5 More Superhero Online Comics to check out

As I attempt to expand the 'Superhero Media' which I consume beyond the expected comics, film and television into new territory, I've taken another look at webcomics and what they can offer. I've cheated a bit with this list, as a couple of the entries are actually comics that have seen print, but are now available to read for free online, but I promise I only cheated so that you can know about some good reads. Some of these comics are ongoing, some are completed, so you can pick your poison, just like last time. I've found even more than what's here, so look out for another one of these down the track.

Dragon Ball Zeroverse 
http://thedaoofdragonball.com/manga/dragon-ball-zeroverse/

(Completed) 

Bit of a strange history to this one. The Dragon Ball Z manga was a huge hit in China and once it finished, the publisher was inundated with demands for more. The publisher hired some artists and writers and got to work making a new series, Dragon Ball Zeroverse, which has gone on to have a huge following in the Dragon Ball fan community, with some fans saying that it's the best follow-on from DBZ, even better than Super or GT. I'm still partway through reading Zeroverse, but I don't actually think it's better than anything else, though fun moments like Majin Uub make it worth a read anyway.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
http://nonadventures.com/

(On Hiatus) 

I highly recommend a close reading of the Wonderella comics if you have the time, I haven't seen satire this cutting and hilarious in years outside of anything Tina Fey is involved in. In fact, if Tina Fey was in charge of a Wonder Woman television series, the result would probably be something like The Non-Adventures of Wonderella. If that's not enough reason to check it out, the parodies of broad superhero tropes and constant sniping at the absurdity of Batman should tide you over. 

 

Atomic Robo
http://www.atomic-robo.com/ 

(Ongoing) 

Yeah, Atomic Robo is available to read online, for free. What more could you want? Are you not reading Atomic Robo yet? You should be, just look at these panels and tell me you're not keen to find out what's going on. Stop reading my tiny blog and go read Atomic Robo for a while.

Strong Female Protagonist
https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/ 

(Ongoing)

This comic is pretty damn amazing, so much so that I actually regret putting Bob and George on the last one of these lists. Alison Green is a retired teenage superhero trying to make the world a better place with more than punching. In the world of Strong Female Protagonist, superhumans are a new occurrence, with none being over 25 years old and a series of new laws and social structures having been rushed into existence. As well as having to live with the struggle of being one of the most famous people on the planet, Alison has a complex relationship with her former villains and the US government. There's a great conspiracy element as well that really marks SFP as different from a lot of superhero fare.

 

JL8
http://jl8comic.tumblr.com/ 

 

(Ongoing)

"What if the Justice League were all eight years old?" sounds like a pitch that would wear out its welcome pretty quick, but there's a charm to JL8 that keeps me coming back. Think Justice League Unlimited by way of Bill Watterson. The jokes land mostly around the style of daily newspaper comic strips, but, again, the charm makes you stick around for more. Be warned, you can easily run through all of JL8 in an afternoon and be wanting more, but waiting for updates for quite a while. Probably the best new take on Batman in the past decade. 

Superhero Media: Batman (1966)

I've said it before and I''l say it again, the 1960s Batman television series is the second best multimedia incarnation of Batman ever, right after Batman the Animated Series; making Adam West the runner up to Kevin Conroy, which is no mean feat. For those put off by the high-camp style of William Dozer's production, I can't recommend enough giving the programme a go, it's clever, incredibly well made and full of brilliant actors giving great performances. My DVD collection of the series features a documentary on Adam West, demonstrating just how good an actor he really is, and it does show in Batman; he commits to the role and hokey dialogue completely, which is what makes it so compelling. Similarly, credit needs to be given to Burt Ward, who as well as playing a convincing teenager at age 21, put up with all manhandling. That said, the legendary amount of women he had in his dressing room probably helped with that. Almost all of the "Guest Villains" are pedigreed actors having a ball in their roles, as well as the regulars, one-offs from Shelly Winters and John Astin make for really entertaining episodes. 

For the most part, Batman is made up of two-part episodes, with a cliffhanger involving an elaborate deathtrap and an unlikely escape, there is the occasional one or three-parter and Season Three starts to link each episode through cold opens and teasers. Season Three also introduces Batgirl, played by Yvonne Craig, who becomes something of a second lead to West's Batman. Many fans regard this change of focus as the reason for the cancellation of the programme, but I'm a bit of a fan of the Batgirl dynamic and am more inclined to believe that the novelty had simply worn off for most audiences. Batman is formulaic, but the formula works, and the characters and good acting keep the pace going, even through the poorer episodes. Caesar Romero is one of the all-time-great Jokers, up there with Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger, playing the "Clown Prince of Crime" persona to a tee. We're spoiled for Catwomen, with Julie Newmar vamping it up beautifully and Eartha Kitt purring her way through scenes; incidentally, how cool is it that an African American Woman, still under investigation for sedition by the US government at the time, was cast as Catwoman? If you did that these days, the internet would melt down as armies of over-privilaged morons posted about how Catwoman is "supposed to be white". Idiots.

