for new readers.

Index:

I) Comic Book reading options

II) Where to start with comics

a) Best comics for new readers

b) Best comics of all time

c) Comic book publisher guides

c.1) DC Comics
Become a Patron!
c.2) Marvel

c.3) Star Wars

c.4) Image

c.5) Vertigo

c.6) Dark Horse

c.7) Valiant

c.8) IDW

c.9) 2000 AD (Judge Dredd)

c.10) Archie Comics

I) Understanding The Comic Book Reading Options
1) Ongoing Comics (Print)
Most comic books begin as single issues that most closely resemble a magazine. You can find these issues in comic book shops (and you can find your LCS - local comic shop - using comicstorelocator.com).

Comic book publishers will release new issues to shops every Wednesday (new comic book day).

So, for example, a publisher like Marvel (one of the Big 2 superhero comics publishers alongside DC), might release Amazing Spider-Man #1 on October 7th. This is the first issue in the series, and is a great time to start collecting Amazing Spider-Man.

If you read the issue and enjoy it, you can tell an employee at your LCS to "add it to your pull list." A pull list is all the comics you want your comic shop to order and prepare for you each week they are released. So if you add the series Amazing Spider-Man, when you return to your comic shop on November 7th, they will have Amazing Spider-Man #2 ready for you at checkout. You just walk up to the cashier and say "I have a pull list for [Your Name Here]." Replace [Your Name Here] with [Your Name Here].

Most comic book series are published once a month, although some are published every two weeks. You can use a site like ComicsList to see what comics will be available when.
Steps To Collecting Ongoing Print Comics

1. Identify a local comic book shop

2. Pick out the comics you want to start with (more on this in a bit)

3. Tell your comic book shop employee your name and the books on your list

4. Return to the comic book shop the weeks your books are released, and prepare to spend $2.99 to $4.99 per issue.

5. Enjoy the heck out of comics every week!

2) Trade Paperbacks
When you start getting into comics, you'll see the following terms used to signify what is ultimately a single story, or chapter in a larger story: Trade Paperbacks (TPBs), collected editions, or simply trades.

Instead of purchasing single print issues (per option number one), many comic book readers will "wait for the trade," and collect fully formed stories in softcover or hardcover collections. More often than not, a trade paperback will contain five or more issues, and will be released approximately 3 to 4 months after single issues are published. Trades for single stories tend to range from $9.99 to $14.99.

Your options for purchasing comics via trade are greatly expanded. In addition to your local comic shop, you can find trades everywhere from Amazon to Barnes & Noble to your local library.

You can see an example of a trade paperback for Amazing Spider-Man here.
3) Digital Comics
The proliferation of digital reading options has made getting comic books significantly easier than it's ever been before. While there's always an argument to be made for the value of that sweet, sweet paper in your hands, the ease of downloading comic book stories directly to your tablet or phone is fantastically convenient.

Most new readers are going to find their digital comics fix at Comixology, which is now owned by Amazon (offering easy digital comics access via Kindle devices).

For "All You Can Eat" comic book subscription services akin to Netflix or Spotify, there's a variety of options that I explain below. Price for digital subscriptions ranges from $9.99 per month to totally free with a library card in the case of Hoopla Digital.
Resources: Understanding "All You Can Eat" Comics Services Marvel Unlimited Review Comixology Unlimited Review Hoopla Digital Review The Best Tablets For Reading Comics
II) Where To Start With Comics

Ok, you have a pretty good feel for your comic book reading options, now you just need some direction on what to start reading.

Since the field of comics is so enormous, and simply getting started can feel absolutely paralyzing, I've laid out some of the most successful approaches I've seen to help get you reading. Below you'll find a quick outline of my recommended approaches, elaborated in the following sections:

A) Best Comics For Brand New Readers

The below comics are the books I selected for an About.com piece on the 10 best comics to hand to a friend who has never read a comic. These are true comics for beginners, trying to sell new readers on the awesome might of comic books!

Matt Fraction and David Aja's Marvel Comics masterpiece is well worth the brief moment of wondering whether Hawkeye could truly have one of the best comics for new readers.

The 2012 Hawkeye series is brilliant, fun, and largely avoids complicated continuity questions present in most Marvel comics. All of this makes it a great pick-up for new fans who want to see Marvel at its best.

Rat Queens is a wonderfully foul-mouthed spin on sword and sorcery, taking the standard Tolkein fantasy realm and invigorating the story with a bad@$$ gang of girls who punch first, and talk later. Note that this Image Comics series is most assuredly for mature readers only!

