Director’s Court - The Case of Zack Snyder (Guest: Joel Mangrum)
Court is back in session, as Tom and Derrick welcome special guest judge Joel Mangrum. Together they put the latest target of geekdom’s rage in the docket! Join the Boys Outta Brooklyn (and the One Outta Cali) as they evaluate the reasons behind the recent backlash, whether Zack Snyder should have made Sucker Punch when he did, his reliance on certain cinematic tropes, and his impending Man of Steel. Plus, old gals who are still hella hot, an investigation into why writer / artists circa 1980 have become hopelessly insane, and a classic BITD rant — and it’s not from Tom! You don’t want Emily Browning to dance for you (or maybe you do), so get to clicking!  Download

Speaking of Zack Snyder, here is a link to the Dollar Bin’s discussion on Watchmen Part 1 and Part 2.  We have a 300 movie topic discussion around here somewhere.

I don’t usually write reviews for the Dollar Bin.  I tend to convey my opinions on the audio recordings.  However, after I finished reading the Eisner nominated  Amelia Earhart:  This Broad Ocean by Sarah Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle I just had to get my thoughts and emotions out now, so here I write.

I want to start by telling you that multiple times through my reading experience I felt my whole body well up with emotion.  I found myself just grinning and tearing up all at the same time.  (Did I mention I was reading this in the middle of a crowed restaurant?  Well I was and the threat of out-pouring emotions was a little embarrassing.)  Ben Towle has the incredible ability to give characters with simple black dot eyes the most amazing range of expression.  I truly felt every bout of anxiety, moment of anticipation, and glimmer of hope along with Amelia and the rest of the cast.  Even has I flip through the book to write this review I keep catching myself grinning as I scan the panels.

Sarah Stewart Taylor’s tale of Amelia Earhart as told through the eyes of the young Grace Goodland, writer of the self published local newspaper, The Trepassey Herald,  couldn’t have been told any better.  Grace is a pioneer of her own merit and is the perfect conduit to relay such a powerful example of hope and inspiration.  Her story is both informational and encouraging.  The scenes depicted as the tale is told are well paced and so full of hope and wonder.
Click to read more… ]]>http://www.thedollarbin.net/articles/rss-comments-entry-11306450.xmlOp-Edart historycatwomandc comicsdcnured hood and the outlawsshawnstarfirewonder womanShawn DaughheteeMon, 10 Oct 2011 01:09:15 +0000http://www.thedollarbin.net/articles/woman-as-object-woman-as-subject-the-male-gaze-and-the-dc-co.html140173:1271990:12975306

DC Comics recently relaunched their entire line of comics in hopes of revitalizing their brand and attracting new readers. With The New 52 came a lot of controversy surrounding female creators and characters. The loudest public outcry has been over the perceived objectification of women in Red Hood and the Outlaws (by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort) and Catwoman (by Judd Winick and Guillem March). Here, I intend to prove that the protests are justified and that the depictions of Starfire and Catwoman are indeed objectifying.

Historically speaking, the typical viewer of a work of art was a male, just like the typical comic reader is a male (heterosexual with disposable income). It wasn’t until fairly recently that the term “male gaze” was coined to give voice to these assumed eyes that were viewing works of art. It not only describes the perceived viewer but it also comments on how the work of art was, and still is, constructed in order to please this assumed male patron. A female is thus turned into an object when she is there solely to give pleasure to this male gaze. Conversely a female is treated as a subject when she is a fully-formed, three-dimensional character that is an active and vital participant in the story or image. In a single image a female can be turned into an object or treated as a subject. Women throughout art history have been objects meant to be looked at. Just like the Barbara Kruger piece on the right states: “Your gaze hits the side of my face.”

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Shawn’s List:

  1) All Star Western
  2) Justice League Dark
  3) Batman The Dark Knight
  4) The Flash
  5) Aquaman
  6) Superman
  7) Green Lantern New Guardians
  8) Blackhawks
  9) Teen Titans
10) I Vampire
11) Voodoo
12) Savage Hawkman
13) The Fury of Firestorm

Adam’s List:

  1) All Star Western
  2) The Flash
  3) Aquaman
  4) Superman
  5) Justice League Dark
  6) Batman The Dark Knight
  7) Voodoo
  8) I Vampire
  9) Teen Titans
10) Savage Hawkman
11) Green Lantern New Guardians
12) Blackhawks
13) The Fury of Firestorm

Shawn’s List:

1) Wonder Woman
2) Batman
3) DCU Presents Deadman
4) Green Lantern Corps
5) Supergirl
6) Blue Beetle
7) Nightwing
8) Captain Atom
9) Birds of Prey
10) Legion of Superheroes
11) Catwoman
12) Red Hood and the Outlaws

Adam’s List:

1) Wonder Woman
2) Green Lantern Corps
3) Batman
4) Supergirl
5) DCU Presents Deadman
6) Blue Beetle
7) Nightwing
8) Legion of Superheroes
9) Captain Atom
10) Birds of Prey
11) Catwoman
12) Red Hood and the Outlaws

The book begins at Gandhi’s childhood, but quickly skims through to adulthood barely touching on what should be important events like his marriage and the birth of his first son (or subsequent children for that matter).  The death of his mother while he is studying in England barely seems to register with a young Gandhi. It’s hard to connect with a character that leaves his family to study abroad seemingly without a second glance. 

This book makes Gandhi unlikeable which hardly seems possible when you consider all he did in his life, however the Gandhi of this book comes across as too perfect when dedicated to his cause, yet cold and unconcerned when it comes to his family. How could a man have such a love for the people of his country, but never shown having that love in his own home?

