This is the biggest change in Peter Parker’s life in years and it’s all happening in Amazing Spider-Man #648, from the new ongoing creative team of fan-favorite Spidey Scribe Dan Slott and red hot artist Humberto Ramos! New weapons! New costumes! New job! New girlfriend! New villains! Don’t miss Amazing Spider-Man #648, on-sale November 10!
In what shouldn’t be a shocker, right wing website World Net Daily continues the march against comic book characters with Muslim roots. This follows Family Security Matters who began the right wing drumbeat against the comic book series and soon to be animated show the 99. Most recently the right leaning and Fox tie-in the New York Post also ran an article. The story has also been picked up by various right wing and Tea Party blogs.
The article goes on to quote Dr. Ted Baehr of Movieguide.
These are not the types of heroes you want your children to have. These heroes, at their core, because they represent values contrary to humanity, at the core these heroes are more villain than hero.
Baehr however shows his true feelings about Islam later on in the article:
With all due respect to President Obama and contrary to his opinion, the Muslim faith is known for its lies about Christians and Jews, lies about the Bible, lies about Jesus and His apostles, violence, warrior mentality, abuse of women, slavery, persecution of non-Muslims, and terrorism against peaceful civilians, from the alleged founder of the faith, Mohammed, down to the present day.
Cause the right wing isn’t lying or distorting facts now about Islam and Christianity has never committed atrocities in it’s name. The article refers to the President as a “Muslim,” and as a whole is full of shit in what the comic book series actually depicts.
But lets look at “Dr.” Baehr and his organization. It states as it’s goal:
…to redeem the values of the mass media of entertainment, according to biblical principles, by influencing industry executives and artists and by informing and educating the public about the influence of the entertainment media and about how to train their families to become media-wise, so they can choose the good and reject the bad.
Nope, no slant or agenda there. It’s completely on the up and up. Wikipedia gives a good rundown of this moral upstanding hate monger. Other websites have also chronicled his less than ethical dealings.
Baehr also drops this genius nugget:
A small percentage, he said, are very likely to be influenced toward the violence that is inherent in Islam – it’s admonitions to “kill infidels” and the like.
Lets think about that for a moment. If all media that causes people to kill is banned, there goes the Bible and the entire Christian movement. Pretty sure the Crusades, Inquisition, murder of Abortion doctors in the name of God and hate crimes to begin with would make a strong enough argument. This is the same line of thinking that ruins the fun for the rest of us when a couple of idiots take things too far.
Baehr worries this will convert and create home grown terrorists, I guess we need to lock down all religions then, since they’ve all created their own nutcases throughout the years and ages. He acknowledges at least that “not all kids [who watch] are going to become violent.” Just like not “all” Christians kill abortion doctors. But since there’s a few….
Family Security Matters pipes in with some “facts”:
In the Islamic world, cartoons have a more sinister purpose. In Iran, on Al-Quds Day, Iranian TV schedules are filled with cartoons about evil Israelis with red eyes, shooting and murdering innocent doe-eyed Palestinians. For older kids, the heroes fight back, and even get martyred in the cause of Allah. Al-Quds day, named after the Arab term for Jerusalem and initiated by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1983, is a time for Iranian media to reinforce Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic propaganda.
That in fact is true, but for those who actually know anything about the 99, it was created in opposition to a radical Imam and it’s goal is to teach tolerance and combat the hate. It’s the antithesis for what these right wing hate mongers are raging against. Instead of finding an ally in helping combat the radicalization of the Middle Eastern youth, they’re alienating a fine upstanding individual.
We don’t deny there’s cartoons and comics being used to indoctrinate children. There are on all sides. White Power movements use comic books and music to warp impressionable minds, just like Hamas has. But you can’t lump in all “Muslim” comics with other material that’s clearly reprehensible.
Adrian Morgan of Family Security Matters, which is a think tank, wondered, “Are we going to see a**-kicking Christian superhero nuns called Faith, Hope and Charity … sending Satan into Hell? It’s doubtful!”
Again this lie is repeated over and over. Warrior Nun, Magdalena, Davey and Goliath are just some of the examples of Christians kicking ass. There’s many more but three debunks this and puts the whole argument in doubt.
