The ladies are just fine.

I guess Black Canary's not rejoining the Birds of Prey after all. I knew it was a long shot, but I didn't expect to find out for sure by the cancellation of the series.

Coming on the heels of a couple of other cancellations of series that starred female heroes, some folks have wondered if this isn't some kind of backlash against super-heroines in general and if series like She-Hulk should be worried. Of course not, says Johanna (and, to be fair, Valerie in the link above as well, though after a rather sensationalistic title and opening paragraph). And I agree.

Low sales are most likely due to readers just getting tired of the concepts. Spider-Girl and Manhunter (good as Manhunter has been; I haven't read Spider-Girl) have had the same writers on them for pretty much their entire runs. Where She-Hulk (for example) has the advantage is that it's made use of one of the strengths of corporate-owned comics: the ability to boost reader-interest by bringing in a new creative team with a fresh vision.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Marvel and DC's allowing Tom DeFalco and Marc Andreyko to shepherd their respective titles to the very end. But let's face it, if DC handed Manhunter over Gail Simone or Geoff Johns, the series would get enough of a sales boost to keep it going for a while longer. I'm not saying that DC should do that; just saying that it would work.

She-Hulk on the other hand, wasn't cancelled with Dan Slott's leaving it. It was handed over to Peter David who's doing just fine with it. That's why it's not in danger of being canceled, even though - like Spider-Girl and Manhunter - it's been through a couple of hiatus periods in its history.

And what does this have to do with Birds of Prey? Absolutely nothing, except that that series' demise also has nothing to do with its featuring women heroes. BoP is being "canceled" along with Robin and Nightwing in a publicity stunt tied into aftermath the "Batman RIP" storyline. DC's already announced an Oracle mini-series to follow BoP and you can bet there will be something else directly after that once the dust settles in Gotham City.

Adding a couple of more shovelfuls of dirt onto the coffin of the Women Super-Heroes Are In Trouble Theory, DC is still coming out with a Power Girl ongoing and a Zatanna ongoing. Also recently announced, Amanda Conner will be illustrating the upcoming Black Canary/Zatanna graphic novel.

Awesome List: Runaways movie, Moon Nazis, Sea Freak, Steranko, Fleming movie, and the coolest Hulk toy ever

Runaways: The Movie



I quit reading Runaways when Brian K. Vaughan quit writing it. News of a Runaways movie makes me realize how much I miss those characters. Especially Molly (pictured above).

Night at the Museum 2

I'm not quite as thrilled about a possible sequel to Night at the Museum as I am a Runaways movie, but the first one didn't suck and I'm all for any movie with the potential for more dinosaurs chasing security guards down hallowed halls.

Iron Sky



"In 1945 the Nazis fled to the moon. In 2018 they are coming back." I want this on DVD right now.

Manhunter interview

Like all lovers of excellent superhero comics, I'm way looking forward to the return from hiatus of DC's Manhunter. Comic Book Resources has a talk with series writer Marc Andreyko that's got me even more pumped up.

Andreyko said he has the next six to eight arcs for "Manhunter" in various stages of planning but his goal is to hit the century mark with the title. "My dream is to get to #100," he said. "So please, buy this book."

Sea Freak



If that panel doesn't make you want to check out Sea Freak, nothing will. (Thanks, JK!)

Steranko's Radical covers

Comic Book Resources has another great conversation up, this time with the Awesome Jim Steranko on his cover (and possible, future interior) work for Radical Comics.

...we felt the traditional action approach would be a cliche. The Radical version is different from all other comics' versions and I felt my cover should underscore that quality. So, instead of casting it in spine-cracking action, I did the opposite: I visualized a silently inert, fearsomely intense Hercules, a Hercules just before the storm, a moment crackling with tension!

Hulk (and friends) Mighty Muggs



These Marvel Mighty Muggs are all great, but look at that Hulk one. Mike Want!

Scrubs creator dishes on NBC

I just watched the NBC Scrubs "finale" the other night. As fun as it was, what a crappy way to end an even crappier relationship between the show and the network that's screwed it over for the last seven years. Here's to an excellent final season on ABC.