I applaud Penguin for their attempt at bringing history to the world of graphic novels. It is a good medium to educate a younger audience. Unfortunately, as a reader, I demand more from a novel, graphic or otherwise, than I can get from reading Wikipedia.

For future books, I hope they delve more into the personal lives of the historic figures they choose.  Biographies should seek to go further into the character of the person they are examining and go beyond what we learn from a school history textbook.

Shawn’s List:

  1) Frankenstein Agent of SHADE
  2) Deathstroke
  3) Batwoman
  4) Resurrection Man
  5) Batman and Robin
  6) Green Lantern
  7) Demon Knights
  8) Grifter
  9) Red Lanterns
10) Legion Lost
11) Superboy
12) Mr. Terrific
13) Suicide Squad

Adam’s List:

  1) Deathstroke
  2) Resurrection Man
  3) Frankenstein Agent of SHADE
  4) Grifter
  5) Batman and Robin
  6) Batwoman
  7) Demon Knights
  8) Legion Lost
  9) Green Lantern
10) Red Lanterns
11) Superboy
12) Suicide Squad
13) Mr. Terrific

Shawn’s List:

  1) Detective Comics
  2) Justice League International
  3) Men of War
  4) Batwing
  5) Animal Man
  6) Swamp Thing
  7) Action Comics
  8) Static Shock
  9) Batgirl
10) Justice League
11) Green Arrow
12) OMAC
13) Stormwatch
14) Hawk and Dove

Adam’s List:

  1) Justice League International
  2) Men of War
  3) Detective Comics
  4) Batwing
  5) Swamp Thing
  6) Static Shock
  7) Animal Man
  8) Green Arrow
  9) Batgirl
10) Action Comics
11) OMAC
12) Justice League
13) Hawk and Dove
14) Stormwatch

I can feel it in the air in the mornings and evenings, fall is coming. With the cooling of days comes a cooling in my comic reading. These last couple weeks of August have brought a lot of “last issues” for me. With DC’s relaunch, which begins next week, I am saying goodbye to The Spirit, Zatanna, Doc Savage and Gotham City Sirens (not to mention a couple miniseries and a few titles that I pick up here and there when I like the creative team, like Action, Detective and Green Lantern). My pull list is also taking a big hit this October when Boom! Studios will release their last Disney comics. Right now I am picking up Darkwing Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers and Ducktales. But in a couple months I will be forced to live without these titles. So as I cross off quite a few titles from my pull list I need to reassess my comics purchases and fill the void that they are creating.

I have seen myself veer away from the Big Two and gravitate towards small press books. After DC’s relaunch the only title I will definitely get is Batwoman. I might pick up Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark. I may flip through a few other titles but I’m not super excited about any of them. Either it is the character or the creative team but something gives me a reason to not pick up the book. I will likely wait and read the reviews to see how they are before actually buying them (I’m looking at you Green Lantern, Batman, Swamp Thing, Action, and Men of War).

With Marvel I am reading Deadpool, the Oz books, Daredevil, Black Panther, SHIELD, Captain America and Bucky and a couple other minis that will be wrapping up soon. I may pick up John Carter of Mars because Roger Langridge is writing it but I’m still undecided. Other than that I don’t see any new Marvel series that interests me.

So what books do I pick up to replace the ones that are going away? Boom! Studios has Snarked! coming out and I am all over that. I also may catch up on Farscape and start picking that up regularly. I absolutely love Stuff of Legend. Thankfully Vertigo has a strong line up and I will continue to pick up Fables, American Vampire, iZombie, Northlanders (though it is getting cancelled at issue #50) and House of Mystery. I will definitely pick up the new Fables spin-off Fairest when it comes out. Sergio Aragones Funnies is great. Even though I’ve only read one issue it is one of my top books of the year. Loose Ends #2 is out this week and you can bet I will be picking that up along with the other issues in this four-part miniseries. And there’s Rasl, but that only comes out every couple of months (give or take). Oni’s The Sixth Gun comes out every month and I don’t see this going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe I shouldn’t look for series to replace the one’s I’m losing, maybe I should start buying more trades and graphic novels.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions for me? New books to pick up or old series to try? Let me know!

I don’t lay the blame for my dislike of Smith’s Doctor on the actor, but instead what he was given to work with.  Matt Smith has taken the best parts of all the previous Doctors and come up with something new. 

The Doctor is over 900 years old, has had dozens of companions (mostly human) and has spent the bulk of his known life not only on Earth but defending it from all sorts of invasions, yet, this Doctor seemed to be baffled by even the most simple of human interactions.  I felt as though I’d spent a dozen episodes watching the really smart kid in school, who had a kind of book smarts, but not an ounce of common sense nor the first clue how to relate to the other students. 

After watching Season 6, Part 1 on DVD (on sale now by the BBC) Matt Smith’s 11^th Doctor is now in my top 5 incarnations, somewhere between Colin Bakers criminally too-short run as the 6^th Doctor and Christopher Eccelston’s lonely, tortured 9^th Doctor.

So what’s changed between the two seasons?  Well, The Doctor has settled into his new regeneration for one thing.  Gone is the Doctor who jumps up and down in the middle of the room screaming at the top of his lungs, “Look at me and how wacky and strange I am!”  That has all been replaced with a man who might still be all of those things, but has learned to temper that side of himself.  He is man who feels comfortable with his two companions Amy and Rory.  For the first time that I can remember the Tardis feels like a home and The Doctor has a family.