This incarnation of Batman is the perfect tonic for those, like myself, that simply cannot stand any more "grim and gritty", post-Frank Miller, Nolan-esque versions of Batman grunting and screaming. Adam West presents the Caped Crusader as an intelligent, thoughtful, tolerant and inquisitive; yes, he fights, but only when reason will no longer work or lives are at stake. Yes, Batman is camp, but that style only enhances the comic-book feel, rather than diminishing it, as so many fanboys erroneously claim. I really want to see elements of this series come back into the Batman films, not necessarily the "Biff" and "Pow" and bright costumes, but the banter, the presence of Robin, Bruce Wayne being an altruist rather than a free-market capitalist, using science to solve crimes and the Batmobile being a car rather than a tank. Even some of the storylines from episodes would work well in a modern setting, like The Riddler suing Batman for wrongful arrest, the Joker attacking the education system to create more delinquents from which to draw his henchmen or Penguin trying to marry an heiress. Some of the most genuinely unique Batman can be found in this series, it's well worth your time to watch at least a few episodes.

 

Miniatures Finished: Anachronaut Squad 1

Finally got around to painting some of my Anachronauts after the years I've had them. For those who need reminding, the Anachronauts are the elite soldiers of Kang and/or Immortus, depending on which comic you're reading, made up of the greatest soldiers and warriors in human history. 

This first group consists of a Zulu Warrior, WWII British Infantry, WWII Soviet Infantry, WWII Desert Rat, British Zulu Wars Infantry, Dark Age Warrior, Imperial Sandtrooper, Russian Napoleonic Infantry, Fuzzywuzzy and a Spanish War of Succession mercenary. 

My challenge with the Anachronauts was to only use plastic miniatures, which has meant it's taken me a little longer to get them together than I expected. I think the final result was worth it though. 

It's also been a fun challenge to paint more "historical" miniatures than I normally would, though I now know that I NEVER want to paint a Napoleonic army, I don't know how other gamers do it. 

Superhero Media: Infestation 2

Hot on the "success" of Infestation, IDW launched the second part, Infestation 2, leaner, meaner and with more than a few changes. Rather than a single entity, like the Undermind, Infestation 2 pits its heroes against the entirety of the Cthulhu mythos, which makes for grander stories, but the overall effect is slightly weakened without a recurring villain like Brit to tie the narrative together. Infestation 2 features the Transformers, Dungeons and Dragons, TMNT, GI Joe and 30 Days of Night, most of which are better than the stories in Infestation, but without the kind of crossover promised, like Snake Eyes meeting Optimus Prime and Leonardo, it's still unfulfilling. Once again, the GI Joe story is the best one, with a cult uprising at a Cobra asylum for insane operatives. Crystal Ball (Cobra Old Ones Expert), Storm Shadow, a Cobra Psychologist and a cadre of lunatics have to survive a wave of hybrids to shut down the ritual and escape. I'd watch that film, even without a GI Joe framework and characters. 

The Transformers story takes place, not "now" or in the near future (like the 1986 film), but in 1887, with most of the Autobots and Decepticons in hiding, until Dunwhich is overrun by Deep Ones and corrupted Decepticons and Nikola Tesla has to awaken Optimus Prime to save the day. It's ridiculous nerd-bait, but the fun concept and diesel-punk transformer designs make it worth a look anyway. Nothing else in the anthology is really worth mentioning, though none of it is strictly bad, if you have the Omnibus Edition like I do, the whole Infestation/Infestation 2 does make for a good read and has plenty of inspiration for supers and horror games of all kinds. For me, the Infestation[s] are a nice additional antagonist for a campaign without having to buy additional miniatures, as I already own more than enough zombies and cultists to combine Infestation with Annihilation or to run it as its own series of games.