There’s so much worries about Shariah-compliant Muslim superheroes – “including one who fights crime hidden head-to-toe by a burqa.” As you can see from the cover above that the series clearly shows the subjugation of women and forces them to cover up. Nevermind there’s been a burqa wearing comic book character for years in the X-Men’s Dust. On the cover shown above we see three women with no covering at all. Where’s the outrage from the Islamic radicals?
This is the perfect example of the rage and hate that pervades the right, and if nothing else interesting to see it make it’s way through their media machine.
Again, expect this to hit Fox News any day now. And we’ll keep fighting the misinformation and outright lies.
By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
 New Shariah-compliant Islamic cartoon “superhero” |
A coming series of “superhero” cartoons promoting the tenets of Islam under the title of “The 99” – which has been praised by President Obama – is drawing a terse warning from an expert who has analyzed media impact on people for decades.
“These are not the types of heroes you want your children to have,” Dr. Ted Baehr, chief of MOVIEGUIDE®,” told WND today. “These heroes, at their core, because they represent values contrary to humanity, at the core these heroes are more villain than hero.”
Get the latest reports on what Hollywood is doing, subscribe to “MOVIEGUIDE,”
Reports already have circulated about the plans by The Hub, which formerly was Discovery Kids, to produce the series featuring characters portraying the 99 attributes of Allah, at Family Security Matters and others.
(Story continues below)
The New York Post ran a column describing plans for the Shariah-compliant Muslim superheroes – “including one who fights crime hidden head-to-toe by a burqa.”
“These Islamic butt-kickers are ready to bring truth, justice and indoctrination to impressionable Western minds,” the report said.
That’s the problem, according to Baehr, with the Middle East cartoon that reportedly is being picked up and scheduled for a launch early in 2011 by Hasbro toys and Discovery Communications.
A preview of the program has been posted online:
Baehr’s organization said the program includes “hair-hiding headscarves” that are “mandatory for the five female characters, not including a ‘burqa babe’ called Batina the Hidden.”
“Curiously (or not so curiously considering his track record), President Obama, who was raised as a Muslim by his stepfather in Indonesia but supposedly converted to Christianity, praised this work created by Kuwaiti psychologist Naif al-Mutawa, saying at an April meeting with Arab entrepreneurs, ‘His superheroes embody the teachings of the tolerance of Islam.'”
That message also is online:
Adrian Morgan of Family Security Matters, which is a think tank, wondered, “Are we going to see a**-kicking Christian superhero nuns called Faith, Hope and Charity … sending Satan into Hell? It’s doubtful!”
Image via Wikipedia
The AFP news service is reporting that the Philippine comic book industry is struggling. They once dominated the publishing industry but now are relegated to specialty shops with cheap photo copies. The outlets are drying up.
Dozens of titles hit the newstands every day and popular comics (called komiks there) easily sold 400,000 copies a week with total komiks circulation in the millions. The comics sold for pennies and were much cheaper than movies as a form on entertainment.
But as modern entertainment moved in, the popularity of this form of media waned. Movies, television and video games took over.
What once was a thriving industry is now a struggling labor of love.
RED seems to have buck the recent trend of comic book movies and opened with a fairly strong $22 million weekend. This is after disappointing performances by other high profile comic book based movies earlier this year.
The movie which stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich drew an 53 percent male audience and 58 percent of that was over the age of 34, according to Summit Entertainment.
The movie is based on the comic book series from Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner and published by the DC comics imprint Wildstorm.
We haven’t seen the movie to give our thoughts but it’s received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences.
We’ve got a pile here as we’ve got two weeks of comics to cover. New York Comic Con delayed last week’s so check out what we thought of the last two week’s worth of comics.
Monthly Comics
American Vampire #7 – I’ll admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first story arc, but these last two issues have been fantastic. It’s Las Vegas during the construction of Hoover Dam and it seems a vampire is murdering folks involved. This is a vampire/noir comic and it’s damn good.
