Dr. Doom vs Robot Mummy Religion

by Gavin Jasper of 4thletter!

Several months ago, there was a Marvel miniseries using the name Super-Villain Team-Up, an obvious throwback to the series of the same name from the 70’s. While the story of MODOK and his cohorts was certainly an amusing one (note to Marvel writers: please do something with Living Laser now that he’s become Watcher Jr.), it really had nothing to do with Super-Villain Team-Up. On the other hand, the Sub-Mariner miniseries from the same that time ended with Namor’s kingdom in shambles as he rekindled his old friendship with Victor Von Doom… now that is more like it!

If you never read Super-Villain Team-Up, you’d think the series was just a bunch of stories about Kang the Conqueror and the Leader coming up with plans to beat the Avengers that failed due to their own incompetence and/or inability to work as a team. That’s what I figured it was when I picked up the Essential collection of the short-lived series. Instead, for the most part, it was one big storyline about Dr. Doom and Namor shifting between working together and being at each other’s throats.

Doom put his pride aside for a moment to accept that while he could easily take over the world, ruling the world is a different beast. He needed a partner to help him and sought out Namor. They never did attempt to rule the world, as they each had their own problems to deal with, but their strange relationship lasted for quite a few issues, plus a lengthy Avengers crossover. There was a great piece of closure towards the end that wrote Namor out of the series and ended their relationship as a high note, as Doom respectfully realized their styles differ too much to truly work together. Namor rules through the love from his people, while Doom rules through the fear from his. It’s almost like they’re the World’s Finest of megalomaniacs.

From there, the series fell apart. They had a Dr. Doom vs. Magneto story that crossed over into The Champions, which was recently referenced in the Champions flashback story from Planet Hulk. That story wrote Doom out of the series, leaving a pointless final issue where Red Skull teamed up with Hate Monger.

I’m getting way off track here. What I’m trying to say is that Essential Super-Villain Team-Up is a fantastic trade worth your time and money. It’s filled with great characterization, great interactions and some nice, badass moments from the two monarchs. It also has a lot of weird in it, such as Dr. Doom chilling with Dr. Henry Kissinger or seeing Doom getting his ass handed to him by the Shroud of all people. The thing I’d like to talk to you about today is a character shown in the pages of this trade who is a collection of oversized Silver Age nuttiness rarely seen in one shortly-lived character.

I want to talk to you about the Doomsman, otherwise known as Andro.

His story begins in the pages of Astonishing Tales, a series that featured stories with Doom as the protagonist. Since a lot of the plot threads continued into Super-Villain Team-Up, they were all incorporated into the Essential trade. Said story was written by Roy Thomas with beautiful art by Wally Wood.

As some kind of elaborate prank, the story starts with Doom watching as the foolish Americans once again make a trip to the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin come across a strange orb on the planet and believe that they may finally have proof of alien life. Wow. This is an old Marvel comic. Later on, the President gives it a look and Dr. Doom’s face appears on the orb. He laughs at the President and tells him that he placed that orb on the moon just to show how much more advanced he is than the United States.

It’s a good thing Doom would later seek out Namor, because it’s obvious this guy needs some friends.

With that done with, Doom then storms over to the workshop, where a lackey has finished putting together some new project for Doom. Doom dismisses him and gloats over his new robot minion.

That’s right. A robot mummy filled with cosmic rays. That’s already a mouthful.

“Soon, this creature will walk – and talk – and conquer! But, he has been created in my image – with my brain pattern! Thus, he can never betray me! Never!!”

Hoo boy. So not only have you built this super-powerful robo-mummy, but you gave him your mind. Doom, I understand you’re a busy man, what with you playing practical jokes on Neil Armstrong and all, but you probably should have read up about Hank Pym’s exploits. A couple years back, he too tried making a robot lackey with his brain patterns and it didn’t work out very well for him. Just a heads up.

The main story involves Prince Rudolfo, the son of the man Doom overthrew to become monarch of Latveria. He’s been plotting to take over Latveria for a while and tries it by using a Valeria lookalike to mess with Dr. Doom’s mind. During the chaos from this revolution, the Doomsman awakens and easily breaks his restraints. Rather than side with Doom, he instead goes berserk and runs through several brick walls like they were nothing. Doom ultimately defeats and captures Rudolfo, but is bothered by the knowledge that his cosmic robot mummy clone may ultimately be his undoing.

Rudolfo’s campaign to get rid of Doom continues in the next issue, where the captive reveals himself to be a Rudolfobot. We discover that he’s working alongside a mysterious figure called the Faceless One, who would appear to pester Dr. Doom occasionally in the 70’s and at one point Ms. Marvel for reasons I don’t care enough about to check out. Imagine Superfriends Lex Luthor with Mysterio’s head and you got it covered. The Faceless One is up to speed on what’s going on with the Doomsman and figures that he’s exactly the kind of weapon they need to turn the tide.

To show just how tough the Doomsman is, after wandering the countryside for a while, he comes across a border patrol and kicks the ass of anything that tries to hurt him.

The Faceless One takes him in and assures him that they’re on the same side. Among other things, he tells Doomsman, “We will help you learn how to live – in a world you never made!” Whatever the hell that means.

