Archie’s “Kevin Keller” wins the 2013 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book

May 122013
 

Archie Comics and Archie writer/artist Dan Parent announced on their Twitter feeds Saturday evening that they’ve won this year’s GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book (for “Kevin Keller”):

While any of the nominees would’ve deserved the prize, I was hoping for “Kevin Keller” to win. It’s one of the few pieces of American entertainment aimed at children that features an openly gay character. Unfortunately, LGBT folk are still seen as “off limits” for American children’s media as far as TV/movies are concerned. Thus, “Kevin Keller” winning highlights this aspect of media. It’s also an entertaining comic, of course…

(Unrelated, but if you’re wondering about “ParaNorman”‘s nomination in the “Outstanding Film – Wide Release” category, it lost to “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”)

Anthony’s Archie Comics picks for July 2013

Apr 152013
 

Life With Archie #31Here’s what’s of interest from Archie Comics for July 2013. Full solicitations are available here.

Comics

  • Archie #646, on sale July 31, $3
  • Betty and Veronica Double Digest #214, on sale July 24, $4
  • Jughead Double Digest #195, on sale Aug. 7, $4
  • Kevin Keller #10, on sale Aug. 7, $3
  • Life With Archie #31, on sale July 10, $4
  • New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow #4, on sale July 31, $3

Trade paperbacks

  • Kevin Keller 2: Drive Me Crazy, on sale Aug. 7, $12

Comments

For the Sonic and Mega Man fans, their crossover (yep, a crossover in Archie) finally concludes this month.

But of bigger interest is this month’s Kevin Keller. After months of my pondering when (since it can’t be “if”) we’ll finally see Mr. Keller kiss someone, it looks like it’s finally coming in this month’s issue! Though there’s no indication whether a “goodbye kiss” means a kiss on the cheek (which still seems cop-out-ish versus the smooching levels Archie engages in) or actually on the lips. Still, I look forward to seeing this issued.

Kevin also sees the second trade paperback compilation of his solo series come out this month. This collection covers issues #5-8, including the George Takei appearance. For those interested, a trade paperback of the Archie/cast of Fox’s “GLEE” crossover is also coming out this month.

Nice “Life With Archie” and “Archie” alternate covers (retro-50s looking).

“Adventures of Superman” now Card-free: Orson Scott Card story’s artist quits

Mar 052013
 

Adventures of Superman (digital)The Orson Scott Card-writing-a-Superman-story saga’s apparently finally ended on an unexpected note. Card’s artist, Chris Spouse, has quit the story, not wanting to be involved in the controversy surrounding the whole thing. DC, in turn, has pulled the Card story, and says it’ll appear at an unspecified later date (while they “look…for a replacement artist”). The new, Card-free issue #1 will be written by Jeff Parker and drawn by Chris Samnee (who drew the Superman art in this post).

Of course, I view all of this as good news (though hope Spouse finds other work at DC), and now will consider buying the first few issues of “Adventures of Superman.” The only concern I have is that DC didn’t learn anything from all of this (per the “looking for a replacement artist” remark and some of their other actions of late), and really does try to shove this story into some future publication (like an Annual) after the ruckus has died down.

 

DC Comics finally responds (curtly) to the Orson Scott Card controversy

Feb 132013
 

Superman versus Muhammad AliYou might recall the controversy over Orson Scott Card writing for a few issues of a new digital-only Superman comic. Since the news was released, there’s been various calls for boycotting, etc., with the news making it even into non-comics media (NPR, LGBT magazine “The Advocate”). Today, DC Comics finally responded to “The Advocate” (and Fox News):

When The Advocate reached out to DC for an official comment, a company spokesman said, “As content creators we steadfastly support freedom of expression, however the personal views of individuals associated with DC Comics are just that — personal views — and not those of the company itself.”

Rather poor public relations to me—most conglomerates would’ve tried to throw out a line about how they’re “sensitive to the needs of our fans/LGBT readers/etc.,” or cite their gay and lesbian characters such as Batwoman (who headlines her own comic/has won GLAAD awards). But instead, they basically dodged the issue and wrote it off as just Card’s “personal views.”

While that may be the case (and DC can hire whoever they want), it doesn’t make for a good public image to sign a highly outspoken homophobe (who’s doing way more than just voicing his opinion) onto your second-highest-profile character (after cash-cow Batman), especially one who has a new movie coming out this summer. Never mind the general public’s view of superhero comics these days is likely either as: the modern equivalent of buggy whips; something that’s only aimed at “geeks”; or just as the source material for the “real” versions of superheroes, the movies/TV shows/video games. Throw in the equally “stellar” sales figures (100,000 copies is a “top-seller” out of 300 million Americans?!), and one would figure DC Comics would want to at least try to project a more welcoming image, among other much-needed changes to their (in my opinion) broken business model. But I guess not…

As for whether it’ll sell, I’m sure the issue will do well (“well” in the above-mentioned “100,000 copies = a hit” sense) despite the controversy: people curious about seeing what the fuss is about; the usual sales boost of a #1 issue; and fans in various comics forums who’ve made clear they either don’t care or side with Card’s views.