I've read almost all of HP Lovecraft's published works, and whilst I'm not a huge fan, his ability to evoke the otherworldly, the uncanny and a sense of unknowable horror is unmatched. It's no wonder that his style and mythos have endured and become a major fixture of popular culture. Of course, having such powerful beings as the great old ones leads some writers to wanting to see this power flexed; hence many derivative stories being more action-focused. As I've mentioned a number of times, a certain subset of supers fans are more interested in seeing the fights than the characters, so that superheroes fighting mythos monsters is a pretty expected result. Sometimes, this works really well, like Hellboy or Atomic Robo, but there are far too many poor attempts that leave me mostly disappointed. For me, the best Old Ones in comics are the ones that were there before we knew what they were, Starro, Galactus and Stardust the Super Wizard, for example. What's the point of a mountain-sized monstrosity when Superman can still throw it into space, after all?

From the Archives - Vol 2

Whilst digging through old photos for images of my Firefight stuff, I came across some pictures of a SuperSystem game I played years ago. I think this may have even been 3rd Edition, given the terrain and figures I was using. I've captioned the pictures as best I can remember, but don't expect great things. 

 Colonel Quantum battles a darkness-wielding foe. 

 The enigmatic villains have captured the VIP! 

 The Anachronism charges headlong into the wave of henchmen. 

 Wildcat moves in on the flank. 

 Particle Man is blasted into unconsciousness by an electrical arc. 

 Foul henchmen move through the graveyard. 

 USAwesome aided by Der Flieger (evidently on layover from WWII), defend the high-tech computer. We must have played two games that day. 

 Looks like Wildcat managed to get the VIP, I remember he worked a lot better in SS3 because the Super Leap power could function off Agility. 

 Wildcat blasts away with his pistol, which is never truly effective in a Superhero setting. 

 The villains close in on the summoning circle. 

 Henchmen patrol the grounds. 

 Golden Girl wades into the fray. 

 The Frontier Spirit braves the vortex of evil energy to fend off the villain. 

 The 2nd Amendment lays down covering fire. 

 Der Flieger puts jackboot to enemy face. 

 

Superhero Media: Sky Captian and The World of Tomorrow

How come no one ever talks about this film? I know maybe a half-dozen people who have even seen it, which is a shockingly small number when you consider that most people I know are some kind of nerd. A spiritual successor to the likes of The Rocketeer and The Mummy (1999), Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow is a pulp sci-fi adventure, complete with two-fisted fight scenes, plucky gal-Fridays and ray guns. When scientists start going missing, plucky, no-nonsense female reporter, Polly Perkins starts investigating and is soon caught up in a whirlwind of action and robot attacks, throwing her into the orbit of her ex-boyfriend, the titular Sky Captain. As the pair investigate the machinations of the villainous Doctor Totenkoph, they bicker and go over their former relationship, bouncing around the globe, but never getting past their past. A climatic battle with ray guns, flying machines and a space-ark finishes the film and we're shockingly left without a sequel tease. 

The major novelty of Sky Captain is that almost the entire film was shot on green-screen, with the actors being essentially the only "real" things in the frame. It was a bit of a bold move, but kind of makes sense with the kind of film that Sky Captain is trying to be. The high-concept pulp tone, with flying aircraft carriers, giant robots, ray guns and dinosaurs really only would have worked with an animated or effects-heavy feature, and as a film-making concept, Sky Captain does work, but not quite all of the pieces come together and the final result is disappointing. I think part of the issue was the film being a little too ambitious, calling upon recollections of Indiana Jones and The Mummy films, but not being quite as engaging. The lead actors (Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly and Jude Law as Sky Captain) are not well cast, neither having the kind of style or look that "Sassy Gal-Friday" and "Two-Fisted Adventurer" demand. The concept is a little high-minded for the content of the film, though ideally placed in the Pulp genre, the only films most audience members would be familiar with are more along the "thing good/Nazis bad" kind of line. 

I'm shocked that Sky Captain isn't a bigger cult film, like Flash Gordon or Big Trouble in Little China (though those are both far better), the only spaces I tend to see it mentioned are those that deal with famous flops or big Hollywood failures. As regular readers will know, I'm a big fan of Golden Age comics, pulpy tone, unfortunate language choices and lack of continuity included, I wish there were more films that went there and made a real go of it. Yes, I have The Rocketeer, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Shadow, The Phantom and Wonder Woman, but I'd like to see more be successful so that maybe one day I can get good versions of The Green Hornet, The Spirit, The Woman in Red and Stardust the Super Wizard on the big screen one day. I feel that if Sky Captain had been a bigger hit or was actively enjoying some favorable attention from the internet, that pipe-dream may be a little closer to reality. If you haven't ever seen Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, check it out, it's at least unique and fun, if not overly compelling. 

