He’s looking for help in producing a book full of Jack Kirby’s personal photos and artwork we’ve never seen. Here’s the Kickstarter page, and Jeremy’s story. Honestly, it’s a little sparse, and I would expect more details to be added soon. He’s also already made the relatively modest goal. One lucky pledger is getting a page of original Kirby art. But if you want in, then I’m sure they’ll take more.

If you’ve made it this far, and you’re still all, “Why are we talking about the Kirby guy?”, well, forget you buddy. But if you don’t know, Kirby is the father of modern comic book artists, working in concert with Joe Simon through the golden age, and with Stan Lee in the 1960s to establish a style of art that is still held as a paragon today, as well as contributing the creative foundations upon which some of the most successful films of the last decade are based. The man has a big pair of shoulders, and I, for one, am thrilled about the idea of learning more about him and his life. In addition to being massively talented, I’m fascinated by the man himself.

The first word is “accident,” not “destiny.” Just saying.

I think the most obvious answer is that back in the day comics were written for younger audiences, so a simple story was enough. Alan Scott finds a meteor that he decides would be perfect for a crime fighting tool, Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider and now he can do spider-type things, and so forth and so on. These were clearly sufficient because comics were targeting an audience who cared less about nuance, treated the objects ultimately as disposable, and likely weren’t reading the first issue for any given character anyways so as long as who they were and what they could do was obvious enough, what did it really matter?

Part and parcel with an increasingly mature audience, were increasingly mature creators, who could build upon the tools of their predecessors to use the form to tell more and more advanced stories. There was also a shift away from the single issue story (or even single issues containing multiple stories) towards a longer narrative style split between issues, aka the “dreaded” decompression style of storytelling. This allowed longer and more complex stories to be told, because you might have 120 pages to get to a conclusion, rather than 8. So it makes logical sense that as storytelling and stories themselves became more complex, so too would the origins of iconic characters.

The other thing about the earlier, more basic origins, is that they leave more room to expand upon. As someone who writes some of the recaps for Marvel’s AR app, I can definitely attest to it being more difficult to make a very complex story simple, relative to making a simple story more complex. The conversion is not equivocal. What’s more, when you add in a new piece of the story, you’re actually at times creating more gaps for more complexity down the line. In the evolution vs. creation “debate” it’s often said that we lack important “missing link” taxa that represent big shifts in evolutionary forms, like going from fish to land animals. But if you think about it, every time you fill in one gap, you’re actually left with two new gaps on either side of the new animal you just found. I think this also works for comics. Every time a creator adds a new bit of story to an origin, they’re creating new, albeit tinier, gaps for future creators to come and futz with as well. And I think creators are drawn to tweaking the origins of characters because it gives them a chance to leave their mark on the mythos.

Leaving a mark on the mythos is why I think my idea applies more to origins than to other types of stories in comics. Every creator theoretically does something new with a character or team, but regardless of how amazing a storyline may be, we tend to gravitate back to telling an origin tale. It’s part of the iterative nature of comic storytelling, after a certain amount of time has passed it’s tempting to circle back around and say how it all began. This also allows the writer to retcon something into the story, which is a big part of that increasing complexity. It’s the “everything you knew about Batman was wrong, so here comes… YEAR ZERO!” I’m not saying that’s what Scott Snyder is doing, but I’m also sure we’ll learn some new facet of the Dark Knight’s early days through the story, otherwise why tell it in the first place?

When suddenly… ORIGIN!

The retcon can also add a deeper sense of meaning to an origin that may have seemed random at the time. Many early origins stories involve finding an artifact, or getting doused in radioactive chemicals, but I’ve noticed that a lot of origin retellings involve the idea that the random event was meant to happen, or was the consequence of some plan or destiny. Like how we thought Barry Allen was just fast because of a lightning bolt and a shelf of all chemicals known to man, but later we’re told that he was chosen by something called the Speed Force, and later still that Barry is the genesis and keeper of the Speed Force. See? Complexity increased. This trend of increased meaning alongside with increased complexity definitely seems to couple well with telling stories for adults rather than kids. There isn’t a lot of depth to Axe Cop, kids don’t necessarily care about that stuff, but adults want to know that stuff matters, or at least happened for a reason a little better than the randomness of the universe.

And I think that’s ok. I think if we want to keep following these same characters for decades we do need to come back around to remember the origin, and there’s no point coming back around for a pure rehash. But you also can’t change the basics too much, so these stories are just going to get more complex and we’re just going to need to be ok with it.

Which leads me to the end of my column where I ask: which character’s increasingly complex origin do you enjoy or dislike the most? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

Ryan Haupt really hated when JMS made Spider-Man a mystic animal totem, because he likes the scientific origin better as you may have guessed by the name of his podcast Science… sort of.