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.5
Avengers Academy #5 – The new guard and old guard clash as it’s clear the latest generation of heroes might have a different reason for getting into the business. The issue focuses on Striker with another nice twist that adds a great layer to the story. There’s also some very good and timely pop culture references thrown in. Overall a solid issue.
Story: 8 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8
Brightest Day #11 – I’ve generally enjoyed this series and can say I think this is the first dud issue for me. It’s all action and with so much going on, little time is spent on each plot, instead the story jumps around. It’s all action and at times cheesy dialogue. It’ll be an important part of the overall story but on it’s own, meh.
Story: 7 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7
Casanova #4 – The spy series is crazy, kinetic and a hell of a lot of fun. Just beyond whacky and so entertaining at the same time.
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25
Chaos War #1 – Hercules is pack and he must lead the world’s super heroes against the Chaos King. I’m not quite sure what to think as I know nothing of Hercules’s story and that’s pretty vital to understand what’s going on and appreciate it. It’s an ok comic.
Story: 7 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.25
Daken: Dark Wolverine #2 – Directly tied into the Wolverine going to Hell story arc, this second issues sees Daken paying Mystique a visit. I’ve really enjoyed how the issues have been written, but can’t say I’m ecstatic about this particular issue’s plot.
Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75
Deadpool Max #1 – Deadpool is over saturated and this might be the series that put his exposure over the top. Instead of the mix of action and humor, we get over the top action (it’s MAX after all) which is fine if it wasn’t the case that the humor’s been replaced with unneeded gay bashing. This is comics at it’s worst. Juvenile and not needed.
Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5
Deadpool Pulp #2 – Remove Deadpool from this series and you still have a moody noir period piece set during the Cold War. In fact the comic might work better that way. Unlike so many other Deadpool spin-offs this series works and works quite well.
Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.5
Emerald Warriors #3 – Someone or something is draining the Lantern’s rings and their enemies are gathering, but are either of these plot lines enough to justify this, the third Green Lantern series? It’s good, but not enough to justify it’s existence.
Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5
Green Hornet #8 – Each week I’ve praised this series. The story is entertaining, action is great and banter is exactly what you’d expect from Kevin Smith. This issue has it’s problems, but generally this is the shift to the finale, and I expect a lot of the issues I have with this issue will turn out not such big deals when the final two issues wrap up.
Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8
Green Lantern #58 – I’ve been somewhat ho-hum about this arc where Hal and a few others attempt to find their rings entities, but this issue does give Atrocitus a lot more depth than the rage fueled one sided character I thought he was.
Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5
Hawkeye & Mockingbird #5 – It’s the end of the first arc and pretty much goes out with a whimper. It’s an ok ending to the story, but nothing spectacular. The preview for issue 6 though is listed as the “finale.” Is the series cancelled?
Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7
I Am An Avenger #2 – The stories here focusing on various members, both present and past, of the Avengers are pretty decent. Overall the comic is nice, but it’s not vital to read. This is only for the serious die-hard Avengers fans. Some of the stories are better than others, but overall, pretty solid.
Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75
Incorruptible #10 – Max Damage takes on the Plutonian’s racist disciples. I’m not sure what to think of his big baddie right now being such a cliche, but whatever. This issue isn’t quite as good as recent issues and is a dip in overall quality, but still an interesting series about a villain who’s trying to reform.
Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7
The Invincible Iron Man #31 – One of the best comics each and every month. Matt Fraction has taken out the spandex and super heroes from the story and instead gives us a powered up take on dueling corporations and a man trying to rebuild his reputation and fortune.
Story: 9 Art: 8.75 Overall: 9
Irredeemable #18 – Mark Waid continues his look at a fallen hero as he introduces another x-factor that might stop Plutonian’s rampage. There’s one part in here where I was expecting Waid to go one way, then he quickly shifts the story in another.
Story: 8 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8
Iron Man Legacy #7 – Tony’s down on his luck as the series focuses in on one of the times he was down and out. He’s hiding in LA and has an idea to get his fortune back but quite a few folks are hunting him down. An entertaining issue.