I also note that the PR statement refers to themselves as “content creators” and not just “comic writers/artists/etc.” I suppose it supports my theory that Time-Warner (and apparently now DC themselves) just see their assets as an “IP farm” for more lucrative movies, etc. instead of primarily as comic characters.

Comic review: Kevin Keller: Welcome to Riverdale

Feb 112013
 

Kevin KellerKevin Keller: Welcome to Riverdale

Written by: Dan Parent
Art by: Dan Parent

“Welcome to Riverdale” is a trade paperback that collects the first first four issues of Kevin Keller’s current ongoing series. (His appearances in “Veronica” and stand-alone miniseries were collected in an earlier volume.) Archie’s first openly gay character has proven to be pretty popular, so it’s nice to see his own series collected in a more durable (and bookshelf-friendly) format. While I’ve been buying “Kevin Keller” in a digital format, I can give my review of the individual comics that make up this volume:

Kevin Keller #1

Kevin goes on his first actual date. See my review here.

Kevin Keller #2

Kevin goes to the Riverdale High prom. See my review here.

Kevin Keller #3

It’s summer, and Kevin gets a job as a lifeguard at Riverdale’s beach. See my review here.

Kevin Keller #4

This issue sees the Keller family, with Veronica in tow, revisit their old stomping grounds of London in time for the Summer Olympics, which Kevin gets to participate in as a torchrunner. Kevin’s love life isn’t dealt with here; it’s mostly slapstick hijinks once the torch bearing begins. While a nice story, it’s also the most dated one out of the four. I expect once it’s reprinted in a digest some years from now, the Olympics references will be removed/changed to some fictional sporting event.

Overall, an enjoyable run so far. My one criticism is that I’m still waiting to see them show Kevin actually kiss someone (“baby steps” for Archie, apparently), though I assume that’ll be shown in a future story (“Kevin’s first kiss!”?).

Non-canonical Superman comic to debut; debut stories written by…Orson Scott Card?!

Feb 072013
 

retro_superman_1970sToday, DC Comics announced that it’ll be producing a new digital-only Superman anthology comic titled “Adventures of Superman.” The name, of course, is the same as the one used for the live-action 1950s TV show, plus the post-Crisis renaming of the original Superman title for some number of years. Since it’s a non-canonical anthology title, not only does Superman regain his proper costume (red shorts and all), but the stories don’t have to tie into the “New 52.” Good news for those of us who dislike the latest reboot-du-jour. There’s also a large roster of names who’ll be writing stories for this title.

Unfortunately, the initial stories will be written by sci-fi writer and outspoken anti-gay rights activist Orson Scott Card. And when I say “anti-gay rights activist,” I don’t mean just a mere “I don’t like the idea of gay marriage” level either—on top of various public remarks against gay rights, Card’s on the board for the National Organization for Marriage, an organization campaigning against same-sex marriage.

It seems rather sad that DC’s decided to lead off their new Superman series with Card. It also seems to work against DC wanting to update their books’ image to reflect today’s world, especially when their own series “Batwoman” features an openly gay lead character and won some GLAAD awards. There’s also DC’s existing issues since the “New 52″ reboot with minorities as it is, per their treatment of female characters plus how quick they were to cancel their few books starring Black characters not related to Batman.

The website Bleeding Cool weighed in on this mostly in Card’s defense, despite some specious logic. One Million Moms, you’ll recall, is the same group that wanted to get the adult Kevin Keller’s wedding issue off Toys R Us’ shelves, lest children see that gays aren’t Satan’s second cousins, I suppose. Also contrary to the blog post, Card doesn’t merely “believe something very different to what I do”… he’s on the board of a group actively working to discriminate against a sizable portion of the population. I’m sure various comic writers whose work I read don’t have views that match mine, but I doubt any of them are front and center in working on promoting discrimination like Card does…

Depending on the writer, I might buy the new “Adventures of Superman” series (since it’s not tied to the New 52). However, I definitely won’t be buying the initial Card-written storyline.

On a final note, while one can write a character who doesn’t share one’s point of view (I doubt the “Simpsons” writers would agree much with Homer’s boorish beliefs), I’d assume the Man of Steel would be in favor of same-sex marriage/not discriminating against gays, per Superman’s welcoming and non-discriminatory personality. There’s also that one of his own supporting cast members is openly gay—Metropolis cop Maggie Sawyer.