There are all sorts of Batman comics I would recommend to new readers, such as New 52 Batman , Dark Knight Returns , or any of the many selections in Comic Book Herald's Batman reading order.

For brand new comic fans, though, I'd point you to DC's all-ages Gotham Academy, which sets the boarding school ethos of Harry Potter novels inside the universe of Gotham's Dark Knight.

Kamala Khan, Marvel's Ms. Marvel since 2014, restores the high school drama, romance, and heroism of the best 1960's Spider-Man comics. While I'd recommend any serious Marvel comic reader explore the 60's Amazing Spider-Man work of creators Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, those comics are clearly of an era over 60 years removed.

Ms. Marvel is far more modern, and represents one of the Big 2 (Marvel and DC) superhero publisher's most diverse comics. Best of all, creators G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona have made Ms. Marvel one of the best Marvel comics since its inception, and a great starting place for new comic book fans.

Saga is the romantic comedy space opera (classic genre!) from creators Brian K. Vaughn ( Y: The Last Man , The Private Eye) and Fiona Staples. Saga manages to feel innovative and fresh, infusing modern sarcasm and eye-opening world-building into the well-worn cluster of Space stories.

More than anything, Saga feels like a story for "adults," and this Image Comics series is definitely for mature readers only. If you've long held the suspicion that comics are junk media for kids, Saga is the type of sophisticated yet fun adventure that can go a long way towards changing minds.

B) The Best Comic Books Of All Time!

Another option that can work for many new readers is to work your way through the canonical best comics ever. This is definitely the approach I've taken with classic rock, hip-hop, and literature (without pictures... shudders), and it's fun to explore the best of the best over the ages.

Fortunately, I have just such a list, with an ever-expanding guide to the absolute best comic books in history. Every time I read a new comic, graphic novel, or entire series, I add it to my guide!

Resources:
Dave's Faves: The Best Comics of All Time The Best 100 Marvel Stories From 1998 to 2015
To get you started here are the top 10 favorites from my list, with notes about the types of readers that might enjoy!
1) Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's classic deconstruction of superheroes has been voted one of Time's 100 best novels (not just graphic novels - novels) and is a feature length film from director Zack Snyder. This comic series convinced me comic books could be intellectually rewarding and inventive, and is for mature readers.

Neil Gaiman is the author of many celebrated comics and fiction, including American Gods and Coraline . The Sandman is his comic book masterpiece, celebrating a love of stories while covering endlessly cerebral territory.

Bone is a remarkable all-ages fantasy adventure from writer/artist Jeff Smith. While Bone can take some darker more frightening turns, it remains a great comic book read for younger and older readers alike.
4) Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison & Richard Case
While I love Morrison and Case's early 90's DC / Vertigo Doom Patrol, I'll also be the first to admit I love it largely because of how insanely weird it can get. This is the least straightforward "superhero" comic I've ever read, but if you're interested in some absolute imaginative insanity, Doom Patrol is the book for you. For mature readers only.

Miracleman is another 1980's superhero deconstruction from Alan Moore, the best comic book writer of all time. See the Superman and Captain Marvel mythos elevated to a more "realistic" form. For mature readers only.

If you like the concept of stories within stories, or fiction coming to life and effecting our real world, Bulletproof Coffin is a modern Image Comics masterpiece from David Hane and artist Shaky Kane. For mature readers.

Matt Kindt's Mind MGMT from Dark Horse comics is another modern masterpiece, both one of the best spy / secret organization stories I've ever read, and one of the most innovative comics ever. Highly recommended reading, and for a PG-13 audience.

Maus is Art Spiegelman's biographical account of his family's surviving the Holocaust, as well as his autobiographical account of his relationship with said family. It's a harrowing, real look at the devastating tragedy of the Holocaust, told with superb skill. Very serious subject matter, but I've seen this used as text at the junior high reading level.

Frank Miller's mid 80's re-imagining of an aged Batman coming out of retirement sets up years of the macho, grim and gritty Batman we know today. There's also surprising humor and inspiration here, in my favorite Batman comic for new readers.

"Y" is an epic, 60+ issue Vertigo comics series from the early 2000's by comic book masters Brian K. Vaughn and artist Pia Guerra. As the title implies, "Y" explores the life of the last man on earth, in a world of all women.

C) Reading Comics According To Comic Book Publisher

There are a wide variety of publishers across the comic book landscape, and the most popular among them form relatively clear guides on where to start with comics.

For example, DC Comics is home to the DC Universe of characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, while Marvel Comics is home to characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Squirrel Girl. DC and Marvel are known as the "The Big 2" in the comics industry, and own the most well known superhero universes that are now reflected in some of the most popular movies every year.