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5
Klaws of the Panther #1 – I’m a bit mixed on this new series that picks up where Doomwar left off. There’s a lot of potential and a lot I like as Wakanda must chart a new path withotu Vibranium, but the first arc involving AIM just feels lame.
Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7
Liberty Annual 2010 – It supports a good cause, free speech and fighting censorship. Just buy it.
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8
Marvelman: Family’s Finest #4 – The series shows it’s age but it’s a nice piece of history to check out. I think everyone is just waiting to see how the character fits into the bigger Marvel universe, if there even is a plan to introduce the characters.
Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25
The New Avengers #5 – We figure out who’s behind the mystical attacks and a way to end it is decided. There’s a lot of mystical mumbo jumbo thrown around and that part doesn’t work too well, but overall the banter is great and the comic is entertaining.
Story: 7.75 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75
Secret Six #26 – This is the second time an arc in this series has made me feel like I missed something. The two teams head to the strange world, working for who knows who, and who knows why.
Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.25
Shadowland #4 – I’m torn on the whole Shadowland event. While I like the concept of the Hand taking over New York and Daredevil being corrupted and turning bad, my issue lies in the execution. Instead of a great psychological breakdown and thriller, we’re given a cheap tale of demon possession. What could have been great comes off as a cheap story.
Story: 6.75 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7
Shadowland: Blood on the Streets #3 – While the main Shadowland series focuses on Daredevil’s fall, all of the offshoots seem to tie-in together focusing on Mr. Negative’s play for power. The story is ok, but nothing special.
Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7
Shadowland: Spider-Man – The offshoots for Shadowland have been all over the place as far as quality and need. I can’t say there’s any need for this one at all.
Story: 6.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.75
S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 – To say the series is high concept is an understatement. There’s a lot of big ideas here and overall, this is a story that’ll be stronger read as a trade than as individual issues. Beautiful art though.
Story: 7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.25
Strange Tales II #1 – Varied artists and writers, most of the “indie” cred all take on Marvel characters. As expected some of the stories work out great and others are clunkers, but overall it’s cool to see such varied takes on characters.
Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7
Superior #1 – Magical is the word I’d use to describe this first issue. Mark Millar tends to have an edge about his comics, but his latest series is his attempt to reach back and update a character like Superman or Captain Marvel. I think we’re seeing the beginning of something amazing, a throw back, retro comic updated for the modern age.
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9
Taskmaster #2 – This miniseries is adding tons of depth to the character of Taskmaster. A former villain, who’s now in a gray area is being fleshed out with an interesting background and being made even more sympathetic. I really liked him post Civil War and loving where they have him going.
Story: 8.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.5
The Thanos Imperative #5 – The battle rages on all sides as twist and turns abound. There’s all kinds of zigs and zags and you never know what to expect in this Marvel space epic.
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25
Thor: #616 – Thor mopes around his kingdom as he surveys the damage and attempts to rebuild, mean while writer Matt Fraction continues to build the dread as we learn what’s filling the void left by Asgard’s time on Earth.
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.75
Thor: For Asgard #3 – While the art is beyond beautiful to look at, I can’t say this Marvel Knights take on Thor is really needed or adds anything special to the character.
Story: 7 Art: 9 Overall: 7.5
Thor: The Mighty Avenger #5 – Thor meets Namor as he takes a jaunt around the world with Jane. The story is cute enough, but I’m not quite sure I see a huge point in the series other than to just tell entertaining stories.
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.5
Uncanny X-Force #1 – Warren and Logan have assembled a new team to take on a returned Apocalypse. But can they stop a force in the form of a 10 year old boy. I like the writing and pacing and art is fantastic. Just a solid issue.
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9
Unknown Soldier #24 – It’s the second last issue as we finally learn the truth about the Unknown Soldier and who Moses is. It’s a hell of a twist and one I wish was revealed earlier. But this is a nice wrap up of the series.
Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75
Untold Tales of Blackest Night – When I saw this on the shelf, I asked if it was really needed. The answer is yes and no. Does it add a lot to the Blackest Night storyline that’s been over for months now? Not really. Are the stories entertaining? Hell yes. This is one of the best tie-ins for the event. The stories are entertaining and there’s an opening that’s created in the final story for what we can expect next. Is it needed, no. Is it appreciated, yes.
Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75
Unwritten #18 – After each issue I seem to feel like I’m an idiot. The story blends fantasy and the real world mixing the power of story all within a comic book. The series is layered, deep and complicated.
Story: 8 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8
X-Men #4 – Lots of speeches with little movement as far as plot. Wolverine has supposedly turned into a vampire, I’m doubting it and he’s likely to turn back at the last second and betray the vampire nation. Jubilee, I’m not so sure about.
Story: 7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.25
Young Allies #5 – I’m a bit sad to see this series with the next issue. There’s a lot of potential and it’s a really fun read. I can’t say I’m shocked at it’s cancellation, but again a series that deserves and audience.
Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75
Graphic Novel
A Sickness in the Family
There’s a lot I liked about Nosferatu. 95% of it is great, but there’s some issues I have with the ending. Written by Chris Wolf and art by Justin Wayne, the story is inspired by the movie of the same name, this vampire tale is set in modern times with some interesting plots involving Homeland Security and a biological attack thrown in.
“Nosferatu” is a dark, edgy tale inspired by the film of the same name. This modern spin on the timeless horror story follows Tommy and her roommate Elle as the nefarious vampire Count Orlok draws them into his obsession with death and disease. Old-world magic combines with technology and terror alerts when Orlok, the Nosferatu, pays our shores a visit.
I liked it, a lot. The characters are nice. The fact that lesbians are thrust front and center is good as well. It’s just the ending seemed a bit rushed and the attack seemed rushed as well. The lead up is perfect, just my issue is there’s some plots are rushed. Justice isn’t done and even with it clocking in at 112 pages it could of benefited from another 30 or 40 pages.
Overall, entertaining and worth checking out. There’s tons of originality here and it’s very fun and it’s an original take on the vampire mythos. Can we get an extended version?
Where to even start with this entry from Viper Comics. Blue Agave and Worm is offensive, over the top, bizarre, and beyond entertaining. Written by Kirker Butler with art by Beware of the Art Studio the story is about a Hispanic super hero who has to drink tequila to get his powers.
Albert Lopez, Jr. is a struggling LA stand-up comic who still lives with his parents. One night while drunk on tequila, Albert falls violently into a mysterious agave plant and becomes “The Blue Agave,” Mexican superhero! With the help of his best friend and sidekick Tony (aka Worm), a 500-year-old burrow and copious amounts of tequila, Albert just might save the world!
The story is utterly hilarious playing with stereotypes and just addressing them straight on with racist statements that make great commentary. I wish there was something deeper here but well the comic is just damn funny. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and immediately wanting to see what comes next.
The writing is great art really good and it got me to laugh multiple times. The comic is fun, just really fun. If you’ve never read a comic from Viper, I highly recommend you check this one out.
Marvel Universe Wolverine vs. The Hand
Pilot Season is a competition that Top Cow puts out pitting various comic projects against each other. The winner gets a limited series. The final entry to the 2010 entries is 7 Days From Hell written by Bryan Edward Hill and Rob Levin with art by Phil Noto. So what’s the series about and how does it rank up?
Ex-pat turned mercenary John Bishop is mortally wounded, but spared from Hell by a renegade demon seeking redemption. The price of John’s salvation? He’s reborn as the demon’s personal assassin and charged with ridding humanity of our worst criminals, sadists, and murderers…with a seven-day deadline for each kill. Redemption can take a lifetime. John Bishop only has 7 days.
I really liked the comic and concept. It definitely is up there as far as this batch and is one of the two comics I’m debating voting for. What’s interesting is the comic book might work better as an ongoing than a limited series. The series just has so much potential as Bishop must one complete his mission and two plot on how to escape his fate.
While the first issue is pretty straight forward and the mission is rushed due to length, the story is very entertaining. This is one of the stronger ones of this batch, and Top Cow should really think about giving this a shot as a series instead of a limited series.
Entertaining, lots of potential, and pretty fun. This comic is a buy and I definitely encourage you to consider it for your vote this Pilot Season.
Marvel Universe Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin
