The Comics Professor

You mean DC's new Earth 2 is going to be darker than the New 52 Earth?

New from The Source is a teaser about the new Earth 2's Batman and the design by Jim Lee:

“Who will Batman kill to save his own daughter?” asks EARTH 2 editor Pat McCallum. “Right out of the gate that should tell you we’re dealing with a different kind of Dark Knight here. More ruthless, dangerous…the costume is familiar and yeah, there is a Wayne under the mask, but we’re looking at a man desperate to save the only family he has left. EARTH 2 is about to become a very bad place to be a bad guy.”

"A Wayne" means it's not Dick Grayson under the cowl (unless on this Earth he took the Wayne name), and it's not Damian (unless he's aged enough to sire Helena). But it also suggests it's not Bruce--and definitely not a Bruce we know. (Unless "we" are Frank Miller, maybe.)

I'm still intrigued by the new Earth 2, but I'm more ready to be disappointed by what may end up being DC's Ultimate line.

The Good Men Project looks at heroism

The Good Men Project, a website I'm honored to be affiliated with (as a frequent contributor and now an editor-at-large), is currently running a series of articles on heroes and heroism, two of which feature superheros in particular:

• "The Man Without Fear: Heroism and Elementary School" is by my good friend Dr. Matt Finch (and originally appeared at another great site, Role/Reboot). Matt uses the story from Daredevil #7 (in which Matt has to lead a group of blind children through a raging snowstorm after their bus crashes) to explore the challenges he's encountered with teaching small children. (And he was kind enough to mention in the piece that I suggested that particular comic to him--he even immortalized the day in tumblr form.)
• "Why I Read Superhero Comics" is my own contribution to the section, explaining how the best superhero comics can inspire by reminding us that everyone has the capacity to be a hero in some small way, and that my favorite superhero stories feature heroes confronting dilemmas similar to those we face in the real world, problems that must be solved using reason and judgment rather than powers or gadgets.

First chapter of The Avengers and Philosophy available for free download

Thanks to Mitters' tumblr, I discovered that there are three samples from The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth's Mightiest Thinkers available at Wiley's site for the book: the table of contents, the index (in case you're curious who's included in the book--I'm happy to say most everybody!), and best of all, the first chapter, written by yours truly.

Titled "Superhuman Ethics Class with the Avengers Prime," it introduces the three basic schools of ethics--utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics--using Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor (respectively), and the conflicts between them, as examples. (The title comes from Avengers Academy, as I discuss here and here.)

Download it and let me know what you think, and don't forget to preorder the book, which comnes out in May!

For the best in comics romance, revisit Thor: The Mighty Avenger

If you're like me, a comics fan who desperately needs a dose of romance on this Valentine's Day, then do what I just did: reread (because I sincerely hope you've read it already) Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee's Thor: The Mighty Avenger series (eight issues, collected in two digests, available here and here). Colyn deGraaff chose its depiction of Thor and Jane Foster as the #1 comic romance "you might have missed" today at his Canuck Goose blog, and last summer, Carol Borden of the Cultural Gutter called it "an unusual book—a superhero romance comic" that, as an all-ages book, "because it is limited in the kind of adult material that can be shown... ends up more adult in its focus on love and friendship."

As Borden points out, it is yet another retelling of Thor's origin story, much closer to the version eventually portrayed in the feature film than in Journey into Mystery #83 from 1962 (also reprinted in the first digest). Thor is banished from Asgard, falls to Earth, and must find Mjolnir, which is hidden in a vase in the museum at which Jane Foster works. Jane, fresh out of a relationship with a once-idealistic young doctor who became more concerned with success and money, finds a virtuous and chivalrous alternative in a bewildered Thor, whom she helps acclimate to his new surroundings while he tries to find his way home.

Jane is clearly taken by Thor from the beginning, Thor is ever the gentleman, and their romance builds slowly and sweetly over the eight issues of the series. I hesitate to spoil much, but the final page from issue #6 (in the second digest) is quite representative:

Chris Samnee's art perfectly complements Langridge's tender-hearted script, and both are utterly refreshing in their portrayal of Jane Foster. Together they show her to be smart, strong, and beautiful, a confident woman who can take command of Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder but at the same time a smitten girl who finds herself in love with a god.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger was unfortunately short-lived, but I hope it stays in print in digest form for years to come--and it would make the perfect Valentine's Day gift for the comics fan in your life (or yourself!).

Watchmen officially gets a prequel--seven of them, in fact

Hardly a secret at this point but finally officially confirmed, DC Comics unpeels its plan for seven prequel miniseries to Watchmen, the 25-year-old classic series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Creators for the new series include Darwyn Cooke, J. Michael Straczynski, Amanda Conner, Andy and Joe Kubert, and Len Wein.

Get the complete details from the LA Times' Hero Complex or USA Today.

Guess I should get working on a sequel prequel to this, then. (Does Before Watchmen and Philosophy sound good?)