DC Challenge In-House Ad (1985)

This 12-issue miniseries started with a simple concept. Legend has it that during a hotel party taking place at the 1983 San Diego Comic Con, several writers escaped to the roof to get some fresh air. Len Wein, Gerry Conway, Mark Evanier, and Marv Wolfman took advantage of this late night reprieve and spun an idea for a miniseries. Mark claimed to have the initial seed of the idea and credited Gerry for coming up with the name. It was a round-robin story with each issue written and drawn by a different creative team. The entire thing would be one continuous story and each issue had to end with multiple cliffhangers that it was up to the next writer to resolve. The final issue would be a big jam piece that would tie up the loose ends that would inevitably result. The series would be called the DC Challenge and its catchphrase would be “Can you solve it before we do?”

Somehow, this idea was okayed by the higher ups at DC and the first issue was released two years later. Mark Evanier took on the job of creating the first issue. Alongside legendary penciler Gene Colan and inker Bob Smith, Mark set out to give the later writers and artists plenty of plot threads with which to weave stories. There were celebrities seemingly returned from the dead, demons rising out of people’s bodies, the Riddler leaving puzzles all over town, and a mysterious device left on the surface of the moon. In the end, it was a serious of seemingly random numbers left by a turbaned alien that perplexed everyone.

From DC Challenge #1 (1985)

Those pesky numbers would go on to haunt many a future writer of this series.

With the first issue complete, it was now time to hand off the reins to the next writer / artist team. This time, it was Len Wein and Chuck Patton who were up to bat. The story opened with Len and Chuck going over the events of the first issue. This was helpful as both a recap and as a piece of meta commentary in a story that was really one long in-joke.

From DC Challenge #2 (1985)

Most of the fun of this series came from seeing what strange scenario each successive creative team put the characters in and which characters would be used. Writers began pulling some Z-list characters into the mix because there was no way they’d ever be able to use them elsewhere. Len Wein used B’wana Beast, a completely forgotten character whose only previous appearances had been in two issues of Showcase in 1967. He also shoved Jonah Hex into the present day.

From DC Challenge #2 (1985)

From there, the story got stranger. The Viking Prince got involved. Adam Strange showed up for a few issues. Plot lines were started and then abandoned. Aliens took over the world. Superman’s secret identity was set to be published in the Daily Planet. By the way, that particular plot thread was completely forgotten about until the final issue of the series. Paul Levitz dragged Detective Chimp into this mess and had Deadman take him over.

From DC Challenge #4 (1986)

Perhaps the pinnacle of this madness came in the series’ sixth issue. That’s when Albert Einstein showed up and began to play with the very fabric of space and time. Elliot S. Maggin wrote a story in which Einstein could jump through time at will thanks to the good doctor having cracked the unified field theory on his deathbed.

From DC Challenge #6 (1986)

Later writers claimed that this was a Guardian of the Universe pretending to be Einstein, but that explanation made even less sense than Einstein having supernatural powers. By the time the Joker began narrating the seventh issue in the series, written by Paul Kupperberg, nobody bat an eye. It simply wasn’t as weird as what came before.

When Gerry Conway’s eighth issue in the series was released, those pesky random numbers from the first issue were still being passed between writer to writer like the proverbial hot potato. Every once in a while, Batman would claim to have solved their mystery, but really, no one knew that Mark Evainer was going for when he introduced them. Gerry, it seemed, had enough and claimed they were vibrational frequencies that would destroy the earth.

From DC Challenge #8 (1986)

After so much stalling in the previous issues by everyone else, you could almost see Gerry shrugging his shoulders as he wrote this scene. Sure. This is what those numbers mean. Why not?

Roy Thomas spent most of issue nine trying to make some sort of sense out of the insanity of the previous eight issues. He had the New God known as Metron spend an issue chatting with the Guardians of the Universe as they attempted to bring everyone up to speed. Jimmy Olsen and Adam Strange were stuck on an alternate Earth in which the Nazis won World War II. The Joker was suddenly a major player. Those weren’t aliens the readers had seen before, those were extra-dimensional djinns. It almost made one feel bad for Roy for attempting to make some sort of narrative sense out of everything.

From DC Challenge #9 (1986)

Of course, it wasn’t just the writers who were participating in this story. In the penultimate issue, Marv Wolfman, who was recently wrapped up writing the equally massive and headache-inducing Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Cary Bates teamed up with Keith Giffen to create this chapter. During it, Giffen delivered some wonderful pages, including one in which the Spectre channeled power through Doctor Fate in a bid to keep Earth and the planet Rann from crashing into each other. Giffen nailed the page.

From DC Challenge #11 (1986)

Meanwhile, Marv and Cary finally solved the true mystery of those numbers given back in issue one. When the three numbers were added together they came to 51,773,173. This was a meaningless number until it was flipped upside down. Then, it sort of read “Eli Ellis.” Eli was a very minor character mentioned way back in Mark’s first issue and who, apparently, was a key component to unraveling the mess that was this series. Everyone since had ignored Eli since his introduction, meaning that Marv had to quickly write him back into the script. Also, Darkseid showed up and was revealed to be the series’ big villain.