Rudolfo goes for another rebellion and this one is far more successful than the last one. By the end of the issue, Doom goes up against the Faceless One, seconds before the Doomsman busts through the wall. Like two pet owners calling over the same dog, Doom and the Faceless One each demand Doomsman to destroy the other as he stands in the middle, unsure of what to do.

Having had enough, Doomsman removes the bandages from his face and gets rid of the mummy motif.

Oh shit! It’s Doctor Manhattan with Deadpool word bubbles! What has science doooone?!

In this third issue of the storyline, Doom pulls out the first of three solutions from out of his tin-plated ass. Using the power of mind-fusion, he dominates the Doomsman’s copycat brain and wills him to be his soldier. The two of them team up and destroy the Faceless One’s personal force field. Doom commands Doomsman to grab his enemy and hold him still. What neither could have guessed was the true nature of the Faceless One.

While they’re distracted by this wacky turn of events, neither reacts fast enough when the alien’s Earthworm Jim body explodes. The Faceless One escapes and finds a way to take control of Dr. Doom’s weapons. In an ill-explained sequence, Doom is seemingly done in by these weapons.

Rudolfo and his followers are all happy about their victory, up until Doom’s second solution from out of his tin-plated ass comes to the forefront. Dr. Doom’s giant head (a hologram I suppose) appears and tells them that in his defeat, he has turned on a device that will create a giant earthquake. Doom’s castle falls apart and everyone runs for their lives.

Underground, Doom commands the Doomsman before him and explains that he’s not going to be able to mentally command him forever. It does take a semblance of concentration, so Doom turns off his mind-control for a moment and tries to kill Doomsman with other robots and some electrified metal bars. Doomsman easily destroys them all and goes for Doom. Doom goes back to the mind-control and discusses his failure. He hoped to have an army of Doomsmen help him rule the world, but that won’t work. It’s a good thing he’s come to that decision by now, since he’s shown to have a handful of mummies littering the background, waiting for the cosmic treatment.

Doom then decides he’s getting very sleepy and takes a nap on a nearby table. Doomsman, now broken from the mind-control, goes for the kill once again. But it is only a ruse, as Dr. Doom gets back up and sends Doomsman away to another dimension. Somehow. He didn’t have a laser or a button or a magic spell accompanying this. He just makes him reappear on some trippy planet and says, “I have teleported you to another dimension!”

I know Superman’s powers were all strange back in the day, but at least he gave some effort in explaining them to an extent. Silver Age Dr. Doom could just tell Captain America that he has no legs and without any justification whatsoever, Cap would look down, notice he was right and fall over.

Years later, prior to the launch of Super-Villain Team-Up, it was preceded by two Giant-Size issues. The second of which, also written by Roy Thomas, would bring our android back into the fold.

Namor’s been having some trouble. His people are all stuck in comas and he has nobody to rule over. Doom seeks him out and brings him to Latveria to suggest that they try taking over the world. The main point of Doom’s demonstration is to reveal that he’s invented a solar power generator. Solar power = world domination. That’s really as far as his plan goes.

I like to imagine this story happening in the present, with Namor just raising an eyebrow and asking, “That’s it? Are you fucking retarded?”

“What?! You may not speak such words to Doom lest you feel the wrath of Doom’s brand new Hybrid! You will find it is not only Doom’s hood and cape that are green, Atlantian!”

Doom shows Namor that he’s upgraded his mindless robot slaves to more intelligent androids. As he explains it, “To betray is human – to obey, an android trait.” Come on, man. You invented a mummy robot that already disproved that. How do you forget that? I suppose you were probably too busy laughing about that time you totally burned NASA to remember.

Still, to prove his point, Doom tells two of his mannequin-looking androids to fight to the death. They do and it’s a seriously creepy fight scene. They have these static, expressionless faces as they tear into each other without showing any pain. Finally, one snaps the other’s neck and lets the other android go limp. As Doom gloats to Namor, the surviving android says the other’s name out loud in an uncomprehending and questioning manner, as if trying to wake him up from a nap. Like I said, seriously creepy.

While on the tour, Namor notices a bunch of the androids kneeling together.

Doom explains that due to some flaw or complication, his androids have taken to establishing their own religion. That would be my first warning that something weird is going on, but they keep their quotas on the up and up, so Doom leaves them to their cyber-church.

Namor sees one of the androids change the expression of its face into something of contempt as Doom walks past. Or maybe it’s just the light. Namor isn’t so certain.

For the next part, I think I’ll let the narration do the talking.

“Fear… pain… weakness. Yes, perhaps Dr. Doom spoke truly there – for, these things seem strangely alien to the milling android throngs. But, was Namor correct when he said that hope, too, was a stranger to them? If so, then why have literally hundreds of androids now deserted their appointed posts… to kneel, with heads reverently bowed before a weird, glowing altar?

“Why do they chant, in a communal voice as cold as any crypt, a prayer song in a tongue newer than tomorrow? Why does the altar piece glow more brightly – shimmer with blazing incandescence? Why does a gaunt, yet powerful blue-skinned figure – as seemingly emotionless as those who bow before him – suddenly appear from nowhere into their very midst?