...when we first did the show, it was a drama with elements of comedy and lots of stupid sound effects. But some of the strongest episodes in the second and third year had character comedy. You can still do things like kill Brendan Fraser and have the lady that loved musical theater die and then sing a song at the end. This became a very Simpsons-esque show with incredibly broad, unrealistic moments and fantasies that were both in reality and not in reality. When you've been writing this show for seven years, it's so easy to get into these patterns of writing the same jokes over and over: J.D. loves Turk, J.D. wants Dr. Cox's approval, Elliot's whiny and neurotic. But this year the stuff is really f--king good. I think our old stand-by fans are really going to dig these shows.

Fleming: The Movie



Leonardo DiCaprio's bought the rights to make a fictionalized biopic (à la Shakespeare in Love or Finding Neverland) about Ian Fleming, presumably with lots of extra spy stuff thrown in.

Elemental

Rufus Sewell's new show has a new name. Cannot wait for this one.

DC Comics in June

Here's some new stuff that looks good from DC in June.

Trinity #1



I'm not completely sold on this yet. One the one hand, I'm not a big fan of the art there and I didn't enjoy Countdown as much as I wanted to. On the other, it's effectively a new, weekly Wonder Woman series co-starring Superman and Batman and written by Kurt Busiek. Gotta at least try it out.

Birds of Prey #119



Even if it's just for one issue, Black Canary's returning to Birds of Prey makes me want to read it. And look! Manhunter!

Speaking of which...

Manhunter #31



FINALLY!

Chuck #1



Are you kidding me? The only thing that would make me more excited is a Burn Notice comic.

The Awesome List: Indy and Buck Rogers comics, Galactica on Letterman, Deathly Hallows movies, X-Files 2, Eurospies, giant lobsters, and more

Indiana Jones Adventures



This is kind of old news, but Dark Horse Comics is gearing up in May for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with lots of Indiana Jones comics, some of them reprints; some of them new. One of the new ones is the first volume of Indiana Jones Adventures, a cartoony kid-friendly digest-sized comic. And if there's anything that Marvel Adventures has taught me, it's that I'm enjoying the kid-friendly comics a lot more than the adult ones lately. I expect this to be twice the fun and excitement that any of the other Indy comics are.

Also coming from Dark Horse in May is a new anthology of prose Hellboy stories: Oddest Jobs.

New Buck Rogers comics

Crap. Dynamite Entertainment has been getting me closer and closer to buying some of their stuff as monthly singles instead of waiting for the trade paperback collections. I think they've finally figured out how to push me over the edge.

Battlestar Galactica cast on Letterman

Phone the neighbors and wake the kids. Or at least set the TiVo. Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas and Lucy Lawless will all be on Letterman to do the Top 10 List this Wednesday night, March 19.

Harry Potter 7 (and 8)



In case you've been in outer space since last Thursday and haven't heard, Warner Brothers is splitting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two movies.

X-Files 2 has wrapped

I cannot freaking wait.

Agent 077

That's not a typo. It's an actual spy series from the '60s that Christopher Mills has the info (and the trailers) on. Looks schnazzy.

Salt Water Taffy



Oni's got a new comic coming about an "unusual hamlet called Chowder Bay–a small town full of big mysteries, giant adventures, and gargantuan lobsters." There's even an old sea dog fighting a giant lobster right on the cover. I'll be in line right behind Heidi MacDonald for my copy.

DC's Manhunter returns

I was pretty late coming to the Manhunter party. It took a big Wonder Woman story to get me to even take a look and that was after the series already had gone into hiatus. But I read it, loved it, and now I'm as excited as anyone else that it's finally coming back. Anyone interested in strong, three-dimensional, female characters should really give this series a look.

Not Awesome: Cliff Chiang leaving Black Canary

In all fairness, I've enjoyed Judd Winick's writing on Green Arrow and Black Canary about 3000 times more than I expected to. So I'll still be reading the series, even though it makes me very sad that Cliff Chiang will no longer be illustrating it. He'll still be doing covers, which is nice, but his next series will be something for Vertigo.

Mike Norton is replacing Chiang and from what I've seen on his blog, he should do just fine. Still, sad to see Chiang go.