In the final issue, Mark, Len, Marv, Roy, Gerry, and Dan Mishkin collaborated to try and make some sort of sense out of this whole thing. The heroes were as confused by the whole matter as many of the readers. Vibe was, of course, no help.

From DC Challenge #12 (1986)

If you sort of squint while you read this series, it makes some sort of sense. The plots are all wrapped up and nothing appears to be missing, except some sort of theme or meaning to the whole affair. But really, the plot is the least of the reasons why this series remains so interesting. The idea of so many writers and artists working together in an attempt to stump their friends and colleagues remains a great one. A crazy writing exercise paid for by a major comics publisher is rare and downright revolutionary. These creators got away with having fun on the company dime.

Seek this series out the next time you stumble upon it when you’re back issue bin diving. Prepare to scratch your head in confusion but the whole thing is so infectious in its “anything can happen” quality that it may just win you over. It certainly worked on me.

Jeff Reid doesn’t mind that this series isn’t in continuity. That makes it even more fun. Jeff discusses other fun things on Twitter.

Let’s take a look.

The dirty laundry of Krypton is aired on Earth next month on June 14th.

This week, Cartoon Network stops showing these shorts in two parts contained within one half hour block and just shows one ten minute short in a fifteen minute block. It’s weird, I know. Cartoons.

Here’s how “Ghost Boy” is described:

Beast Boy pretends to be a ghost haunting Starfire so she will do his bidding. When she figures out the ruse, she and the other Titans convince him that he’s actually dead.

I look forward to your thoughts, opinions, gripes, live-blogging, etc.

Comics artist Luke Pearson made his debut back in 2010 doing short stories for various UK anthologies like Solipsistic Pop and Ferocious Quarterly, doing work which reminds me of a young Tove Jansson or perhaps Jason but a more sophisticated design sense. Pearson was very prodigious in 2012, doing these shorts as well as some webcomics and an excellent early series of music-themed strips for the now-defunct London alternative newspaper The Stool Pigeon. At the end of 2010 Pearson self-published his own ongoing strip series Hildafolk that reads like a European folk tale as retold by Hayao Miyazaki. That excellent work caught the notice of the upstart UK press NoBrow in 2011, leading Pearson to contribute to that publisher’s yearly anthology of the same name and later publish two follow-ups with Hilda, Hilda & The Midnight Giant and Hilda & The Bird Parade in 2012.

Pearson’s gone on to do more shorts for various anthologies like Secret Prison and illustrations for magazines and covers, but his Hilda series has become his signature work — and for good reason. Like a European country-side version of Jeff Smith’s Bone, the three Hilda volumes are energetic and innocent.

Here’s some examples of Pearson’s work in the three years he’s been a professional artist, so check them out and then consider going out and catching up on his work in print.

Boy, that sure sounds familiar…

Anyway, here’s the trailer. I can’t wait to see this one!

The Wolverine hits theaters July 26, 2013.

When is “old school” just…old?

This question has been lingering in my mind all weekend, informing many a conversation regarding the latest Star Trek movie, our associated podcast, and quite a few rushed emails.

A bit of context: I have always considered myself an old-school fan of Star Trek. I grew up watching reruns of original series as a kid with my brother and dad every night, and saw the movies as they came out in the theaters starting with the first one. I’ve seen every episode of every season at least once, and have been to more conventions than I care to admit. I even auditioned as a marine in Enterprise, a role I lost to what looked like a real, actual marine.

So, I know Star Trek.

[pause]

So what?

Star Trek Into Darkness, it has to be said, is a fun film. The cast is super solid, the character moments are really entertaining, it’s well paced, the special effects are awesome, the ship looks bad-ass, and it’s really great to see Earth in the 23rd century. It also has to be said that the film is a mash-up of “Space Seed” and Wrath of Khan and is, quite possibly, the most frustrating Star Trek film in history.

Basically, if you were not a Star Trek fan, you probably, quite rightly, enjoyed the film. If you are a fan, your feelings are probably a bit more complicated. I am not going to go over that struggle—Conor, Paul and I did that for almost an hour in the podcast. (And then for 20 more minutes after we finished the show that I wish was recorded.) This article comes from what happened after I recorded that show, after seeing the film a second time (3D and Dolby Atmos, both recommended) and after a lot of soul-searching.

Star Trek Into Darkness marks the beginning of a very important generational transition for fandom, one that I am sure has happened before, but perhaps never explicitly discussed before the Internet age.

It marks the moment that older fans like myself realized that the newer generation’s interests have truly supplanted ours.

So what if Into Darkness re-shoots one of the most pivotal moments in Star Trek history? No one cares, old man! There is a huge community of moviegoers who are walking out of that movie right now who couldn’t care less—they did not grow up on Star Trek and do not give a shit that we did. Our precious qualms about Kirk and Spock “deserving” that moment?  Whatever.

Hate to break it to you, grandpa–Superman flies now.