“And why do they bring him clothes – somber raiment made in secret, by wills they were not supposed to possess – and with knowledge they were not programmed to know?

“You must learn all these things, Doom, and learn them quickly, if you are to survive – let alone conquer!”

This threat comes to Doom’s knowledge fast enough, once he hears a crash in the background.

Hahahaha! What the hell is with his symbol? Really, why the hell does he have the male symbol stitched onto his chest? Maybe he wants to make sure that nobody thinks “Andro” is short for “Androgynous”.

Doom gets busy blowing up androids and asks Namor if this Andro character is some kind of blue-skinned Atlantian. Andro explains that he is the robot formerly known as Doomsman and goes over his backstory so Namor has a better idea of who’s killing him. As for how he escaped the surreal dimension Doom so inexplicably sent him to? One day Lockjaw and the Thing showed up, so he just turned himself invisible and latched onto Lockjaw without him realizing. Once making it to an Earth-like reality, he hopped off Lockjaw. This experience taught him how to travel dimensions on his own volition.

“From that Earth-like dimension, I influenced your newer, inferior androids… became like a god to them… and bided my time! For, what need as a god… of his own creator?”

Didn’t bide your time enough if you ask me. I would’ve waited for the super-strong merman to leave before going for the kill.

Doom and Namor, being overpowered by sheer numbers, escape into a hidden passage that Andro never knew about. Doom busts a hole in the wall, causing water to pour in and power up the ailing Namor. Doom has his own oxygen supply and he deliberately made his androids air-breathers. The attacking androids are all killed easily by the rushing waters, but Namor feels a bit of pity in watching them go. They still had semblance of feeling and Andro just sent them off to die without a second thought.

Seeing the androids worship Andro and then be betrayed makes Namor angry enough to go after Andro himself. After a few punches thrown, Doom steps in and claims responsibility for Andro. Therefore, he will be the one to take him down.

The two fight for only a few panels, but it is shown that despite Doom’s armor, Andro is able to hold up on his end. They are equal in both power and mind. Having proved that point, Andro teleports out of the dungeon and leaves the monarchs to the clean-up. Namor and Doom deliberate on what has just happened, finding that Andro merely wanted to show what kind of threat he really is. Dr. Doom decides that although he is a force to be reckoned with, it will likely be a long time before he tries something again.

Doom wasn’t kidding. Andro hasn’t appeared since this story. It’s a bit of a shame, since while he is a ridiculous, cosmic, blue-skinned, former-mummy Robot Jesus with a male symbol on his chest, he’s still a nigh-invincible villain with the mind of Victor Von Doom. That’s pretty major.

Hank Pym’s robot doppelganger became both a regular threat to the Avengers and a recent threat to the entire universe. Wonder Man’s robot doppelganger was a far more competent and powerful member of the Avengers. Wasp’s robot doppelganger… actually, I don’t know anything about Jocasta. Forget about that. Think of what kind of crazy shit could come from what is essentially Doctor Doom’s Ultron.

The idea of a mechanical god character would be revisited twenty years later by Peter David in his Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man run. The character, the Tracer, claims to be a god created by machines to be worshipped. While he was a cool enough concept to be given another go, he still hasn’t been used since Spider-Man’s The Other storyline.

If they really wanted to give it a try, they could easily explain that Tracer and Andro are one in the same. Sounds simple to me.

Movie Review - Iron Man (2008)

Distributed by Paramount Pictures
126 minutes

Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins set a very high bar for modern superhero films, one other would-be giants have struggled to leap over. With its attention to detail, faithfulness to the spirit of the comics, and well-implemented deviations that add to the mythos of the character, Batman Begins is monstrously impressive. Here’s the good news: Iron Man has that same vibe.

Tony Stark is the wealthy CEO of Stark Industries, a world leader in technological advancement, mostly for the purpose of weapons production. A flirtatious playboy and charismatic smooth-talker on top of a remarkable intellect and an amazing command of engineering, Stark is arrogance personified, uncaring of the pain he helps inflict, and on top of the world. But his world comes crashing down when, whilst in Afghanistan demoing a new killer missile, he is captured by terrorists who demand that he build a missile for them. During the ordeal, he is critically wounded. Yinsen, a doctor and fellow hostage, saves Tony’s life, and the two resolve to escape by building a suit of metal armor. They succeed, though the price is high, and Tony develops a new outlook on life, one that drives him to build even better armor in the hopes of righting the wrongs he has committed developing weapons.

What makes Iron Man so good is its rich characters, especially Tony Stark. I’m not sure what sort of preparation Robert Downey Jr. undertook for the role, but the man IS Tony Stark, and he handles the transition from better-than-everyone to humbled-with-newfound-purpose with great expertise. Marvel comic fans will have little to complain about: everything that makes Tony Stark who he is translates to the movie beautifully; his flirtatiousness, his inner turmoil, his wit… It’s all here. Gwyneth Paltrow also shines as Pepper Potts, meshing nicely with Tony’s charm. Ms. Potts is an admirable character, holding herself above the kind of woman that Tony usually involved himself with, yet convincingly worried about the man she has grown to care about. Tony and Pepper have a nicely complicated relationship that is a breath of fresh air compared to the quintessential romantic pairing forced down my throat by other superhero flicks.

