Category: News

So Much For The Redesign

Back last year, Dynamite Entertainment had Nicola Scott redesign three of their biggest female characters: Red Sonja, Vampirella and Dejah Thoris. Here’s Nicola Scott from the original press release:

Her big red hair and chainmail are iconic, and I felt strongly they needed to carry the look but be modernized. Keeping her hair big but out of her face seemed practical, and the idea of the chainmail tank rather than bikini was a suitable update.

The redesign Scott came up with works a treat – here it is on the left with the cover of the first issue by Jay Ancelato on the right:

Red Sonja 2015

I didn’t pick up the series though I did get the Dejah Thoris series – and regretted that due to Frank Barbiere’s dreadful dialogue and plotting.

Yesterday, though, I was flicking through my feed reader and came across this article about a new writer, Amy Chu, launching a new Red Sonja series in December. The thing that struck me most was the image they used from new series artist Carlos Gomez:

Red Sonja 2016

So we’re back to the chain mail bikini that offers no protection but shows off Sonja’s tits and arse again? What happened to Nicola Scott’s “idea of the chainmail tank rather than bikini“?

I’ve no objection to the female form but if you’re a warrior – male or female – and you’re heading in to battle against someone clutching a big sword and/or an axe, would you not want to have as much protection as possible?

Rebirth Rumours / Spoilers

A friend of mine emailed me just now with a WTF question that may have something to do with this week’s Rebirth #1 from DC. I deliberately haven’t verified his question as I’m trying to avoid any spoilers around this . . . but it might have something to do with this:

Batman Rorschach

I have a feeling I’ll be avoiding the internet for the next few days . . .

DC’s Rebirth

DC Rebirth

After all the speculation, DC have released their line up of titles following the forthcoming Rebirth. There’s also a short video from Geoff Johns about it where he lays out what Rebirth is all about, how there’s something missing in the DCU. Over the coming months, we’re going to get a slew of Rebirth specials followed by new #1s of loads of series.

Just going on the titles alone, here’s what I’ll be definitely be getting:

Aquaman
Blue Beetle
Earth 2
Green Lanterns
Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps
Justice League
Justice League America

With the exception of Blue Beetle, and allowing for a couple of renamings, those are all titles that I’m currently getting. I don’t collect Superman or Batman titles and I haven’t picked up Green Arrow since Ann Nocenti’s horrible run about a year into the New 52; similarly, I picked up the first Teen Titans after the New 52 but once it finished, I’d lost all interest.

There might be one or two other titles I try when the creative teams are released but for now, my current 7 monthly DC series remains static – a far cry from this time two years ago when I was getting 14 titles each month from DC.

New Bloodlines?!

A few weeks ago, I finished transferring all the annotations I’d done from the old site to this one and then thought about which DC event to start afresh. If I’m honest, my choices were either Eclipso: The Darkness Within or Bloodlines mainly because I already owned all the annuals and book ends for both of them. Knowing Bloodlines would be a little less enjoyable due to the – shall we say, weaker – storyline, I went for Eclipso and am currently about half way through the write-ups.

Now, in a wonderful example of sod’s law, I read that DC are going to be revisiting Bloodlines with a new six-issue mini series in April with the following details:

When a meteor crashes to Earth, bringing with it an unspeakable alien presence that terrorizes a nearby small town, the lucky ones die first. As for the rest, they find themselves locked in a hellish struggle for control of their bodies and their minds. This isn’t just an invasion. It’s an infestation. What would you do if the greatest threat to humanity was hidden away inside you?
Award-winning writer J.T. Krul (Teen Titans, Green Arrow, Jirni) and superstar-in-the-making V. Ken Marion (All New Soulfire, Jirni) bring you their dark and horrifying science-fiction epic about tortured souls who are cursed to a fate worse than death…much worse.

Here’s the cover to the first issue:

NewBloodlinesCover

That looks like an updated Razorblade on the left, Gunfire or maybe Ballistic behind her, Loose Cannon in the front and – a real maybe – Geist in the background?

Given the original Bloodline parasite’s were and obvious rip-off homage to the Alien xenomorphs, I wonder if the floating ball things with hooks are a more subtle reference to the face-huggers?

Either way, it seems I need to get my skates on and finish the Eclipso annotations because – obviously – the whole of the internet will be wanting to find out more about the original Bloodlines series now this has been announced.

Are You Joking