DC Comics

The Good, the Bad, and the Meh

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I’m not at San Diego Comic Con this weekend (some day…), but I’m interested, as always, in the announcements that come from it and surround it in the days before and after the event. This year, three particular announcements/trailer drops have caught my attention — one because of sheer excitement, one because it just looks terrible, and one that — surprisingly — has left me feeling… almost nothing.

Because I try to be a positive guy, let’s start with the good.

Batwoman is coming to TV!

Yes, I know it’s The CW. Yes, I know people have issues with The CW. Yes, I Batwoman_(52_11)realize Supergirl really went sideways when it moved from CBS to The CW. I don’t care. This is Batwoman. By far, my favorite character in the entire Bat-verse. Kate Kane will make her TV debut in a big Arrowverse crossover, before ultimately starring in her own series.

Judging by the character description and the casting call alone, TV’s Kate Kane will be similar to her comic book counterpart, which is a pretty big deal. Batwoman is one of the most prominent LGBT superheroes, an open lesbian who’s also Jewish. Her backstory includes kidnapping, murder, and Kate wanting to serve in the military when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was still a thing.

If the show keeps all of that, and early indications are it will, this series has the chance to be something big. And hey, I’ll care about DC’s TV universe for the first time since Supergirl was still good, so there’s that.

Now the bad… did you see that trailer for Titans? Yeesh…

DC’s no stranger to dark and gritty for the sake of being dark and gritty. But dark and gritty without a point, coupled with long-beloved characters acting out of character, is a recipe for disaster. Titans, a series DC is hoping propels its DC Universe streaming service to popularity, appears to be well on the way to that.

I’m not overly familiar with the Teen Titans’ comic book version, but I do remember the insanely popular Cartoon Network series from the early and mid 2000s. This feels nothing like that, so if you’re looking to Titans for that nostalgia fix… well, you might wanna look elsewhere.

Look, dark and gritty can be excellent — the Daredevil series on Netflix and Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies proved that. But there has to be a point, a philosophy behind it. And “Robin stabbing thugs in the neck and saying ‘fuck Batman'” is not a philosophy.

Hard pass.

Also, Friday saw the announcement that the long-rumored Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot would be happening, and that Joss Whedon would be involved. Details are scarce at the moment, but the article I linked above did mention that the new Slayer (no word on if she would be Buffy or someone else) would be African-American and that the new cast would reflect our diverse society.

Cue the all-too-predictable outrage over that.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. The above article calls it a reboot, but the description sounds more like a continuation of the Buffyverse, if not necessarily the character. If that’s what this is, then I’m slightly more interested. But if this is in fact a new version of Buffy Summers… I’ve already been on that journey, and as great and formative as it was (you all know how important Buffy and Angel are to me), I don’t need to relive it.

Then again, I don’t need to. If this is, in fact, a true reboot, maybe it can be for a new generation what the original was for my generation. This is a lesson the 2016 Ghostbusters film taught me. I enjoyed that movie, but as someone who grew up on the original, I realized this new version wasn’t for me. It was for today’s youth.

And that’s okay.

My reflex is to be automatically against this reboot, and I admit it’s mostly a “get off my lawn” sort of thing. But the fact is, if this reboot happens, the original will still be there; it’s not like my seven season DVDs will disappear the second the new Buffy airs. And if it’s good, and it inspires a younger generation, then all the better.

I hope it succeeds. But unless it’s a continuation of the lore that simply leans on the Buffy name for familiarity’s sake, I probably won’t be tuning in.

But Batwoman? I’m there, day one.

 

Bounty has been nominated for a TopShelf magazine Indie Book Award!

Official SealIt’s a big deal for my debut novel to even be nominated — and there are plenty of perks therein — but if by some stroke of luck I actually win, then there’s no end to the awesomeness that would ensue. Mostly I’m just jacked that someone thought enough of my work to nominate it. That’s pretty damn cool.