Director Jon Favreau added two important elements that flesh out the film: humor and political commentary. The movie makes very liberal use of the former, but this isn’t over-the-top Michael Bay “humor.” That is to say, it is oftentimes subtle, genuinely funny, and makes the characters all the more endearing. Interspersed with the film’s more serious moments, the excellent application of humor ensures that not just comic book fans come away pleased; even movie-goers with absolutely zero former knowledge of Iron Man will very likely enjoy the film. Strong political undertones abound, and Iron Man doesn’t shy away from showing that there are good and bad people everywhere in the world, from all walks of life. It ends up being more profound than, say, The Kingdom, which engaged in too much American hero worship instead of asking the hard questions of why America makes war in the first place. The existence of good and bad in places you may not expect one or the other to exist is the film’s central theme, and though there is an ultimate villain for Tony to overcome, this a character-versus-self story at its core.

Favreau clearly didn’t want to rush the film into its action scenes without taking care to develop characters, and thank whatever deity you believe in for that. Make no mistake, however: when action hits, it both intense and thoughtful, brought to life with glorious special effects. Augmenting the visuals is a very fitting musical score, kicking in to high gear when the armor is donned. It’s very high energy music in action scenes, and more reserved throughout, which is perfect.

That’s the good news. Here’s the bad: a sequel is a painful two years away. But if Jon Favreau remains the director, I doubt I’ll have anything to worry about. Iron Man is an exceptional piece of work. Would I call it the best superhero movie ever? … Maybe. Don’t miss it, no matter what walk of life you hail from. And I cannot stress this enough: stay after the credits start rolling!

Last night I attended Marvel’s NY premiere of Iron Man with some of the Midtown guys and I have to say I had a great time. Unlike the rest of the crew I wasn’t particularly hyped up for this one, but it completely won me over. Robert Downey Jr was even better than expected. Granted, no one was doubting his ability to nail the hard-drinking womanizing playboy Tony Stark’s side (would he even need to act for that?), but he turned in the complete performance, making Stark’s nobler intentions believable and more importantly, quietly showing his vulnerabilities. He and Gwyneth Paltrow had a nice understated chemistry, although she seemed a bit weak in scenes not opposite him (not sure if that is just how she was written or not). I could’ve used more Terrence Howard, but like he said — with a glimmer in his eyes as bright as the silver armor he was referring to: “Next time!”

As much as fans will get a kick out of the insider references — like War Machine, Jarvis, the Ten Rings, the requisite Stan Lee (my favorite yet lol) — the bigger picture is that anybody can get into this movie. Whether you’ve seen Adi Granov’s CG work before or not, you’ve got to love the look of the Mark III armor; as great as it looked on Granov’s covers, it’s pretty spectacular seeing it in motion. Additionally, Iron Man’s character here is free of the complexities he’s taken on in the comics — which isn’t to say I don’t enjoy those complexities, just that they rightly don’t belong in his coming out party. And speaking of intros, the origin has been nicely updated to fit post-9/11, without becoming overly political.

Honestly I can’t even think of what I didn’t like about this movie… no Ghostface cameo? Any negatives are just nitpicking. Bottom line: this movie has everything you could really ask for in a summer blockbuster — high-speed action, great effects, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. And who doesn’t love big kickass robots?

This was such a fun flick I’ll probably pay to go see it again this weekend, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s going to see this movie multiple times. Look for Iron Man to make Marvel a ton of well-earned money. Congrats on the studio’s first solo outing.

Don’t Pump Your Brakes Yet, Marvel

by David Brothers

Michael San Giacomo’s latest column on Newsarama, Journey Into Comics: I Have A Dream, is an interesting one. He posits the idea that what Marvel really needs right now is a story to “pull together all its disparate, raggedy-edged storylines into a whole, complete, satisfying finale.” Go and give it a read. I may not agree with his point, but it is an interesting read.

I really don’t agree, though. The beauty of the Marvel universe is its disparate threads. It has been for years. It’s even one of the big differences between Marvel’s way of doing things and DC’s. Where DC Comics has Crises and “narrative spines,” Marvel is perfectly content to let their stories flow freely and separately. They may cross over occasionally, but not quite to the same extent that DC’s stories do.

There are a few separate narrative threads running through the Marvel Universe now. There is the chaos in outer space due to Annihilation, civil unrest in Captain America, current event analogues due to Civil War, the wreckage in NYC due to Planet Hulk, and Red Scare-style mistrust due to the oncoming Secret Invasion. These are just the major stories– I’m leaving out the dissolution of the X-Men, kung fu kickery in Iron Fist, or the shenanigans in Amazing Spider-Man.

This is a huge part of why I love Marvel’s comics. Their motto just seems to be throwing everything at the wall, seeing what sticks, and then throwing even more stuff at the wall. It gives the feel of a fast-paced, hectic universe, and also one where you can always find the cure for what ails ya. If you don’t want to read about Skrulls invading, pop on over to The Order for some post-Civil War intrigue. Are you still mad about the death of Cap? Well, the X-Men just went through a big upheaval, maybe there’s something there for you. Don’t dig on outer space epics? Amazing Spider-Man is about as street level and old school as it gets.