Other comic book publishers like Image Comics and Dark Horse are less reliant on shared superhero universes, instead focusing on fostering the vision of unique creative talent.

Below you'll find guides to the most commonly discussed comic book publishers, as well as suggestions and resources for how to start reading.

C.1) Where To Start With DC Comics

If you're coming to DC fresh this year, you're entering at a good time. The DC Universe fully rebooted during the summer of 2016 with a linewide initiative titled DC Rebirth. This Rebirth sparked new #1 issues and jumping on points for all DC comics, from Superman to Blue Beetle.

Of course, you could also dive into DC with comic book storylines of the past, from DC classics to the essential stories from the 2000's.

Below you'll find Comic Book Herald's resources for getting started with the DC Comics universe.

DC Comics Resources:
DC Rebirth Reading Guide (2016 to Present) DC New 52 Reading Guide (2011 to 2015) Modern Fast Track To DC Comics From 1999 to 2011 Every DC Omnibus Collection Ever Batman Reading Guide Superman Reading Guide Wonder Woman Reading Guide Justice League Reading Guide More DC Events & Character Reading Guides!
C.2) Where To Start With Marvel Comic Books

Much of Comic Book Herald is dedicated to helping new, lapsed, or ongoing comics fans enjoy Marvel Comics in a chronological order. You'll find these resources below, but the easiest path is going to be starting with Comic Book Herald's complete Marvel reading order.

In general terms, Marvel has been in a bit of a rut since 2015's Secret Wars mega event (My favorite Marvel event of the 2000's). Far too many events have diminished their impact, and Marvel's stuck in no man's land trying to transition between new legacy characters and their more familiar classic heroes.

Fortunately, over 65 years of publication history means there's plenty to read, whether you're invested in the newest Marvel material, or want to enjoy the publisher's greatest hits.

Marvel Comics Resources:
The Complete Marvel Reading Order Guide
Marvel Legacy (Oct 2017 to present)
1961 to 2000 Essential 25 Trade Collections Fast Track 2000 - 2012 Essential 25 Trade Collections Fast Track The Best 100 Marvel Stories From 1998 to 2015 Find Deadpool, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy and over 50 more character guides here
C.3) Where To Start With Star Wars Comics

Star Wars fans have a couple options for diving into the vast world of Star Wars comics. Starting in 2015, Marvel Comics obtained the license to publish Star Wars books (Disney ownership has its perks), and rebooted the Star Wars comics line immediately following the events of A New Hope. This results in great jumping on points for a Star Wars comic series , alongside solo character series like Darth Vader and Han Solo . The Marvel Comics are largely the only stories considered Star Wars canon now.

From the early 90's through 2015, Star Wars comics came from Dark Horse, who put together a really strong expanded universe that greatly enhances the Star Wars galaxy. This includes series like Knights of the Old Republic and Legacy , as well as many, many others included in the resources below.

Interested fans should also be made aware that the entirety of Star Wars comics are made available via the Marvel Unlimited digital comics app.

Star Wars Comics Resources:
Complete Star Wars Reading Order Guide Best Star Wars comics! Marvel Star Wars comics in canon
C.4) Where To Start With Image Comics

Over the course of the 2000's, Image has established itself as the bastion of creator-owned, critically acclaimed projects. The most famous of these is the mega popular Walking Dead, which become the most watched show on television.

Diving in to Image Comics is a great way for new readers to get started, as individual series are typically self-contained and don't rely on the in-universe continuity of the major superhero publishers.

Below you'll find a detailed complete guide to the best Image Comics.

Image Comics Resources:
The Best Image Comics Guide The Walking Dead Reading Order Guide Invincible Universe Reading Order Guide
C.5) Where To Start With Vertigo Comics

Vertigo Comics is the mature readers imprint of DC Comics, and for most of the 1990's and early 2000's was the place to find critically acclaimed all-time great comics. The likes of Sandman, Preacher (now on AMC), and John Constantine, Hellblazer all come from Vertigo.

Below you'll find a comprehensive guide to every great Vertigo comic of all time!

Vertigo Comics Resources:
Best Vertigo Comics Of All Time Hellblazer Comics Reading Order Guide Fables Universe Reading Order Guide Astro City Universe Reading Order Guide Best Neil Gaiman Comics Guide
C.6) Where To Start With Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse is a wonderfully consistent comic book publisher, with well known properties like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Hellboy, in addition to video game comics adaptations like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Below you'll find a complete guide to all the best Dark Horse comics through the publisher's storied history.