These kinds of transitions happen all the time, of course—musical taste being probably the most obvious example. I remember feeling slightly irritated about how irritated I was getting with modern music, until some kind of age/taste membrane just broke and I just didn’t care anymore.

But this is different. This is my youth, this is my mythology, this is the universe and the family of characters that taught me how to be the person I am today. Star Trek is a huge part of who I am, and helped me think about complex issues at a relatively young age, helped me understand humanity, even though I was completely oblivious at the time and just stoked to see the Kirk and team shooting phasers at really creepy flying sucker-mouth aliens.

In other words: the past.

Being a Star Trek fan, has been, historically, an ongoing conversation between generations of fans because there has been a TV series that has tied us all together, either through re-runs or new broadcasts. There was a Star Trek episode on every week, if not every day, and each show was an opportunity for new and old viewers alike to continue that conversation. Yes, episodes are available on disc and online, but that kind of on-demand viewing is all about the individual experience, which is great and fine, but if it comes at the expense of the shows being just out there, I think it changes the dynamic a bit. When you have to work a bit to watch a show, the relationship you have with the show and the characters becomes a bit more substantive, and makes being a fan a bit more work, thereby strengthening the community.

I talked to a friend of mine at a BBQ this weekend and I asked him if he saw Into Darkness and he said, “Yeah, but I hadn’t seen the first one,” and I replied, “Oh, you haven’t seen Wrath of Khan?” and he replied, “No, the other Star Trek that came out a few years ago.”

We continued talking and I found out that he hadn’t watched anything Star Trek, ever.

And right then and there, it didn’t matter that I was an “old school” fan. I was just some old guy complaining about how this cool new film ripped off some other old film that my friend hasn’t seen and didn’t care about anyway.

Star Trek Into Darkness is not an homage to “Space Seed” and Wrath of Khan. It’s a film that takes moments from that classic episode and that fantastic movie and tells a new story, for a new generation of fans who have no idea who Ricardo Montalban was and who probably will only see the movie once and will probably see the third (and last) Abrams Star Trek movie and get on with their lives.

Which is fine—it has to be. My love of Trek, my desire to go back, week after week, to this cast and their wonderful ship, to go out and explore, week after week, is just that: my desire, a desire deeply rooted in the past, rooted from the fierce belief that Star Trek is, at its core, a necessary television show, the kind of series that if you randomly turn on the TV one Saturday afternoon and find that it is on, smile broadly and sit down and watch the damn show, commercials and all, because that episode means something to you.

I am lucky, in a way. I can do that with a ton of Star Trek episodes.

(I just wrote that sentence and imagined myself in an old folks’ home, shushing other old farts to be quiet so I can “watch my show, dammit, it’s my turn this week!”)

Today is different. The mantle has been passed.

Of course, this mantle of fandom is passed from generation to generation all the time. Look at comics. My frustration with the modern Superman’s personality is shrugged off by younger readers who enjoy Kal-El’s new slightly snotty attitude. I used to watch Japanese animation on rented VHS tapes in the 80s, now anime is a huge part of popular fan culture with fans dressing up in characters I’ve got zero relationship with — it’s been a very long time since I’ve bumped into a Lynn Minmay or Shogo Yuhagi at a convention! I completely missed the boat on the new Doctor Who. And, of course, there will be more Star Wars — which will be, clearly, a new generation’s series of movies.

This is a great time to be alive—one in which we can argue about the merits of a new Star Trek movie and fret about upcoming Star Wars films. It’s a time of enormous change and transition, and for everything we gain, there are things that we lose.

Case in point, the Kirk/Spock scene in Into Darkness. I get that, for some, it is an homage to an earlier time. I guess what is lost in this homage is the emotional honesty that permeated the original scene in Wrath of Khan. When Spock died, that was it. We did not know, as we did going into the movie last Thursday night, that there would be another Star Trek film. When we left that theater, we were truly bummed. Spock was dead. A friendship that had been with us for decades was over. I remember arguing with my friends over and over again, trying to come up with ways to bring Spock back to life. We had to live with that loss for years before Nimoy was convinced to come back and Star Trek III was announced and then finally released. That sadness was true, it was real. It was grounded in the shared time and experience we had with the characters, that the characters had with each other.

The scene in Into Darkness took all of those feelings and exploited them, laying that gut wrenching sadness on top of this new scene, and it just wasn’t fair. On the podcast Conor said it right: that scene wasn’t earned. For old school fans—it wasn’t right, it wasn’t true. This universe’s Kirk and Spock have only been around each other for a few years, and from just a pure audience’s point of a view, for less than a few hours, if that!

For everyone else: it was sad for a few minutes and then the Tribble and the everything all worked out fine. Good or bad, that’s the new way it went.

However, this is not only about old moments getting copied and pasted into a new stories with a quick “find/replace”.