I’d hate to see Marvel tie all this together. With DC, at least, the stories are planned to coincide at certain points. With Marvel, it’d be a disaster. It’d be continuity pandering in the worst way. It doesn’t matter that Nova is off doing outer space things while Spider-Man is busy resetting his life– they’re separate stories by separate teams. They are both fulfilling a different need.

Yes, Mephisto rewrote the universe, or at least the past. But– why should that impact Wolverine? Why should the problems be solved by a team of heroes? There are continuity questions involved in Brand New Day, but those should be able to be handled in Brand New Day. Magneto destroyed a bit of Manhattan back during New X-Men, but that’s no big deal. It’s contained continuity at work. Each book exists in its own sub-continuity, giving it its own shape, feel, and form.

We don’t necessarily need Marvel Secret Crisis to wrap up these loose ends, in large part because they aren’t loose ends. They are plot points. We are going to find out what’s happened to the Hulk, Spider-Man, and the Skrulls in due time. However, it should happen in their own books. We don’t neccessarily need to see Hulk popping up in New Warriors, asking what’s up with registration and explaining the whole red thing. It’d be weird and disorienting.

Tying everything together makes for an interesting experiment. The Superman books did it for years, for example, and DC has kind of made a big deal out of interconnecting their storylines, as we can see with the coming of Final Crisis. I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing at all– DC has had a nicely cohesive universe ever since Infinite Crisis. However, that isn’t Marvel’s thing. Marvel provides a different experience. Their universe is crowded, hectic, over the top, and fast-moving, which gives you a chance to dip your toes into a bunch of different stories at once.

Let’s keep Marvel’s plate full to overflowing. Why clear the plate when you can sit down at a buffet and stuff your face like it was ancient Rome?

Alternate Current is a series of weekly posts on thought-provoking, or simply fun, topics from bright minds all throughout the blogosphere. We take submissions, so if you’d like to get into the mix, send an email to David Brothers. This week comes courtesy of David Brothers, the Senior Comics Editor for PCS.

NEW YORK, NY - December 9, 2007 - Marvel Entertainment and Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today plans to publish two new manga series based on Marvel Entertainment’s highly popular X-Men series.

The manga, created with the cooperation and consultation of Marvel editors, will take the classic characters from the X-Men series and re-imagine them in a manga style. The first project, scripted by the husband-and-wife team of Raina Telgemeier (writer and illustrator of The Babysitter’s Club graphic novels) and Dave Roman (creator of the comic Agnes Quill), will focus specifically on the X-Men team. Indonesian artist Anzu will illustrate the two-volume series, which will go on sale in Spring 2009.

It’s the X-Men as you’ve never seen them before, with the storyline fashioned as a private school shôjo comedy. (Shôjo manga is aimed at girls and often covers popular subjects such as comedy, romance, and drama.) As the only girl in the all-boys School for Gifted Youngsters, Kitty Pryde, a mutant with phasing abilities, is torn between the popular Hellfire Club, led by flame-throwing mutant Pyro–and the school misfits, whom she eventually bands together as the X-Men.

A second manga series, to be published in Spring 2009, follows the adventures of Wolverine, a breakout member of the X-Men team known for his attitude and unbreakable adamantium claws.

Dallas Middaugh, associate publisher of Del Rey Manga, says, “The X-Men are some of the most well-known characters in the world, and it’s the strength of those characters-along with strong and unique storylines-that make the X-Men a perfect match for the manga form. It’s an amazing opportunity, and we’re eager to bring new interpretations to the fans through the prism of manga.”

The X-Men made their comics debut in The X-Men #1 in 1963 and have since become a mainstream pop culture phenomenon with the development of an animated television series, several video games and a blockbuster live-action film trilogy.

Ruwan Jayatilleke, Vice President of development of Marvel Entertainment, Inc., said “Del Rey Manga has been an innovative force in the manga landscape—consistently growing the medium and breaking the boundaries of print. We have found a partner who will bring the X-Men and Wolverine into the fastest growing segment of graphic fiction, with superior storytelling and visual fireworks. Comic book fans and manga readers have much to look forward to.”

Manga, the Japanese term for comics, is a Japanese cultural phenomenon that accounts for nearly half of all the books and magazines sold in Japan. Read by men and women of all ages, manga covers a wide variety of themes including adventure, romance, fantasy, and more. Manga has experienced incredible growth in the US and Canadian graphic novel market in the past few years. According to industry source ICv2 manga sales reached between $170 million and $200 million in 2006.

About the Creators
Raina Telgemeier is best known for her work as the writer and illustrator of The Babysitter’s Club graphic novels. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts and has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Eisner, Ignatz, Cybil, and Web Cartoonists’ Choice awards.

Dave Roman currently works for Nickelodeon Magazine as an associate editor. The co-creator of the Harvey Award-nominated series Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden and the Ignatz award-winning Teen Boat, he also pens his own webcomic, Astronaut Elementary. He is also the creator of the comic Agnes Quill.

Anzu, a manga artist based in Indonesia, will make her US manga art debut in April 2008 with the first volume of The Reformed, written by Chris Hart. She has contributed to Hart’s bestselling How to Draw Manga series.

About Del Rey Manga
Del Rey Books (http://www.delreybooks.com ) was founded in 1977 as an imprint of Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, under the guidance of the renowned Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, Lester del Rey. Del Rey publishes the best of modern fantasy, science fiction, and alternate history. Ballantine Books is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, which is a publishing group of Random House, Inc, the U.S. publishing company of Random House, the trade book publishing division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world’s leading international media companies. In 2004 it expanded by launching Del Rey Manga (www.delreymanga.com), which has grown to be a major force in the U.S. graphic-novel field. Bestselling titles include Tsubasa, Negima, xxxHolic, and The Wallflower.

About Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
With a library of over 5,000 high-profile characters built over more than sixty years of comic book publishing, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios), publishing (via Marvel Comics) and toys, with emphasis on feature films, home DVD, consumer products, video games, action figures and role-playing toys, television and promotions. Marvel’s strategy is to leverage its franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world. For more information visit www.marvel.com.

X-Men, Wolverine: TM & © 2007 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Now that the last cosplaying Soul Reaper has hung up his zanpakutou, I thought I’d take stock of the major manga news stories to emerge from the first New York Anime Festival. If you want the lowdown on individual titles, I encourage you to visit About.com, where Deb Aoki has posted plot summaries and release dates for series discussed at NYAF, and MangaBlog, where Brigid Alverson has filed detailed reports on the weekend’s big panels. Anime fans and fujioshi should check the Manga Recon blog later this week, when Erin F. files her reports on the anime panels and Drama Queen’s big plans for 2008.

Here are my votes for the five most important manga-related news stories from NYAF 2007:

5. Everyone’s riding the omnibus.
Chalk it up to budget conscious consumers or burgeoning back catalogs, but several publishers announced plans to repackage fan favorites in new, multi-volume editions. Tokyopop and Viz are focusing on older titles, with Tokyopop offering both deluxe, hardbound editions of Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy and Fruits Basket (complete with extras and larger trim size) and more wallet-friendly omnibus treatments of crowd-pleasers like Chronicles of the Cursed Sword and Kare Kano. Viz, meanwhile, will be rolling out Big Editions of Rurouni Kenshin and both DragonBall series. The Viz Big Editions will be formatted like Tekkonkinkreet, with a larger trim size, color pages, and a dust jacket. Curiously, no one at the Viz panel mentioned the more exciting news that Inoue’s Vagabond will also be getting the Big Edition treatment in 2008. File that under Things That Make You Go Hmmmm….

While Del Rey has no plans to continue its Barnes and Noble omnibus program, it will be offering readers a deluxe presentation of Me and The Devil Blues (June 2008), a fictionalized biography of legendary Delta guitarist Robert Johnson. Each installment will include two volumes of the manga—that’s nearly 500 pages of story—formatted for a slightly larger trim size.

• Tokyopop Graphic Novel Editions: Chronicles of the Cursed Sword, Kare Kano, King of Hell, Rebirth (Spring 2008), Sgt. Frog (December 2007) (3 volumes each; $12.99; limited availability)
• Tokyopop Ultimate Editions: Battle Royale, Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy, Fruits Basket (available now) (2-3 volumes each; hardcover; $14.99 - $29.99)
• Viz Big Editions: DragonBall (April 2008), DragonBall Z (August 2008), Rurouni Kenshin (February 2008), Vagabond (Fall 2008) (3 vols. each; softcover; $17.99)

4. nisiOisin: not just an acronym anymore.
In an effort to capitalize on popular manga franchises, Del Rey and Viz have licensed novels by prolific author nisiOisin. Del Rey will offer CLAMP fans xxxHolic: Another Holic, a novel set in the xxxHolic universe, while Viz will be releasing Death Note: The Last Note, a prequel to the manga. nisiOisin’s work will also appear in the first volume of Del Rey’s Faust anthology, which will include a collaboration between him and Loveless manga-ka Yun Kouga. And Del Rey has licensed his light novel series Zaregoto: The Kubikiri Cycle.

• Del Rey: Faust: Fiction and Manga from the Cutting Edge of Japanese Pop Culture (short story w/illustrations by Yun Kouga; summer 2008), xxxHolic: Another Holic (light novel; one volume; illustrations by CLAMP), Zaregoto: The Kubikiri Cycle (light novel; nine volumes)
• Viz: Death Note: Another Note (light novel; one volume; February 2008)

3. Yen Press has 4-coma fever.
Among the many titles Yen Press plans to release in 2008 are four series that follow the same yonkoma format as Azumanga Daioh. The first, Shoulder a Coffin, Kuro (May 2008), follows the adventures of a young girl who travels the countryside with a talking bat and a coffin strapped to her back; the second, Sunshine Sketch, is a slice-of-life comedy set in a boarding school dormitory (June 2008); the third, Suzunari! (July 2008), tells the story of a young girl and her cat-eared doppelganger (and yes, wacky hijinks ensue); and the fourth, SS Astro: Teacher’s Lounge (October 2008) offers a humorous look at how faculty members really interact when their students aren’t around.

