DC ELSEWORLDS - Live-action fan webseries UPDATE

Although it seems like it's been forever (well, really, it has...). And although they said in December it would be up in January (and, well, it wasn't...). It looks like the fourth chapter of the DC ELSEWORLDS webseries might get here soon! (YAY!)

Here's a teaser:

Part One: "Fair Play"

Part Two: "Titans"

Part Three: "What's in a name?"

"In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places - some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow."

Flashback Friday: Brave and the Bold 100. Feb/Mar 1972

Okay, I really hadn't planned on making this week's Flashback another Black Canary post, but Sea of Green's comment regarding Hard Traveling Heroes reminded me of this "gem."

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THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #100 (Feb/Mar 1972)
"The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair"
story: Bob Haney
art: Jim Aparo

On page one of this story, Batman gets shot and incapacitated. The problem, besides the obvious, is that he's just become aware of a huge heroin deal about to go down in Gotham City and he can't leave his wheelchair to stop it!! What to do!? So he pulls together Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Robin to track down the details and prevent the event, while he coordinates it all from the wheelchair. (Hmmm, that's an interesting concept!)

This story came out right at the tail-end of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams classic GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW run. So -- Bob Haney picks up on the strong-heroine vibe that O'Neil gave Black Canary and gives her classy dialogue like:She mocks Ollie, as if she isn't involved, aware or even cares about Speedy's drug problem. It's not helpful that the art in that panel makes her look pretty vacant.

But it gets better.

When it comes time for Black Canary's part of the plan...they can't raise her on the wrist-radio!! Batman sends Robin out. Robin refers to her as a "flippy female." In the Bob Haney universe, Robin's not far off the mark...And just in case you missed it:Yes, Black Canary is so out of touch with reality, that not only do her priorities jeopardize the mission because "the rain ruined my hair..."

But -- she's such a complete freakin' idiot, that she forgot she wears a wig!!

It's hard to believe that Bob Haney had read none of Denny O'Neil's stories, but how else can you explain him writing Black Canary as such a dip?

Flashback Friday: Black Canary 2. September 2007

Here's a new thing I'm going to try and do every week. We'll see how that goes.

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I love Black Canary, always have. Maybe not so much when Mike Grell took away her sonic cry. Or when she went all butch leather-biker. But even as a kid, I used to draw Black Canary comics.

So, it's been kinda frustrating to watch Andrew Kreisberg turn Black Canary into a moron (she's leader of the JLA for crying out loud!):

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY 16 (March 2009)

Especially when just 2 pages before, she was knocking an arrow out of the air with her sonic cry, and now suddenly she's just overwhelmed!? WTF!!?

That got me thinking back to better times. There's the obvious run in BIRDS OF PREY, where Gail Simone practically turned her into a top-tier A-lister. Even Judd Winnick didn't do too poorly with her on his GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY run. But inbetween, she turned up in a self-titled mini-series. Not that it was spectacular or anything, but Tony Bedard gave me, literally, a jaw-dropping, OMG, no way!! moment:

BLACK CANARY 2 (September 2007)

It starts off looking like one of those "oh, he's a misogynist, having the man overpower the woman by cutting off her power" bits. Then he turns around and gives something so original and unexpected that it's almost flooring, while coming across as an obvious "duh, of course she could do that" type thing.
I'm not lying when I say, my jaw literally dropped when she snapped the bow string. I was shocked and awed. I love that scene. Tony Bedard made Black Canary even more awesome.

Now she's a bumbling buffoon.

Sigh.

DC ELSEWORLDS - Live-action fan webseries

Chris Cowan and Lex Randleman have put together a great little webseries based on DC Comics characters. ELSEWORLDS, as the name implies, uses familiar characters, but tells a story from an alternate reality.

Considering this is a "no-budget" production, it looks pretty good. Most of the casting works. They have some neat special effects. And they do a pretty good job of adapting the costumes to "real-life."

Here's part one of the five-part series. You can catch the rest on You Tube. They have had some technical difficulties which have resulted in part four being delayed. But I can't wait until it comes out!! I really think this a fascinating webseries !!

DC Elseworlds Webseries Blog

Part One: "Fair Play"

Part Two: "Titans"

Part Three: "What's in a name?"

"In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places - some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow."

DC Heroines Calendar @ BarbieCollector

BarbieCollector.com has got a desktop wallpaper calendar for September featuring their latest run of Barbie as the DC Comics Heroines!!
Walk don't run!! It'll probably be switched out by the end of the month!!!

Final Crisis #3: Giving Me An Art Attack

I love J.G. Jones. I really do. I think he can be an amazing artist. But occasionally everyone does something that works on my nerves. And FINAL CRISIS #3 had a couple of those moments.

Like, when he's drawing Wonder Woman, I wish he could just decide and settle upon whether he's drawing Lynda Carter or Jennifer Connelly.
My other big gripe is the big hero group shot. One word: perspective. Or is it: proportion? Hmm, I'm not sure...
But anyway, the line-up alone should make you go "WOW!" but it doesn't. Maybe because they all look like they're only 3-feet tall. And:

• Why is Jay Garrick crying?
• Why does Shazam look like he's about to cry?
• When was the last time Huntress wore that costume?
• Why do all the women have the same blank expression on their faces?
• Why does Starfire look unlike any other version of Starfire we've ever seen?
• Who is standing behind Alan?