One last point, my last point, the most important point: at the end of the day, Star Trek Into Darkness was supposed to be, finally, our movie, our expression of what Star Trek meant. This was the opportunity for my generation to finally make our Star Trek movie, free of Shatner, free of Picard, free to make what we had to make, leveraging our experiences, our fears, our desires, our wisdom to make a Star Trek film that would forever mark the time that we owned the legacy. The transition was made in 2009, the hand-off from past to present completed, just as it had been done fifteen years earlier in Star Trek: Generations, when Picard and Kirk worked together. In 2009′s Star Trek, Spock Prime and Kirk Pine met, both Spocks had their scene…and it was done. And now, this movie, Into Darkness, what does it do? Instead of doing it’s own thing, it goes back and uses story lines from the original TV series, and the best Trek movie, and brings Nimoy back!

It was time to cut the cord and, instead, we went back into the womb. We did not “boldly go” — we retreated to the comfortable, we retreated to the sure bet.

We did not make the leap.

This is personal for me because I feel like I blew it, somehow. This sounds ridiculous, but Star Trek is one of the reasons I am an actor and honestly, a part of me truly feels like I didn’t work hard enough to be a part of this effort, that I didn’t make a chance to audition, I didn’t make a chance to look at the story, I wasn’t a part of it at all, and I desperately wish I could have been so I could have raised my hand and just said something. So, in a very real way, this is film is not only about my being frustrated with the movie and the folks who made it, but with myself for not being in a place professionally to have been able to do something about it, and that, in a way, my time to make a difference has come…and gone. And if as an actor I was unable to make a difference for something that I care so much about, I find myself wondering if, as a fan, I am no longer relevant.

Star Trek, at its core, is the expression of a generation, a treatise on what our society values and where we dream of going as a species. Star Trek Into Darkness, is a fun movie-going experience, filled with great moments, thanks to one of the best casts to have ever been a part of the franchise (Chris Pine is insanely good), and I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that this was not a movie series but an ongoing TV series that would just go on — there’s just so much potential. But it’s not a TV series and will never be. It is a an entertaining movie that, at the end of the day, fails to live up to the legacy it so brazenly exploits. It is not what it needed to be: a modern day Star Trek. Unlike the best episodes of the series and films, Into Darkness does not express my generation’s yearning to understand ourselves and our humanity. It does not celebrate our thirst for exploration nor does it underscore the challenges we must overcome to fulfill the promise of our shared potential.

The next movie could very well do that — I truly hope it does.

It has to. It’s Star Trek.

Mike Romo is an actor in Los Angeles. He’s back to giving the film 3.5 stars and hopes he can be part of the iFanboy Heist Crew again.

Josh Flanagan says try…

The Bounce #1

 By Joe Casey and David Messina

I’ll be among the first to declare that I’ve maybe had enough of the continual reinvention of the superhero trope. However, I’ll also be the first to declare that if there’s anyone allowed to still do it, it’s Joe Casey. The guy knows superheroes, and their history, and their memes and standards, and I think, in his darkest heart, he loves them, in his way. Like Sex, Casey is taking another foray in the world of costumed crusaders, and I have no idea what to make of this one yet, other than the trust that I have in Casey’s past work.

Conor Kilpatrick says try…

Uncanny Avengers #8AU

By Rick Remender, Gerry Duggan, Adam Kubert, & Laura Martin

Listen, I get it. I understand. I too have been avoiding the Age of Ultron tie-in books like the plague, not even buying the books for the series that I read. But this one is different, or so writer Rick Remender has been claiming over and over again on Twitter for the last month in a desperate attempt to alert people like me that this issue is important to his ongoing story. So here I am passing on the information. Because I trust Rick to shoot me straight. Help me help Remender help you.

Paul Montgomery says try…

Star Trek: The John Byrne Collection HC

By John Byrne

Whether you thrilled to Star Trek Into Darkness or walked away shaking your head, you’ll likely get a kick out of IDW’s new hardcover collection of four Star Trek mini-series by the legendary John Byrne. Included here are “Assignment Earth”, “Crew”, “Romulans” and my personal favorite “Leonard McCoy: Frontier Doctor,” starring Bones and his magnificent Motion Picture era beard. It’s all tremendous, wacky fun.

Because werewolves.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN #20

Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Dan Jurgens
Cover by Dan Jurgens, Ray McCarthy
22 pages/color/$2.99

Overwhelmed and beaten by a crew of Super-Villains, Ronnie and Jason are about to find out how bad things can get when Firestorm is labeled a living weapon of mass destruction and slated for dissection!

Now, how’s about a preview?

5. Jack O’Lantern

Jacky-boy’s a fairly unoriginal Spider-man villain when you get right down to it. He stole a most of his image from Green Goblin. Then he saw a poster for Return to Oz and thought “Yeah, a pumpkin head! I will just set mine on fire. Yeah, yeah that’s ticket.”

4. Dormammu

A nemesis of Doctor Strange who goes by many names: Lord of Chaos, The Dread One, Easily Extinguished with a Fire Hose.