2. X-Men/1999.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (or avoiding the Internet), you’ve probably heard the news that Del Rey and Marvel have teamed up to produce two manga series based on the X-Men. Before you roll your eyes, keep in mind that Del Rey and Marvel are bringing A-list talent to the project (writers, artists, and editors) in an effort to create a product that manga fans will want to read.

The first will be aimed squarely at a shojo audience. Editor Tricia Narwani reassured readers that the story would “respect shojo conventions” while remaining faithful to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original characters. The concept sketches suggested something in the vein of X/1999 or Godchild—a tone that I hope carries over to the dialogue and plot as well. (Please, no X-Men: Fruits Basket or Dr. Xavier’s Here Is Greenwood. Keep it dark, and keep those chibis to a minimum!) The second series, Wolverine, was aimed at a shonen audience. Though Del Rey had secured a writer for the project, no artist was announced, nor were any plot points discussed. (UPDATE: Deb Aoki has posted some preliminary character sketches at About.com. Click here to view bishonen Wolverine!)

• Wolverine (2 vols., Spring 2009; Story by Antony Johnston)
• X-Men: The Manga (2 vols., Spring 2009; Story by Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman, Art by Anzu)

1. Shonen Jump may face some stiff competition.
Received wisdom is that the US market can’t support manga magazines. Given how many worthy anthologies have tanked—remember Super Manga Blast or Raijin Comics?—it seems like a fool’s errand to launch a new magazine. But Kurt Hasseler may have hit on a winning formula with the just-announced Yen Plus: run cool titles by big-name artists and authors. A manga adaptation of James Patterson’s best-selling YA series Maximum Ride will be serialized in Yen Plus, as will Svetlana Chmakova’s highly anticipated Night School. Among the other franchises slated to run in the magazine are Jack Frost, a supernatural Korean adventure story, and Pig Bride, a soong-jeong comedy about a young man who’s never seen his bride-to-be’s face. (She wears a pig mask at all times. Paging Dr. Phil…) Each volume will be approximately 460 pages, and will sell for $8.99 at a variety of retail outlets. Look for the first issue in the summer of 2008.

Del Rey will also be publishing an anthology, though Faust will offer readers a mixture of fiction and manga. The first volume, scheduled for an August 2008 release, will include contributions from CLAMP, Takeshi Oba (Death Note, Hikaru no Go), nisiOisin (Death Note: The Last Note), and Yun Kouga (Loveless), while the second will feature a short manga by American cartoonist Fred Gallagher (Megatokyo).

Most fan-friendly licensing news: Tokyopop announced that it will be releasing a manga adaptation of Kyo Kara Maoh! in the third quarter of 2008, while Bandai Entertainment announced that it had acquired the rights to the Code GEASS manga and light novels.

Most YALSA-friendly licensing news: Go! Comi announced that it will be publishing Song of the Hanging Sky, a folkloric story about an indigenous people threatened by modernity. The concept and the gorgeous artwork suggest that this might be a future YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens pick. Ditto for Kasumi (Del Rey), an OEL title from American writer Surt Lim and Japanese artist Hirofumi Sugimoto. The premise sounded quite amusing: a teen moves to a small village where a tree god grants her (and other teens) special powers. The catch: they can only activate these powers by closing their eyes or holding their breath, making them less-than-ideally suited for saving the world.

Least surprising licensing news: Viz will be pushing more Naruto and Death Note products in 2008, including The Official Naruto Fan Book (February 2008) and a Death Note 13: How to Read (February 2008), while Tokyopop will be releasing a Fruits Basket sticker book (May 2008) that will include pin-ups, posters, and temporary tattoos inspired by the series’ zodiac theme.

Best news for manga bloggers and web surfers: Tokyopop will be overhauling its website, making it easier to navigate and locate information about its own products. Tokyopop will also be launching a new program that will dovetail beautifully with their Rising Stars of Manga initiative. I can’t say more right now—the details are still being hammered out—but I think that it will be a real boon for both the company and for creators.

Best news for booksellers: Del Rey will begin staggering its releases, offering two to four new titles per week instead of ten or thirteen titles on the same day each month. As an added bonus, Del Rey will be simultaneously releasing the first two volumes of several series including Hiro Mashima’s eagerly anticipated Fairy Tale (March 2008).

Best convention swag: Vertical’s Guin Saga leopard masks.

Most entertaining panel: Drama Queen. (And I’m not saying that just because I won volumes one and two of DVD—I swear!)

Most abused marketing hook: Comparing a series’ premise with Harry Potter. I heard no fewer than four pitches that began, “It’s like Harry Potter in manga form” or “Think of it as Harry Potter meets…”

What the kids will be reading next: Gakuen Alice (Tokyopop), Night School (Yen Press), The Record of a Fallen Vampire (Viz)

What the old curmudgeons will be reading next: Black Jack (Vertical, Inc.), Dororo (Vertical, Inc.); Manga Sutra (Tokyopop); Me and the Devil Blues (Del Rey); Real (Viz), SS Astro: Teacher’s Lounge (Yen Press); Summit of the Gods (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!

You have been granted clearance to Camp Hammond’s most sensitive files.