Dark Horse Comics Resources:
Best Dark Horse Comics of All Time Hellboy Universe Reading Order Guide Buffy the Vampire Slayer Universe Reading Order Guide
C.7) Valiant Comics

Valiant is my favorite alternate superhero universe, modernizing many familiar superhero universe tropes.

If you're looking to enjoy superhero comics without the decades of baggage that come with DC and Marvel Comics, I highly recommend you check out the Valiant Universe guide below.

Valiant Comics Resources:
Valiant Universe Reading Order Guide Original Valiant Unity Saga Guide
C.8) Where to Start With IDW (Transformers & TMNT)

IDW has done wonders with licensed content from 80's and 90's cartoon favorites like Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and GI Joe.

You can dive in to my favorite IDW series below with complete guides to Transformers comics (shockingly great) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

IDW Comic Book Resources:
IDW Transformers Universe Reading Order Guide IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reading Order Guide
C.9) Where To Start With 2000 AD (Judge Dredd)

2000 AD is a mainstay of British Comics, best known for excellent science fiction and Judge Dredd.

You can find Comic Book Herald's complete Judge Dredd comics guide below.

2000 AD Comics Resources:
Judge Dredd Universe Reading Order Guide
C.10) Where To Start With Archie Comics

With the launch of the CW's Riverdale, there's never been a better time to explore the 2015 relaunch of Archie Comics. Below you'll find a complete guide for new readers wondering how Archie can fit in with modern comics.

Archie Comics Resources:
Archie Comics Relaunch & Riverdale Reading Order Guide
Welcome To Comics!

Reading comics is a blast, so as you get started, remember that this should be fun! If you're feeling overwhelmed with the amount of material, just know most comic book readers have felt the same at some point, and the best thing you can do is find a starting place above and dive in.

If you have questions, suggestions, or comments, do what feels right to you in the comments below. Finally, as always, enjoy the comics!

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How To Start Reading Comics In 2018 | New Readers Guide | Comic Book Herald

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Comic books can be intimidating. The easy solution to learning to love comics is quite clearly "read some," but it can be a challenge to know where to start. The first time I walked into a comic book shop, I walked out with a "Flash" issue that tied into an event I knew nothing about, and focused exclusively on a Flash rogue (Boomerang) without hardly any mention of the hero.

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https://gomedia.com/zine/tutorials/comic_book_style/

Since this week was an introduction to comic book style and designs to most of us, I thought it would be fun for people to see the mechanics of creating comic book designs. This could also be used if anyone wants to create a legitimate comic book for their final project! After drawing in pencil, the illustrators shade and add depth with marker. It is really interesting how the shading is so strategic in order to create movement and covey emotion. Shading is what adds the muscle definition and allows for the super heroes to really come to life! Throughout this tutorial, you can really see what steps are made to attribute to the character really look like it's jumping out of the page.

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https://taboocomics.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/my-top-ten-comic-book-artist-and-there-art-styles-q/
After going through the assigned readings as well as this website, it starts to paint a better picture of what all of the authors were trying to convey about the different types of classifications of comics. After thoroughly looking at the different artists on this website, it is easy to tell that comics are much harder to classify then books or classic literature. With the addition of pictures and illustrations, there are so many more ways to create a different, more unique style within the genre they are currently in; all while having an individual twist. Authors in traditional literature most certainly can also obtain an individual style with the use of grammar, structure, and vocabulary. Comic writers and artists can use the same techniques as writers with the addition of the illustrations. This adds a much larger area to experiment and explore, creating vast differences between other comics. I feel this is why comics are so much harder to classify and why the general public perception is geared mostly to whatever type is currently in the limelight of pop-culture.

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https://99designs.com/blog/design-history-movements/history-of-comic-book-styles/

Our readings this week were all about how to define comic books. My conclusion was there is no certain way to define them. This article does not define comic books as a whole, but rather defines them by era. It talks about how the content of comic books has evolved since 1938. A big difference between this article and what we have read so far is this mostly dwells on super hero/anti-hero comic books rather than the entire history of comic style art with text bubbles over it. This article talks mostly about how comic books have become more in-depth since their creation and now deal with much broader, darker and serious topics than they did at their origin.

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Different Kinds of Comic Books- Jessica 

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Different Kinds of Comic Books- Jessica 

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As a total beginner to the world of comic books, I decided to search YouTube for some educational videos on the topic. Immediately after reading this week’s provided articles, I realized that comic book styles and forms are very diverse and vary greatly. In this video, Drake explains and defines an issue, an annual comic, a trade, the graphic novel, and the omnibus. I am aware that during this class we will focusing on the graphic novel for our reading assignments. A graphic novel is a self-contained story, while issues are only parts of a story that are spread out by release dates.