3. Flaming Carrot

A weird, awesome character. If it wasn’t for Flaming Carrot we would have never gotten Mystery Men. If we hadn’t gotten Mystery Men, then we would have not gotten the music video to Smashmouth’s “All Star“. So, be thankful. Be very thankful for Flaming Carrot.

2. Firestorm

I just want to say, this is the highest Firestorm has gotten on any list.

1. Ghost Rider

When it comes to having your head on fire, Ghost Rider really knocks it out of the park. Sure,there are other skeleton, fire heads in the Marvel Universe (Blazing Skull) but do they ride motorcycles? Were they former stunt men cursed to become a demon of vengeance? Were they played by Nic Cage? Twice? No. No, they weren’t.  Ride on Fire Skull Head. Ride on.

What are the iFanboys buying? Check their pull lists out here: Conor, Josh, and Paul.

And what about the rest of the staff? What are they buying? Check out their pull lists: Jim, Mike, Molly, Ryan, Ali, Timmy, Chris, Jeff, and Matt.

This week Conor Kilpatrick has the Pick of the Week!

Bonus Question: If you and your friends decided to pull a heist, what would your role in the gang be?

Batman: Gotham Knights #53

By A.J. Lieberman, Alejandro Barrionuevo, Francis Portela

Wolverine #15

By Greg Rucka, Darick Robertson, Tom Palmer, Jimmy Palmiotti

Adventures of Superman #628

By Greg Rucka, Matthew Clark, Nelson

NYC Mech #1

By Ivan Brandon, Miles Gunter, Andy MacDonald

Invincible #12

By Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree

Justice League of America: Another Nail #1

By Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, John Kalisz

New X-Men: Academy X #1

By Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Randall Green

Seaguy #1

By Grant Morrison, Cameron Stewart

Robin #126

By Bill Willingham, Damion Scott

That was the week that was in comics. Seaguy is brilliant and New X-Men get’s a fresh new number one. Also, a fan favorite dons the Robin costume. So, did you read any of the comics that came out this week? If you did, be sure to let us know what you thought of them.

It’s just that… every once in a while, I feel like I’m not giving my palate enough of a workout. No matter how much you love it, your favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor is not a suitable diet for every meal. As we creep up on the midpoint of the year, I find myself developing a bit of a tummy ache, and so I thought I would turn to the iFanbase to see if you have anything that’s good for what ails me.

Here’s where I am:

“Look at what we’ve become,” I was thinking this weekend. “Is this all we’re going to get from now on? Rebooted universes telling and retelling us stories we already know, down to using the same beats, even the same dialogue ‘with a twist’? Is the mainstream nothing more than a mama bird now, prechewing all the food for our imaginations and regurgitating it into our open mouths?” For a change, it wasn’t comics that made me think this, but rather Star Trek Into Darkness, for reasons I wouldn’t dream of going into here; you haven’t seen it, and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I don’t need to tell you, though, that anyone old enough to read an Original Recipe comic only to live long enough to see the Ultimate/Zero Hour/Disney XD/Hollywood iteration of it come into existence has had some version of that thought at least once. And then an edgier, more modern version of that thought a few years later.

Where have you gone, Dashiell Bad Horse?

On the way home from the movies the other night, I stopped into my comic shop just because it’s practically in earshot of the theater and finally picked up Scalped, Vol. 9 because it was there. I may have a selective attention span– there’s no “may” about it, actually– but it seems like it’s been a while since there was a book we talked about or felt about the way we talked and felt about Scalped. There was a time when I’d hop from foot to foot waiting for the store to open on “Scalped is out” day, but I don’t really have any Scalpeds in my life right now. Locke & Key is rounding third base. Vertigo is being beamed aboard the mothership. I could try to sound well-rounded and say with a straight face, “I read books from all the smaller publishers,” but I’d be talking about Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Planet of the Apes. The indie-est purchase I’ve made this year was, I believe, Sesame Street #1.

Thank God for Brian K. Vaughan. In this context, and just in general.

Comics, as an entity, seem to have a cyclical nature in this country. Every year is someone’s year. The last two years have seen the Big Guys rejuvenating their lines with varying long-term results; maybe we are due for an independent renaissance next, or at least due for my dumb ass to notice how great everything already is. I must confess, though I give just about every Image #1 a chance, not a whole lot has moved me of late. Plenty of good-enough, but not nearly enough wow. Maybe I have a little of that grass soup malaise after all.

When’s the last time you made a concerted effort to broaden your horizons a little bit?

I bet everybody interested enough to spend time on a site like this has at least one neglected pet book they wish we would shine a spotlight on. Well, the handy comment window below is your chance to tell me about yours. Is there anything off the beaten path that should be getting more attention than it is? Is the next Scalped or Y: The Last Man buried in the marketplace somewhere right now? Make a good enough case, and I may end up not only reading it but highlighting it on a Monday afternoon just like this one. Then you could say, “I helped bring an audience to my favorite book,” and I could say, “I have a new favorite book and one less column idea to come up with,” and we could all go home happy. Consider it your good deed for the day.