Minorities in cartoons: “Where’s Huddles?”

Feb 012013
 

Where's HuddlesThis week’s minorities in cartoons entry is “Where’s Huddles?,” a now-obscure, short-lived early 70s Hanna-Barbera animated series.

The series was a summer replacement series that aired on CBS during the summer of 1970, filling in for “The Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour,” a variety show featuring the eponymous singer. The series centered around the misadventures of Ed Huddles, a quarterback for fictional pro football team the Rhinos, and his neighbor/teammate Bubba McCoy. Another neighbor, though one not associated with football, was Claude Pertwee, who was voiced by Paul Lynde (of “Bewitched”/”Hollywood Squares” fame). Ed also had a dog named “Fumbles.”

One of Ed’s teammates was an African-American player nicknamed “Freight Train,” who was voiced by African-American actor/singer Herb Jeffries. Freight Train may be American TV’s first regularly-seen African-American animated character in primetime, since I don’t believe there’s an earlier example. Previous primetime animated fare was mostly either produced pre-”I Spy” (American TV’s first primetime drama to feature an African-American star, Bill Cosby) or centered around funny animals (such as “The Bullwinkle Show”).

The series aired for 10 episodes, and was followed up in 1971 with an also-short-lived comic book by Gold Key. After that, it’s pretty much been largely unseen, save having appeared very sporadically on Boomerang.

Here’s the opening credits to “Where’s Huddles?,” which (as of this writing) isn’t available on DVD, though it’s likely to be a prime candidate for the Warner Archive DVD program, as its fellow early 70s primetime animated series “Wait Till Your Father Gets Home” has been released through Warner Archive. Granted, “Father” was the more successful series, lasting three seasons in syndication from 1972-1974.

2013 GLAAD Media Award nominations (and cartoon nominees) announced

Jan 172013
 

Kevin KellerGay and lesbian rights group (and media watchdog) GLAAD’s announced their annual Media Award nominations. As usual, there’s a category for comics, but animation’s recognized this year, as well.

For “Outstanding Comic Book”:

  • Astonishing X-Men by Marjorie Liu (Marvel)
  • Batwoman by W. Haden Blackman, J.H. Williams III (DC Comics)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Andrew Chambliss, Scott Allie, Jane Espenson, Drew Z. Greenberg (Dark Horse)
  • Earth 2 by James Robinson (DC Comics)
  • Kevin Keller by Dan Parent (Archie Comics)

For “Outstanding Film—Wide Release,” the stop-motion animated film “ParaNorman” has been nominated.

The comics category features several repeat nominees from previous years, plus newcomer “Earth 2,” which I hope doesn’t win—using one’s newly-introduced significant other as cannon fodder to create hero-angst (just after revealing said hero as being gay)? Sounds quite flawed to me…but then, so does the “New 52″‘s similar tone as a whole. I’m still rooting for “Kevin Keller,” as unlike the other nominees, it’s an ongoing series aimed mainly at children, and thus occupies an unique niche for American children’s entertainment. That, and Kevin’s been a fun book so far.

Meanwhile, “ParaNorman” features the rarity of a gay character in a mainstream animated Western film (that isn’t R-rated).  Though not sure if that’s enough to put it over its competition…

The winners will be announced between two ceremonies, one on March 16, and another on April 20.

 

The best and worst of 2012 in comics

Dec 302012
 

Life With Archie #16Since it’s time for “end of 2012″ lists aplenty, I thought I’d get in as well. And since everything seems to be couched in “best of”/”worst of” lists, I’ll go that route as well. So let’s start off with a look back at the best and the worst of comics over the past year.

Best

  • The wedding of the adult Kevin Keller in “Life With Archie” selling out, as well as One Million Mom’s boycott of “Toys R Us” for carrying the issue backfiring hard. 
  • Similarly, the wedding of Northstar in the “X-Men” comics.
  • “Batwoman” winning a GLAAD award.
  • The present-day Kevin Keller’s own comic, which continued to be entertaining.
  • “Reed Gunther,” a fun Western/light-horror comic. Unfortunately, it’s been canceled.
  • DC Comics selling same-day digital comics through the Nook and Kindle stores. A move away from Comixology’s digital monopoly and their heavily DRMed comics model is a good thing. (Yes, the Nook/Kindle books are still DRMed, but at least they’re actual files one can remove the DRM on and back up…)
  • The 2012 C2E2 show in Chicago. Still fun, even if I could only spend a single day there.
  • Another “Love and Capes” series!
  • “Superman Family Adventures,” the one DC book I’m still reading (unless waiting for the trade paperback for Morrison’s “Action” run counts).
  • Archie’s “New Crusaders” has been enjoyable.
  • Dan Slott’s run on “Amazing Spider-Man,” and Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Miles Morales’ title.

