Wednesday, February 25, 1987
Daily Nebraskan
Page
Marvel at tlie ctoinges
DC Comics 'Stipes' up images of popular icons
By Chris McCubbin
Diversions Editor
Over the last three or four years officials at
the DC and Marvel comic-book compan
ies have subjected themselves to mas
sive programs designed to kill off deadwood
characters and generally bring their chaotic,
imaginary universes into some sort of rational '
order acceptable to the comics fan of the '80s.
This is especially a challenge for DC, whose
continuity extends back more than 50 years.
DCs super hero books started out as lurid,
pulp-style adventures in the '40s, became
cutesie kiddiebooks in the '50s, became "so
cially aware" books in the 'COs and Marvel
clones in the '80s with emphasis on charac
terization and human drama along with the
fight scenes. Naturally, not all of these ele
ments fit together perfectly.
Now DC is wrapping up a three-part plan to
make its continuity "rational" enough for Mar
vel fans while still keeping its own unique
flavor.
Comics Now
Part one was the confusing but well-done
maxiseries "Crises On Infinite Earths." Part
two was last year's unreadable miniseries
"Legends." Now they're trying to pull it all
together by introducing completely revamped
versions of some of their oldest and best-known
characters.
This is no light matter, culturally speaking.
Many of these characters have become major
American icons. If you're messing around with
Superman or Batman, you're messing with the
childhoods of most of the population. DCs task
is to make these comfortable old friends excit
ing and believable again without destroying
their mystique.
This week I'm going to talk about what's
going on with DCs big three: Superman, Bat
man and Wonder Woman. Next time my turn on
"Comics Now" rolls around I'll talk about the
changes in The Flash, Green Lantern, the orig
inal Captain Marvel and the Justice league.
Action Comics, John Byrne and Dick
Giordano;
"Superman," John Byrne and Karl
Kesel;
"The Advenures of Superman," Marv
Wolfman and Jerry Ordway
For years John Byrne was the most popular
and prolific artistwriter at Marvel. Last year
DC lured him away for an undisclosed sum and
carte blanche to do whatever he wants with the
world's best-known comics character Super
man. Byrne started out with last summer's six
issue "Man of Steel" miniseries, where he
played around with Supes' beginnings. After
that they gave him three monthly books. Action
Comics, where Superman debuted in 1939,
became a team-up book featuring Supes and
some random DC characters. Adventure comics
turned into "The Adventures of-Superman,".:
and because even Byrne can't do everything,
this book is written by DC veteran Marv Wolf
man and drawn by Jerry Ordway. Finally, DC
canceled its Superman title and immediately
started it up again, starting with a new issue
No. 1.
Byrne has monkeyed around quite a bit with
the chracter. His Superman is a lot less power
ful than he used to be. His Clark Kent is much
more assertive and kind of a yuppie. Byrne
also changed the look of Krypton and returned
Clark Kent to being a news reporter. (You did
know that Clark Kent had been a TV anchor
man for about the last 15 years, didn't you?)
The reaction to the new Superman has been,
at best, mixed. One local fan has been distri
buting renderings of Byrne's Superman over
the words, "Remember what happened to new
Coke?"
I like it. Byrne's stories are simple and a
little goofy his books look like nothing so
much as the '50s live-action TV show starring
Steve Beeves but he brings an energy and an
engaging sense of humor to the character. The
art in both Byrne books is crisp, clean, funny,
exciting and great.
The Wolfman-Ordway book is OK, too. The
writing and the art make Superman into an
impressive, kind of scary guy. 1 like that. Wolf
man also goes deeper into the characters than
Byrne docs. The big problem with this book is
silly, cliched plots that pretend to be socially
or politically relevent, like the terrorism story
that just started, or the juvenile-delinquency
plot that's going on now.
Batman 404 to 407, Frank Miller and
David Mazzucchclli
These four issues are "Batman Year One": a
miniseries within a series. Frank Miller, who
did last year's superb Batman epic "The Dark
Knight," was called in supposedly to do what
Byrne did on Superman.
Miller doesn't really revamp the Batman,
simply because he doesn't have to. Way back in
the 70s the Batman was switched from the silly
campiness of the '60s to a neat film-noir feel.
This concept still works and Miller doesn't
monkey with it.
Miller does clean up some of the deadwood
that's accumulated around the Batman's origin.
He gives the Catwoman a nasty new origin as a
dominatrix. Most importantly, Miller effec
tively brings new physchological depth and
definition to this strange and complex character.
Even if it's not epochal, "Batman, Year One"
is first-rate comics storytelling. The art, by
Miller and David Mazzuccheli (who also shares
plotting and scripting credit) is gorgeous,
primitive and exciting. It reflects the look of
the original Batman of the '40s. "Year One" is
finished now, but look it up in the back-issue
bins.