Jim Mroczkowski could not believe someone managed to surprise him in the fiftieth retelling of “Spider-Man No More.”

From Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #11 (2007)

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. ongoing series was a stand out title over at Marvel. Stacked full of D-list heroes, Nextwave was put together by the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort or H.A.T.E., an acronym that should have given the team pause. After learning that H.A.T.E. was as evil as their name suggested, the team left and began to actively work against them. From Fin Fang Foom to Celestials, Nextwave had their hands full in battling some pretty heavy duty opponents. But really, this whole thing was an excuse for Ellis and Immonen to have loud, crazy fun.  No where is this better shown than in the series’ eleventh issue.

In this issue, Nextwave make their way through two-page spread after two-page spread of ludicrous canon fodder. This particular two-page spread is my favorite of this sequence. Here, Nextwave is battling against snakes flying planes, hordes of primates dressed like Wolverine, and one giant King Kong-esque ape also with Wolverine powers holding what appears to be a banana bomb. It’s wonderful. This is Ellis and Immonen having a grand old time.

We know many of you requested a wakeup call only upon the release of some actual gameplay footage, but this video offers just under five minutes of worthwhile Batman bravado.

Joystiq also confirms some of the voice talent making their way to Gotham. Roger Craig Smith (Ezio Auditore of Assassin’s Creed fame as well as a few incarnations of Captain America) plays Batman, while Troy Baker (Bioshock Infinite‘s Booker DeWitt) assumes the role of the Joker. Mark Hamill stepped down as the clown prince of crime with Arkham City. Longtime Batman voice artist Kevin Conroy also announced that he would contribute to the game, though his role is currently unknown.

Look for Batman: Arkham Origins on PC and consoles this October.

Every Monday here at iFanboy, we look at comics’ greatest characters and stories and try to imagine what they’d be like in film or television. From the story concept to the people in charge and all the way down to who’d play who, we do it and we call it Comic Book Casting.

John Prophet is a clone. He’s not the only clone, but one of an army genetically engineered humans created by the Earth Empire for missions to protect humanity and their goals. In the revamped Prophet series by Brandon Graham, Simon Roy and others, it follows individual clones as they take on separate missions — and sometimes take on each other, or even their overlords.  The comic itself is as much about that storyline as is its a bizarre magnetic alien anthropology class, meeting different cultures, aliens and machinations and seeing the various John Prophets trying to survive, persevere and soldier on.

Since it’s debut last year, the Prophet series has garnered a cult-following in the comics community and here at iFanboy, and when conversations inevitably turn to potential movie adaptations Prophet is held at arms-length; not because it wouldn’t be an interesting movie, but that adapting it with any level of effectiveness seems challenging and nigh impossible. But I’ve got a plan.

The Concept:

The challenge with any potential movie adaptation of Prophet is the difficulty in translating the non-linear and sometimes esoteric story into the built-up format you think of as big budget action movies. This’ll never be Avatar, but can be something entirely different and great. Instead of fitting it down that path, imagine Prophet as a survivalist movie like 127 Hours or the haunting The Road…. just in outer space. By giving it that spine of humanity, you could add the ample accoutrements of science fiction, globule aliens and wonder as long as you stay true to that humanity.

For storyline, I’d seize upon the storyline of the initial story with a young John Prophet being awoken centuries later than planned and on a last-ditch effort to revive the Earth Empire, but I’d weave that into the second major arc — the Old Man Prophet arc — to build a longer series of movies with the two Prophets eventually crossing paths in the ashes and potential resurrection of the Earth Empire. But with crazy aliens, adventures and histrionics along the way.

The Director:

This isn’t your typical type of special effects-laden action movie, so you’ll need more than just your typical special effects-laden director. I nominate Amelie and City of Lost Children director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Jeunet’s ‘only done one traditional Hollywood film — the uneven Alien Resurrection – but he’s more than made up for it with his unconventional, superbly films before and since. The Prophet comic we know it now is as much about the setting, style and tone as much as the characters and story — sometimes with the former outweighing the latter. With that in mind, Jeunet seems like one of maybe a half-dozen known directors who could hope to translate it effectively to the big screen without turning it into The Chronicles Of Riddick or something.