Worst

  • The “Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes” miniseries. Dragged out plotline + my existing dislike of Q (even if he apparently got rather easily captured by Fred Flintstone’s evil cousin, a.k.a. Vandal Savage) + the predictable “reset button” ending rendering it all even more pointless = “hoped that Star Trek/Dr. Who crossover did better with Who fans.” Still, at least this series acknowledged the Kal-El Superboy was a Legionnaire.
  • The shutdown of Graphicly, with the promise of keeping their comics servers up for those that bought books through them…for now, anyway. A big reason I don’t like the Comixology digital model of (basically) paying full price for what amounts to renting comics long-term, as long as the company stays in business/with files tied strongly to a proprietary app. I can only hope the recent move by DC to sell their books as actual digital files via Kindle and Nook stores means Comixology’s glorified-rental model won’t last, and that some changes are in store.
  • “The Meaning of Lila” ended its newspaper run. I’m currently reading the strip’s reruns on GoComics.com.
  • DC Comics overall is definitely on this list. Long story short, the “New 52″ reboot bites, and I still wish DC had different, more progressive-minded leadership as a company. To wit:
    • The cancellations of Mister Terrific and Static’s books. As troubled as they were, they could’ve at least tried to keep them around a bit longer, or clear up their writing/editing situations. Instead, they’re both axed to make room for Yet Another Batman-related Book, among other things.
    • DC’s ugly new “Peel” logo.
    • Captain Marvel is now called “Shazam“… and Billy Batson’s been turned into some obnoxious, rude brat.
    • “Watchmen” prequels nobody wanted or needed, despite the otherwise excellent staff involved in producing them.
    • Re-introducing the “New 52″ Earth-2 Alan Scott as gay is OK, albeit at the expense of his now-nonexistent gay son Obsidian, since they’ve also de-aged Alan into his 20s like the rest of the characters in “New 52″ line. (Even Bronze Age DC’s timeline with Superman being 29 wasn’t as extreme as the take in the “New 52″—the JSAers were allowed to age!) However, what happened to Alan’s better half—being killed off right after being introduced—puts this on the “worst” list.
    • Superman being written out-of-character. Clark Kent should never say the words “booty call,” DC. And the “Little Abner” “early days” costume is still dumb.
    • Lois’ treatment in the “New 52″ is still lousy. Given they have a major movie coming out starring, among others, Lois, can’t see DC keeping this up through 2013 (Superman’s 75th anniversary)… then again, this is DC…
    • The Superman-Wonder Woman romance. Bad fanfic/fanboy fantasy ideas given the “green light?” Um, no. Again, “major Superman movie out in 2013″ (see Lois above)…
    • Plenty more I’ve probably missed, but it’s probably easier to read this blogger’s post about DC this year, which sums things up pretty well.

As lousy as the worst of the above could be, the best of comics this year, as always, will leave a much better impression of the medium. I look forward to seeing what 2013 has in store for comics!

 

Anthony’s picks for Archie Comics for January 2013

Oct 242012
 

Life With Archie #16Here’s what’s of interest coming out from Archie for January 2013.

Comics

  • Betty and Veronica Double Digest #209, on sale Jan. 23, $4
  • Kevin Keller #7, on sale Feb. 6, $3
  • New Crusaders #6, on sale Feb. 6, $3

Trade Paperbacks

  • Archie: The Married Life, Book 3, on sale Feb. 6, $20

Comments

“Archie: The Married Life”‘s third volume (collecting the “Life With Archie” series) features the “marriage of Kevin and Clay” storyline in this edition. Wonder if One Million Moms will try to stage a boycott of Barnes and Noble’s graphic novel section over this one.

“Archie” this month features another intercompany crossover, this time with the cast of Fox series “Glee.” Despite never having seen “Glee” (since I usually ignore Fox unless a sporting event I can’t watch elsewhere is airing on it), it doesn’t sound that appealing a crossover for me, though Archie’s younger audience might like it. I also have heard “Glee”‘s popularity’s largely waned by this point, so not sure how much a crossover with Archie will do for “Glee” or the Riverdale bunch. (Speaking of the Riverdale bunch, Kevin’s on the cover, though an early appearance had Kevin note he dislikes musicals… hmm…)

This month’s “Kevin Keller” solicit asks whether or not Kevin’s found a boyfriend. A steady significant other’s worked all these years for Chuck Clayton…

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