I Appreciate Joe Casey Discussing Some Companies Generally Paying Less Royalties Than They Should

Marvel seems to do this thing where if you create a character under their work-for-hire system and they use it in a movie/show, they'll give you a check...but are very careful about it. They aren't giving you a royalty; it is $5,000 and an invite to the premiere of the thing with your character...as long as you signed some contracts too, where they're protected from you suing for more money or speaking out about things too much in a critical manner. I mean, Ed Brubaker got more money for filming a cameo in, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," than what he made on the character being in the flicks (yes, yes, there is some argument about how he took an established character such as Bucky and did Winter Soldier, I know). Joe Casey has done quite well with a number of projects and didn't feel like he needed to sign any paperwork for Marvel using America Chavez in, "Doctor Strange and Multiverse of Madness," or now for William Metzger (being played by Tramell Tillman) in, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Metzger was created by Casey and Steve Rude back in the 1999-ish mini-series, "X-Men: Children of the Atom." He just feels that if a character is being used a good deal in a production, perhaps the millions being spent (and made) can have a decent check go to the person who actually invented this (hopefully) profitable property.

Casey isn't outright enraged at Marvel; he still works with them on occasion. Still, Casey feels, "For me, it’s not about money. It’s not even about the respect. I would never expect to be respected by a corporation...If I’m in a position where I can afford not to take their insult of an offer, and be able to talk about it, maybe the next guy — where that kind of money could change their life — would get a fair shot of receiving that money.” An honorable sentiment from a creator who can turn down a smaller check and talk about thanks to other successful projects (he and Joe Kelly did well with, "Ben 10," for sure, to name one thing). It goes to show that when you're doing work-for-hire in the comic industry, you could make something insanely popular and barely see much extra scratch for it. At least if something creator-owned fails to strike a chord in the market, you still have ownership.

The Newest Spider-Man Villain Makes Me Think of a Video-Game from the 2000's

There was a video-game that came out back in 2007 titled, "Hellgate: London." It was an action role-playing game set in London after demons had invaded that was multiplayer. Long story short, even though it got lots of hype it bombed. Tweaks were made and it stayed around for a while, but eventually the whole shut down. The game remains a footnote in history aside from a surprise sorta-sequel being announced and getting a little press. I hadn't thought of, "Hellgate: London," in years, but today it popped into my head due to how a new Spider-Man villain was announced with the name (you guessed it) Hellgate.

Coming in the latest relaunch of Spidey, "Amazing Spider-Man," #1, this April we will witness as writer Joe Kelly introduces Hellgate along with artists Pepe Larraz and John Romita Jr. Not much has been revealed about Hellgate but apparently he will,  "...force Spider-Man to endure some of his most brutal battles ever and will significantly impact the course of Peter Parker’s life—both in and out of the suit!” That sounds incredibly vague but Joe Kelly is a great writer, Larraz is a stellar artist, and JRJR sometimes produces cool stuff, so I'm optimistic this could be a fun new run on the series.

I know Hellgate the villain and, "Hellgate: London," the game have nothing in common besides a name, but it is just funny how the older I get the more random things will trigger assorted memories. Perhaps there should be more baddies with names like mostly forgotten video-games. "Daikatana," anyone?

Rant-Reviews: Debut Issues and a Conclusion

 Starting and Stopping

I've read a handful of comics I wanted to discuss that I also realized were all first issues or in one case, the final issue of a mini-series. Let's discuss some beginnings and an ending!

Start & Stop

Deadpool/Wolverine: WWIII #1

Deadpool and Wolverine seem to team up as often as they fight. Thanks to a writer who nails Deadpool perfectly (Joe Kelly, who has done some stellar Deadpool yarns before) as well as Wolverine, the tone is a nice mix of serious and silly--some seem to really struggle getting Deadpool's, "Voice," right. Adam Kubert is an astounding artist as well, doing some creative tricks in this issue that necessitate turning the pages horizontally, then vertically, and back. It isn't a problem though, as everything just looks amazing. When it is Deadpool and Wolverine in a comic there is bound to be violence, and this has some wildly good-looking bloody effects. I'm a little confused about exactly where the plot is going with Deadpool seemingly acting in quite an antagonistic manner toward the end of the issue, but perhaps it'll become clearer in future issues. That quibble aside, I had fun.

4 out of 5 stars.

Love Me: A Romance Story #1

My last Rant-Review segment I did a while ago actually discussed another comic with art by Stefano Cardoselli. This series is written by Francesca Perillo and published by Mad Cave, who have carved out a solid niche of releasing cool books (like their recent reboot of, "Dick Tracy," to name another title). "Love Me: A Romance Story," is focused on a robot and his pet cat--and then the robot falls in love with rider in their taxi. It seems like a sweet little meet-cute and Cardoselli's artwork is always superb in its abstract and complex nature. I really enjoyed this debut issue and hope JoJo (that's the robot) manages to find love!