Over the next few months DC will continue
to re-evolve the Batman in two other stories
"Batman, Year Two" and "Did Robin Die
Tonight" by different creative teams.
Wonder Woman 1 to 5, George Perez,
Len Wein, Bruce D. Paterson
Of all the revampings going on this was
probably the most necessary. Charles Moul
ton's original Wonder Woman was a strange
and delightful book, but, continuity-wise, it
was a mess. I mean, it was science-fictional,
mythological, pulp and pop culture flying ever
ywhere. Let's be straight. Wonder Woman has
never made a lot of sense, even for a comic
book. For Moulton this was an asset, but for
most of the people who have done the charac
ter since, it's just been a source of confusion
and boredom.
This version, mostly by Perez, DCs own resi
dent superstar artist, works very, very well.
Basically, Perez has decided to emphasize the
mythological aspect of the character (a tactic
Marvel s also used recently to good effect on
Walt SimoESon's Thpr). .
One bit of "re&listicizing" that I liked was
Perez'3 making Wonder Woman's main squeeze,
Steve Trevor, an older man. In World War II it
was pretty common for a senior officer to be
very young, but no more. Perez's Trevor is in his
late '40s, about right for a fractious, but com
petent Air Force colonel.
Perez is one of the most painstaking artists
in the business, and the minutely detailed art
on this book is a marvel to behold. Perez's
Wonder Woman is the first rendition of the
character IVe ever seen to portray her as an
attractive young woman who's neither a sex
kitten or an Olympic shotputter. I have nothing
bad to say about this book.
Theater classes for kids
The Lincoln Community Playhouse, 2500 S.
56th St., is offering winter classes starting this
week. Classes are offered in theater, script writ-
puppets and adult acting. The classes are sup
ported in part by the Nebraska Arts Council.
O Introduction to Theatre, a beginners
course, is Saturdays at 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. for 7- to
9-year-olds and 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for 10- to
12-year-olds. The class includes creative dramat
ics, pantomime, technical theater, role playing
and a demonstration on the last day. First class
meets Feb. 28.
O Advanced Theatre classes are Tuesdays
from 4 to 5:15 p.m. for 8- to 12-year-olds. The class
includes workshops at a TV station, basic acting
techniques, vocal production and a performance
demonstration at the conclusion. Prerequisite
for the advanced course is Intro to Theatre. First
class meets Feb. 24.
O Script Writing classes are Thursdays at 4
to 5:15 p.m. for 9- to 12-year-olds. The class
includes writing a script to be performed by the
class at the conclusion. First class meets on Feb.
26.
O Intro to Theatre, Advanced and Script
Writing classes are 10-week courses instructed
by Lenette Nelson Schwinn, children's theatre
director at the Playhouse, with a fee of $45.
O Creative Drama I classes are Thursdays 4
to 5 p.m. for 5- to 6-year-olds. The 8-week course
includes theater games using masks, costumes
and properties at a fee of $40. Instructor is
Linsday Reading Korth. First class meets on Feb.
26.
O Stage Makeup classes are Saturdays at
9:30 to 10:45 am. The 6-week course is designed
for the beginner and is a hands-on study of basic
stage makeup application. Materials are included
in the $30 course fee. Instructor is Donna Him
melberger, artistic associate at the Playhouse.
First class meets Feb. 28.
A $5 discount is given to all 1936-87 TAFY
season members. To register or for additional
information on classes please contact the Play
house, 489-9603. All class sizes are limited.
: IP"
Enlighten o
yoiiFse
4?
i
UNIVERSITY
non-credit
CI
MAECH 1
AFEIL 10
noH
From "O" Street to Wall Street and Back
The Selective Eye (Building Creativity)
Home Schooling, the hows and whys
Wilhelm Reich: The Holistic Tradition
Money Management in Retirement Years
Protecting Against Investment Fraud
Financial Planning Asset Management
Evaluating Current Events
Care of the Cat and Dog
Soul Travel Workshop
"Hands On" Chiropractic
Bicycle Maintenance
Basic Karate
Tarot Reading
Basic Judo
CPR
REGISTRATION FEE: UNL Students
(withI.D.)$l
Non-Students $2
REGISTER FOR CLASSES:.-;:.'
February 23-27, Nebraska City Union
booth in the lobby or in rm. 200 (CAP office)
East Campus: Tuesday, February 24 from
10 a.m.-2 p.m. at booth in Union lobby
OR by mail, write: UPC FREE UNIVERSITY,
200 NE Union, UNL, Lincoln, NE 68588-0465
(all mail in registrations $2 per class, check or money order only)
SCHEDULES: Available in Room 200,
Nebraska City Union
! REGISTRATION-FORM
UPC FREE UNIVERSITY
NAME.
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j ADDRESS
j PHONE
I CLASS
I $2.00 per class enclosed
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