Sunday 25 February 2018

MYTH TELLER 1: The Terrible Secret of King March

I've recently began a storytelling project with my pal Hannah Berg. It's called Myth Teller and we're hoping to deliver myths and legends from around the world, told on Youtube, for audiences of all, ages, on a fairly regular basis. Here's episode one, based on the old Welsh legend of King March ap Meirchion of Lleyn. If you enjoy it please feel free to share wherever you can.

Friday 2 February 2018

Brian Michael Bendis writing Superman

Ivan Reis
Former superstar Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis will begin writing Superman comics this year. According to DC Comics' press release,
Bendis’ first DC story will be with fan-favorite artist Jim Lee in ACTION COMICS #1000 (on sale April 18), but this is only the beginning when it comes to his relationship with Krypton’s Last Son. On May 30, Bendis debuts MAN OF STEEL, a six-issue weekly miniseries. Featuring six interconnected covers by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, this series will shake up the classic story of Krypton’s final days and Kal-El’s path to becoming an iconic hero, introducing a new villain that knows a terrifying secret behind the destruction of Superman’s homeworld. Bendis’ story will feature an incredible lineup of artistic firepower, including Ivan Reis, Evan “Doc” Shaner, Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes and Jason Fabok. A prelude to MAN OF STEEL by Bendis and artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez will be available on May 2, in the DC NATION #0 preview sampler.
This July, more fireworks are in store for fans with not one, but two Superman-themed titles, both written by Bendis. July 11debuts SUPERMAN #1, with art by Ivan Reis. The conclusion of MAN OF STEEL will leave both fans and Superman reeling, and the debut story arc will dive deeper into its consequences, building on popularity already generated by co-writer Peter J. Tomasi and co-writer/artist Pat Gleason. On July 25, ACTION COMICS resumes with issue #1001; with art by Gleason, Bendis will deliver stories that are more character-focused, introduce new characters (both heroes and villains) and spotlight more of Clark Kent and his role at the Daily Planet. ACTION will also take a closer look at how the actions of Superman impact the DC Universe.
I'm generally a fan of Bendis' work but I must admit I've become increasingly bored and frustrated with his recent work. At Marvel his writing has become a bit predictable, and his main flaws as a writer are particularly prevalent. For example, he's always been stronger at character and dialogue than story, but his plots on books like Spider-man and Infamous Iron Man have been especially slow moving and meandering of late. As far as I'm concerned Bendis' move to DC Comics couldn't have come at a better time. Hopefully the change will reinvigorate him and we'll see him on top form again.

I cannot emphasise enough what a gift for character and dialogue Bendis has. Having said that, if certain characters don't interest him we can expect to see them written out of character, or even completely ignored. He's very good at creating new characters, so I think we'll see him bring in new cast members rather than resurrect old ones. Bendis will leave the Superman myth a richer place than he found it. I think his talent at writing very human, grounded people living through fantastical events will mean we'll get some great Daily Planet related stuff.

If you're unfamiliar with his work I recommend his Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-man stuff. Miles and his supporting cast are probably Bendis' greatest creations as far as I'm concerned.

In 2016 somebody used Tumblr to ask Bendis what he would like to write at DC Comics. Among other things he said a "VERY back to original basics" Superman. Is that what we'll get? What does that even mean?

We're about to find out.