5 out of 5 Stars.

Hack/Slash: Back to School #4

This final issue of the latest, "Hack/Slash," mini-series is set earlier on in Cassie Hack's career of killing seemingly unstoppable monsters. For those wondering how it fits into everything continuity-wise that becomes clear at the issue's shocking conclusion and there is a handy chart breaking down all the, "Hack/Slash," comics and collections up to the present day as well. Zoe Thorogood was fantastic in the first two issues as I discussed in a previous review and sticks the landing here, unquestionably. If you're a fan of Thorogood, the, "Hack/Slash," series, or just good comics, you ought to check this series out!

5 out of 5 Stars.

Creature From the Black Lagoon Lives! #1

This sequel comic of sorts is another one of the Universal Monster comics that Skybound is publishing (they have a, "Dracula," one currently too). Hearing this series was coming had me excited and having read the first issue I am intrigued but it did take a much different thematic angle than I expected. Without spoiling too much, the focus of the comic is much more so a journalist trying to prove someone who fled the United States is a serial killer who drowns victims and in the process of her working on this case it becomes apparent that the famous/infamous Creature will be getting involved. I think I will need to read the next issue for sure to get a better idea of what role our titular Creature will play, but the fact I want to read the next issue shows this debut issue did something very right!

5 out of 5 Stars.

Roboforce #1

I last saw this new iteration of the Roboforce in that, "Nacelleverse," #0 comic which I quite liked. Out of all the entities introduced in the zero issue, I was especially curious about, "Roboforce," so I picked up the first issue. The story centers on a team of robots who were supposed to be heroic rescue bots but were already obsolete by the time they debuted and ended up doing odd jobs to get by. This first issue stands alone without any trouble even if you didn't read the previous zero issue, with the setting up of the Roboforce having to fight a new threat being pretty entertaining. However, there is such a huge cast and they are all introduced so quickly I had a little trouble keeping track of what exactly was going on at some points. Still, I had a good time and look forward to more from the Nacelleverse!

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Flashback Friday: "Superman: The City of Tomorrow Volume 1," AKA I Suppose Superman Can Be Entertaining After All!

I made a Facebook post once where I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of: Superman as a character generally bores me and I usually only like stories with him that are out-of-continuity and have a great writer ("All-Star Superman," by Grant Morrison) or involve him acting out-of-character ("Red Son," and, "Injustice," come to mind). My statement was how the DC comic Universe Superman generally just doesn't have yarns that interest me. One of my friends, Brian Lan (who also does great work with the Hero Initiative) saw this and didn't so much take offense as he wanted to school me on how, "Superman," can actually give us some good stories. He recommended a number of books to me and I made a request to my library so I could try them out.

One of the books Brian told me to try out was the collection, "Superman: The City of Tomorrow, Volume 1." It featured a number of Superman stories from the early 2000s that he told me didn't require too much knowledge of Supes to follow along with. Having read the collection, I will admit I was entertained. If one goes into stories keeping one big thing in mind, they can work well. the main thing to remember is that Superman is inextricably good and wants to help. If you hold onto that as a focal point you can enjoy many tales of Superman (or sometimes his civilian identity, Clark Kent). 

The concept with Superman is he faces an obstacle and finds a way to overcome it.  The obstacles can be big or small, but Superman's good heart and caring nature help him find a way. He has no ulterior motive, he just wants to help, and there is a kindness and purity to that which I mistook for boring at points but can see isn't boring so much as a starting point. It is a launchpad for stories about how someone who wants to be the best they can be towards others deals with a World where essentially nobody else thinks that way. Superman isn't cynical. Superman isn't spiteful. He's Superman, and the fellow has everyone's best interest at heart, against all odds.

Superman might try to help a man keep his house from being demolished by greedy building developers or he could end up having an epic fight in space with an interplanetary tyrant. He'll always try his and best and attempt to see the best in others. Garth Ennis, of all people (the man generally seems to hate superheroes and writes them as terrible people) wrote one of the best summaries of how Superman views, "Us," as Earth years ago in a comic that wasn't even about Superman--it was focused on a creation of Ennis named Hitman in a different comic than what I read but it bears sharing. Observe...

So yes, when you get some skilled writers (Joe Kelly plus Jeph Loeb and Mark Millar before those two went downhill in storytelling) and great artists (Doug Mahnke and Ed McGuinness to name a couple) you can create some solid Superman tales if you go into the tales knowing what to expect. I suppose my friend Brian had a good point and I thank him for turning me onto some solid Superman tales. I plan to pick up a book chronicling the recent, "Warworld," stuff as he told me that was excellent as well. I look forward to reading that too now!