Anyway, check it out!

About J.D. Cunegan
J.D. Cunegan is known for his unique writing style, a mixture of murder mystery and superhero epic that introduces the reader to his comic book-inspired storytelling and fast-paced prose. A 2006 graduate of Old Dominion University, Cunegan has an extensive background in journalism, a lengthy career in media relations, and a lifelong love for writing. Cunegan lives in Hampton, Virginia, and next to books, his big passion in life in auto racing. When not hunched in front of a keyboard or with his nose stuck in a book, Cunegan can probably be found at a race track or watching a race on TV.

Check out Cunegan’s work here.

MOVIE REVIEW: Wonder Woman

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It should’ve never taken this long for us to get a female-led superhero movie.

But I’m glad this is the first one.

Wonder Woman, on top of being the best DC-based movie since The Dark Knight, is a marvelous film — one that was worth the wait and the hype, and it gives us hope that a) Justice League might actually be good, and b) we can have more diverse superhero movies.

Patty Jenkins did a fine job in her big-budget directorial debut, and Gal Gadot embodies Diana Prince the way Robert Downey Jr. embodies Tony Stark and Chris Evans embodies Steve Rogers. I hate comparing Diana to male heroes, but in the movie landscape, that’s pretty much all there’s been until now.

Can the Catwoman and Elektra jokes (those films did not fail because they were female-led; they failed for the same reason Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern failed: because they were bad movies). Wonder Woman is a fantastic film, a bright spot in the otherwise bleak DCEU, and proof that an iconic character such as Wonder Woman absolutely belongs in what is an increasingly-crowded comic book movie market.

In fact, she stands out. Wonder Woman is easily on par with my other all-time favorites in the genre — the aforementioned The Dark Knight and Captain America: the Winter Soldier. But what makes Wonder Woman stand out, even then, is Gadot. The moment she first appears on-screen, she grabs this film by the… I’ll go with horns here, because I feel like the other analogy would be too obvious… takes control, and doesn’t let go until the credits roll.

She is the epitome of Diana’s strength, conviction, and belief in mankind’s inherent good — even when repeatedly shown otherwise. Her fish-out-of-water arc, which harkens back to the first Thor, is a surprising source of comic gold, and it works a) because of her rapport with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and b) because Diana is never the butt of the joke. Gadot strikes the perfect balance between the badass, the compassionate person, the idealist, and the goofball. Diana is all of those things, and Gadot embraces them all.

The opening chapters (this is a book blog, after all) on Themyscira are beautiful, as is the big fight scene (even in its brutality). Later in the film, when Diana has her first true badass “I am Wonder Woman” moment (those who have seen the film know), it’s remarkable in its intensity, its cinematography, and the fact that Diana is shown to be a badass without throwing a single punch.

That scene brought a tear to my eye. And I know I’m not alone in that.

I bristled at the romance between Diana and Steve, but that’s because I reflexively bristle at any romantic subplot anymore. I’m at a point now where, unless I’m watching or reading an actual romance, keep the love out of it. And dammit, can we stop letting guys named Steve get on planes?!

This film isn’t perfect; it suffers from poor villains (which the vast majority of other comic book movies do), the twist in the third act fell flat for me, and the final battle was a jarring change given the tone the first two acts established. But those faults do not truly detract from what is an otherwise amazing cinematic experience, and Wonder Woman is still one of the genre’s best in spite of those.

It remains to be seen if Wonder Woman can fix some of the damage that Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad have done to DC’s cinematic efforts, but as a comic book movie — and as the first such film to star a female hero — it’s a tremendous accomplishment. I will see Justice League this fall just to get more of Gadot’s Diana, and I will be back for however many Wonder Woman movies they decide to make (Gadot deserves at least 50).

Wonder Woman is a fantastic movie, one that every fan of the genre should see, and it proves that diversity of character and diversity of creator need not be something we shy away from.