I do love J.G. Jones, but am way less than impressed with this spread.
Maybe next time...

BIRDS of PREY - On Sale Today!

BIRDS OF PREY: The Complete Series DVD Set is on sale today!!!

In the third episode of Birds of Prey, Lori Loughlin (Full House, Summerland, 90210) guest-stars as Carolyn Lance aka Black Canary. Carolyn has a past with Catwoman...so she's not keen on Catwoman's daughter: Helena Kyle - The Huntress!! Or Helena's involvement with Dinah and Dinah's crimefighting!

Here's the episode description:

Barbara and Helena learn the truth about Dinah and Dinah learns the truth about her own past when her mother, Carolyn Lance, comes to New Gotham in search of the daughter she abandoned years before. Dinah is shocked to learn that Carolyn was once Batman's protege: the Black Canary. Meanwhile, Helena learns that Detective Reese has family issues of his own when he becomes secretive about a ruthless gangster.

Photo gallery:

Episode preview:

More DC Comics Previews for June 11, 2008

Newsarama has got more previews for the following DC Comics, all going on sale this Wednesday. In addition to the ones I pointed out yesterday (listed below), they've added:

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #25
GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #9

previously:

WONDER WOMAN #21
BOOSTER GOLD #10
TRINITY #2

Don't forget to "Click to Launch Viewer" to finish reading the preview pages!!

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 80

80 more days until the DVD release of BIRDS OF PREY The Complete Series!!!

Despite any mention you may read on the web (including a review by some moron on Amazon of the DVD set THAT HASN'T EVEN BEEN RELEASED YET WTF!?) RACHEL SKARSTEN does not portray Black Canary in BIRDS OF PREY. She does portray Dinah Lance (known early in the series as Dinah Redmond). But this takes place on an alternate earth known as fictional, so you'll just have to get over it. Yeah, geeky fanboys had problems with this show from the beginning, and most of those problems had nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the acting...

It's not like my comic, WAAHHH!!!

Here's a short blurb and Q&A theWB did with Rachel back in 2002 leading up to the series premiere:

For 17-year-old Rachel Skarsten, joining Birds of Prey was the chance of a lifetime. Yet once upon a time, acting was not her career of choice. "Growing up, I studied hard-core ballet with the Royal Academy of Dance.Then I discovered [ice] hockey, which I love," explains the native Canadian. And now? "Moving out on my own [the show shoots in Los Angeles] is a little scary," admits Skarsten. "I'll probably have to get a cat or something."

My character is: "The damsel in distress. She is very naive and a little insecure. I suspect I'll be able to kick some 'behind' soon. Of course, it will just look like me. Those stunt girls make me look so good, but really all I do is grunt and throw fake punches."

To do Dinah justice I had to: "Lose the nose ring. They wouldn't let me keep it because Dinah is not that cool - yet."

My biggest fear is: "That I'm going to let the comic book's fans down. This book has a really strong cult following. Online they know more about me than I know about me."

Pre-Order Birds of Prey: The Complete Series from Amazon.com

Countdown to Birds of Prey: Day 93

It's been a long 5-year wait...but in just over three months, the Birds of Prey TV series will finally be on DVD!!! Yay! I'm so excited!!

For anyone who may have missed it, here's a description of the show:

On a terrible night seven years in the past, the Joker attacks the two women at the center of Batman's life: Catwoman and Barbara Gordon, who fought at Batman's side as Batgirl. With Catwoman dead, Batman mysteriously disappears from New Gotham. Barbara, now confined to a wheelchair, redefines herself with a complicated double life: by day, she is a teacher of computer sciences, but by night, she is "Oracle," a master of cybernetics and weapons design, who monitors the activities of New Gotham's criminals from her secret lair in the city's Clocktower.

Barbara takes under her wing the secret daughter of Catwoman and Batman, young Helena Kyle. Helena has inherited Batman's strong sense of justice, along with Catwoman's meta-human abilities. Although she longs for a normal life, she quickly grows into the fierce and beautiful "Huntress." The pull between good and evil is strong within her, and Barbara knows she must guide Helena carefully.

Into the lives of these two remarkable women comes an innocent teenage girl named Dinah who is drawn to the Clocktower by powerful, haunting visions. Unsure of her background, but impressed by her budding meta-human powers, the two crime-fighters take Dinah in, and the trio is complete. They are now the "Birds of Prey."

And here's a little video clip. It's 1.36 MB, so it might take a minute to load. And the quality is kinda iffy, but it's what I've got to share! Enjoy it! (You need Quicktime)

And, oh yeah, no; I'm not going to do this daily. I just wanted to have some fun with it. I'll probably bring it up a couple times a week, tho. LOL!

BIRDS of PREY on DVD II

Now TVShowsonDVD has got the box art up for Birds of Prey: The Complete Series.