The Cast:

Young John Prophet – James Ransone: Ransone’s no household name, but after his work on Generation Kill he’s been one to watch as a young actor clawing his way to the top. Recently appearing in Treme, Ransone will next show up in the American remake of Oldboy and looks to be one of those actors who becomes an “overnight success” after years of work under the radar. For why he’d be good for this role, Ransone brings a quiet convinction and physicality to his roles and young John Prophet needs all those things.
Old Man Prophet – Dustin Hoffman: Dustin Hoffman may not be looked upon as an action star or frequent star of sci-fi epics, but I think a good story is a good story — and making this thinking man’s science fiction movie in Prophet could be just the thing to bring Hoffman — and non-scifi fans — into the fold. Similiar to the way The Road brought readers — and viewers — into the world of apocalyptic stories, so could Prophet – and so could Dustin Hoffman.
Caravan King – Chiwetel Ejiofor: The Caravan King may not be the classic arch-nemesis out of classic action movies, but I think something could be done to develop him into a sizeable threat on Prophet’s longer road. Ejiofor is an actor’s actor, and having him to the voiceover for this could really bolster this villain’s presence in much the same way Gary Oldman did in Kung Fu Panda 2.
Xiux-Guin Blade – John Hawkes: I once described Xuix-Guin as the Boba Fett to Prophet’s Han Solo, and while that’s not completely apt it’s in the same ballpark I think. Hawkes has a signature voice and cadence, and I’d love to see him suit up as Xiux-Guin and make this fantastical creature work as more than just special effects but a deliberate, dangeorus character.
Rein-East – Helena Bonham-Carter: Bonham-Carter has quietly become one of the signature actors of our generation, and she’s no stranger to sci-fi films and working under prosthetics.Pulling in her to play Rein-East may seem like a no brainer.
Jaxson – Ron Livingston: After his work on Office Space and Band of Brothers it seemed like Ron Livingston was destinated to be an A-list actor. While we’re still waiting for those pieces to come other, I’d love to see him step in here as Jaxon, Old Man Prophet’s eating robot. Comic relief? Maybe, but with potential to be something more.
Diehard – Clarke Peter: Still clothed in the memories of his time as one of the key faces of Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood series, Brandon Graham evolved him into being a different kind of character in the pages of Prophet. I’d love to see Prophet movie cast completely against type and hire The Wire alum Clark Peters to voice Diehard, giving him a sizable voice, presence and experience that would quickly break the stereotype Diehard’s developed and make him one of the most intriguing characters around.

So as of today I am leaving Earth 2 with Issue #16.It’s been a blast.Man, it’s a lovely day.Think I’ll take Rex to the beach.

— JamesDRobinson (@JamesDRobinson) May 17, 2013

and

Yes, this also means I’m no longer working at DC Comics.Best wishes and regards to Dan, Geoff and everyone.

— JamesDRobinson (@JamesDRobinson) May 17, 2013

This is a blow for, well, everyone involved, as Earth 2 is one of DC Comics’ handful of high quality books that remain since The New 52 launched and that was mostly due to James Robinson. He had made the book his own and was clearly playing a long game, taking his time to build a deep and interesting world not influenced by any other books at DC.

It’s getting really hard to ignore the slow and steady exodus of creators from DC books, especially veteran guys with years of industry experience.

Justice League of America’s Vibe #4

By Sterling Gates, Manuel Garcia or Fabiano Neves, possibly Sandra Hope Archer, Brad Anderson, & Carlos M. Mangual

Oh, hey. How YOU doin’?

– Conor Kilpatrick

FF #7

By Matt Fraction, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, & Clayton Cowles

This was a wonderfully sweet moment that makes no sense if you haven’t read the issue and Scott Lang’s speech to the kids of the FF.

– Conor Kilpatrick

Nightwing #20

By Kyle Higgins, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse, & Carlos M. Mangual

I’m not a Brett Booth fan but credit where credit is due: this two-page spread is an exercise in beautifully luminous chaos. Lots of credit also goes to inker Norm Rapmund and especially colorist Andrew Dalhouse.

– Conor Kilpatrick

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #23

By Brian Michael Bendis, Dave Marquez, Justin Ponsor, & Cory Petit

Ultimate Comics Miles’ Dad #1 might be the best thing to happen to the Ultimate line in over a decade.

– Paul Montgomery

Wolverine and the X-Men #29

By Jason Aaron, Ramon Perez, Laura Martin, & Joe Caramagna

I love the joyous Bamf in the back on the left. He’s so psyched that they found something!

– Conor Kilpatrick

Sword of Sorcery #8

By Christy Marx, Aaron Lopresti, Travis Moore or John Livesay, Hi-Fi, & Rob Leigh

Eclipso’s defeat reminded me very much of that of The Wicked Witch of the West.

– Conor Kilpatrick

Nova #4

By Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, Marte Garcia, & Albert Deschesne

This book is pure fun

– Conor Kilpatrick

Battlestar Galactica #1

Variant Cover by Chris Eliopoulos

It’s not just that it’s a chibi/baby variant, which are relatively popular these days. It’s that it’s a baby variant for Battlestar Galactica, which, in its modern incarnation is so cold and self important. Not that I didn’t love it. But this is like tarmac foam, preparing readers for the relative mirth and good humor of oldschool Battlestar Galactica, of which this series takes its cues. I also had to laugh because I was kicked off a very similar, if bright tangerine, version of this same coin operated Viper at a local Pathmark about a week ago, even though there were no kids waiting in line like that adorable Cylon, and I didn’t reek of the reefer.

So say we all.