Miniatures Finished: 12/06/2018

Funny story, I bought 16 miniatures over the weekend, so I set a goal that I'd finish painting at least 16 this week. Last night I completed 10 and it's only Tuesday, so I'd say I'm off to a good start. 

Spider-Man 2099 - I'm pretty sure my motivation behind this one was playing him as a "Lone Vigilante" in Judge Dredd Miniatures Game, but now that I have a sweet Cyberpunk set-up to play on, maybe I should do some "Future" supers games. Heroclix

Metalhead - Need a fifth for your TMNT team? Well, if Casey Jones, Slash or Splinter aren't to your liking, maybe give Metalhead a go. Heroclix 

Mew - He's actually closer to 1/35 scale, but I'm so damn happy with hand-blending the shade of pink on him perfectly that I don't care. I actually have some plans for the Pokemon stuff, but I'll need someone good with image editing to help out. Vending Machine Toy 

Nebula - I was on a deadline to get all of my Guardians finished for Little Wars Melbourne 2018, but it turns out they weren't needed, so Nebula got left a week or two. Big fan of her role in the films, so expect to see her in a few games. Heroclix 

Brothers Grimm - When I opened one of these guys in a booster (I was going thru one of my Clix-playing phases), I knew I had to put two of them on a base and run them as a single character. I'm beginning to focus on villains that have interesting gimmicks so that I can vary play a little. Heroclix  

Granny Goodness - Seriously Warner Bros, do a "Fourth World" film and pay Betty White whatever she asks to play Granny Goodness, what could you lose at this point? I'm not too keen on most of the Female Furies, so how about I run a game where they're other female super-villains? Thinking Titiania, Brit and Ursa? 

 

Superhero Media: Batman and Harley Quinn

I had heard that Batman and Harley Quinn was one of the better DCAU films, but I tend to not put much stock in what I read online, especially to do with Harley Quinn. As I've mentioned before, I quite like Harley as a character, especially as she is written and presented by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, but the "following" that has grown up around her is, to put it politely, complicated. As a semi-regular convention volunteer, I'm never going to complain about women in Harley Quinn cosplay, but those who idolise her as an example of womanhood and stable relationships are heading down a dangerous path towards abuse. On a lighter note, the cast and crew of Batman: The Animated Series are behind Batman and Harley Quinn, and in terms of continuity, it fits nicely into what fans call the "Timmverse". When a cutting-edge scientist is kidnapped by Poison Ivy and the Floronic Man, Batman and Nightwing have no leads, so they try to track down Ivy's former partner, Harley. 

After fighting and then seducing Nightwing, Harley convinces Batman that she needs to come along with them to stop Ivy and the second act of the film becomes a "road movie" with Batman, Nightwing and Harley in the Batmobile having adventures and little comedic scenes. Getting drive-thru fast food, toilet breaks and arguing over the radio seem more like scenes from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but Kevin Conroy, Melissa Rauch and Loren Lester really make it work with the characters. The scene where Booster Gold (played by Paul Dini) calls from the Watchtower and lists off who in the Justice League can lend a hand, whilst Nightwing mimes reasons they don't want, Black Condor is "meh", Elongated Man "talks too much" and Triumph is a loser; Booster himself offers to come down and both Batman and Nightwing panic and cut off the call. There's a fun karaoke scene, but I wonder why Warner Music couldn't come up with some better songs? The bar in which this happens is frequented by henchmen of major Batman villains from comics film and animation, which is a great moment for longtime fans. 

The ending of Batman and Harley Quinn is a bit poor, Harley's reveal on how she can stop Ivy is underwhelming and a brief appearance from Swamp Thing is fun, but doesn't add to the narrative. If I were to briefly describe Batman and Harley Quinn, it would be as a kind of "Reunion Special" of BTAS. The actors and crew are all there, but the emphasis is on fun and nostalgia rather than a serious story. Also, the rating of this film is rather high, with plenty of adult content, but it's not violence and swearing tirades, it's lewd jokes and adult sexuality, Batman and Harley Quinn aims to have aged with the original BTAS audience and hits it pretty much square-on. I've said it before and I'll say it again, why isn't WB handing over the live-action Batman films to Bruce Timm and Paul Dini? They have the talent, they know the characters well and everything they've produced is at least passably enjoyable. If you're keen for more BTAS action, check out Batman and Harley Quinn, it's a lot of fun and enjoyable enough to forgive its flaws.