They also have a look at a promotional flyer that's being sent to retailers. Check it out.

But the best news is: When Warner Home Video announced yesterday that BOP was coming to DVD, they said the release date was July 29. Today they've announced that the release date will be JULY 15!!! Two whole weeks earlier!!

I'm still going to die waiting...

BIRDS of PREY on DVD!!!!

From TVShowsonDVD.com:

CRIME FIGHTING NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD
WHEN WARNER HOME VIDEO RELEASES

BIRDS OF PREY:
THE COMPLETE SERIES

ON JULY 29, 2008

Warner Home Video Finally Brings Your Favorite Crime Fighting Trio to DVD

BURBANK, CA (April 2, 2008) – The wait is over! Birds of Prey, the hit WB show and the #5 most requested unreleased show on TVShowsOnDVD.com, will finally make it to DVD. Three young female heroines will be fighting together, living together, and soaring into adventure together when Warner Home Video's (WHV) releases of Birds of Prey: The Complete Series on July 29, 2008 for $39.98 SRP. Birds of Prey: The Complete Series includes all 13 episodes from the series plus all-new bonus features in a 4-disc collection.

Starring Ashley Scott as Helena Wayne/The Huntress, Dina Meyer as Barbara Gordon/Oracle, Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Lance, Ian Abercrombie as Alfred Pennyworth and Mia Sara as Dr. Harleen Quinzel!!!

Read More!!

Upcoming Wonder Woman swag

Mattel has announced their Fall 2008 line and we get more Barbie as DC Superheroes. Including yet another Wonder Woman! Wahoo! Check out Barbie Collector.com for pics of the new Batgirl, new Supergirl and all-new Black Canary Barbies!

Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures introduces Wonder Woman into the line with Wave 4. I assume since Waves 2 & 3 are scheduled for Spring and Summer (respectively), that this should be hitting stores in the Fall as well!!

In November, DC Direct is unleashing the Wonder Woman 1:4 Museum Quality Statue. Action-Figure.com calls it the second 1:4 Statue after Batman, except that there's also been an announced Superman 1:4 Museum Quality Statue. Not sure which is first, but Wonder Woman is obviously third. That's a shocker. Anyway...the price is $295. Good luck with that. Tell me how it works out for ya.
But damn it is pretty hot!! Check out more (and bigger) pics at Action Figure Insider.

Best Covers: DC Comics Solicitations, March '08

I stole this idea from the Super Punch blog.
This is just about the art, not whether or not I like the comic or artist (or whether or not they got the costumes right) or whatever. Simply: Is it an awesome piece of art? In alphabetical order:

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #6 by Cliff Chiang


JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL by Darwyn Cooke


SUPERMAN/BATMAN ANNUAL #2 by Scott Kolins


TRIALS OF SHAZAM #12 by Mauro Cascioli


TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE #3 by Karl Kerschl

You can see the full solicitations here.

Justice League: The New Frontier - news

Watch the trailer!!!

Justice League: The New Frontier -- Official Movie Site

TV Shows on DVD --
12/22: Rear Box Art for 3 of the 4 Versions of The New Frontier
12/09: Package Art Arrives For Both High-Definition Versions of The New Frontier!!
11/27: Warner issues Press Release for New Frontier
11/27: A Bigger Look at the Box Art for New Frontier DVD Releases
11/21: Graphic Shows New Frontier Box Art, Reveals 2-DVD Special Edition, Gives Hi-Def Prices
10/27: New Release Date For New Frontier, Including New Hi-Def Format Discs!

Newsarama --
12/19: FOUR MORE IMAGES FROM JL: THE NEW FRONTIER
11/27: WARNER BROS. HOME VIDEO RELEASES FULL NEW FRONTIER DETAILS, IMAGES

Christmas with the Super-Heroes!

25 Days of Christmas Comics Covers - Day 20

LIMITED COLLECTORS' EDITION C34 (March 1975)	BEST OF DC 22 (March 1982)
CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPER-HEROES 1 (1988)	CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPER-HEROES 2 (1989)

DC Universe Previews for December 12 2007

Newsarama has previews for SALVATION RUN #2, GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #3, BAT-LASH #1, SIMON DARK #3 and:

WONDER WOMAN #15

Written by Gail Simone
Art by cover by Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson

"You'll forgive me if I take offense." I love Gail Simone...

DC Universe Previews for December 5 2007

Newsarama has previews for JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #11, ROBIN #169, SUPERGIRL #24, JONAH HEX #26 and:

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15

Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ed Benes and Sandra Hope

Which includes this awesome shot:

Panels of the Week - November 14 2007

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #2

Written by Judd Winick
Art by Cliff Chiang

NIGHTWING #138

Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Don Kramer and Wayne Faucher

RE: Green Arrow/Black Canary #2 Preview

Okay, I forgot about "Athena" and her group heading over to the island in COUNTDOWN. So that explains the "Amazons" that kidnapped Ollie.

But that doesn't explain how Hippolyta is on the island "alone" (WONDER WOMAN #14) and unaware that it's inhabited (GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #2)!

AHHH!