For the first time anywhere, witness the hidden origins of the GAUNTLET, ARMORY, MVP, and HARDBALL. Also, learn some of the Initiative’s most hi-tech secrets. And meet the team from America’s 2nd State, Pennsylvania, as they battle FLAG SMASHER and the forces of ULTIMATUM! How will Philly react to the Initiative’s all-new take on the LIBERTY LEGION?

Jump on here for the next chapter in Marvel’s big breakout series!

Rated T+ …$3.99

Last year, a group of Marvel heroes decided the Hulk was too dangerous for Earth, tricked him into a shuttle, and shot him into space. After the Hulk rose from slave to gladiator to conquering emperor on the savage planet of Sakaar, the shuttle exploded – destroying the Hulk’s people and his pregnant queen. And the entire Marvel Universe knows what happened next as the Hulk returned to wreak his terrible vengeance in the pages of “World War Hulk.” But what if the Hulk had landed on the peaceful planet the Marvel heroes originally intended? What if Banner had landed on Sakaar instead of the Hulk? And what if the Hulk’s warrior bride Caiera the Oldstrong had come to Earth seeking vengeance instead of her husband? Get ready for three shocking tales of what could have been from the writer of the “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk” epics.

48 PGS./Rated A …$3.99
IN STORES: October 24, 2007

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Editor’s note: This month’s Comics for Manga Lovers looks at two straight-to-DVD movies aimed squarely at the tights and capes crowd. If you’re a recovering Marvel maniac or have fond memories of the Super Friends, you’ll be interested in what our resident anime expert Carlos Alexandre has to say about Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme and Superman: Doomsday.

Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme

Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment
95 minutes

The Marvel Animated Features, an ongoing set of direct-to-TV and DVD animated movies, have ranged in quality from “just okay” to “monstrously bad.” Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2 were good enough, combining decent animation and passable stories; both movies were neither perfect nor terrible. The Invincible Iron Man, however, was so horrible that I honestly wonder how it could have possibly been given the green light.

But I love superhero stories. Despite not being a comic collector, I love following and reading about superheroes, their past and present story arcs, and their rogue galleries. So despite the average-at-best showing of its three predecessors, I picked up Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. Thankfully, it wasn’t “monstrously bad.” It settles with being “just okay” with the addition of “could’ve easily been much better.”

Click here to continue reading.

Superman: Doomsday

Distributed by Warner Premiere
74 minutes

It’s been a while since Bruce Timm and fellows ended the long-ongoing and fan-adored “DC animated universe,” a cohesive timeline that started in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series, ended an amazing fourteen years later with the series finale of Justice League Unlimited, and spanned almost a dozen separate TV series and movies.

Superman: Doomsday, along with two other direct-to-DVD animated movies Timm and co. are currently working on (Justice League: New Frontier and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract), is not a part of that canon. Which, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But, still, why do I feel like this movie could have been so much better had it been a sequel to Justice League Unlimited (which conveniently had a loose end concerning the character Doomsday), instead of a retelling of the classic Death and Return of Superman comic arc?

Click here to continue reading.

COMICS FOR MANGA LOVERS INDEX
Comics for Manga Lovers: August 2007 (The Red Star)
Comics for Manga Lovers: May 2007 (Essex County: Tales from the Farm, Korgi)
Comics for Manga Lovers: January 2007 (Mouse Guard, The Killer, Okko, Robotika)
Comics for Manga Lovers: November 2006 (Daughters of the Dragon, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall)

Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme

Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment
95 minutes

The Marvel Animated Features, an ongoing set of direct-to-TV and DVD animated movies, have ranged in quality from “just okay” to “monstrously bad.” Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2 were good enough, combining decent animation and passable stories; both movies were neither perfect nor terrible. The Invincible Iron Man, however, was so horrible that I honestly wonder how it could have possibly been given the green light.

But I love superhero stories. Despite not being a comic collector, I love following and reading about superheroes, their past and present story arcs, and their rogue galleries. So despite the average-at-best showing of its three predecessors, I picked up Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. Thankfully, it wasn’t “monstrously bad.” It settles with being “just okay” with the addition of “could’ve easily been much better.”

Synopsis
A brilliant neurosurgeon more concerned with making his employer money than actually saving lives, and haunted by both supernatural visions and the ghosts of his own past, Dr. Stephen Strange isn’t the jolliest of fellows. After being in a horrific car accident, one that mangles his hands to the point where he can barely operate a door handle, let alone perform surgery, Stephen loses everything searching for a cure.

Deprived of all hope, he is approached by Wong, a mythical man of the east, and told to head to Tibet. Strange takes on the exhaustive journey, and soon comes face to face with a world beyond what he thought possible, one of powers beyond human comprehension. Soon, he will have to unravel a mystery that threatens the Earth itself, and face both an encroaching evil and his own lingering guilt.

Storytelling/Characters
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme differs from the comic book origins of its titular character somewhat

Comic Strange retained the use of his hands; he just couldn’t perform delicate surgery anymore. The movie’s Dr. Strange, however, has to contend with a far greater loss of function. Seeing the man trying so hard just to unlock his apartment door, and being forced to ask for help, is much more powerful than if he simply lost the ability to be a surgeon and nothing else.

In the comics, Dr. Strange sought out the Ancient One in Tibet for a cure, whereas the animated movie instead shows the Ancient One and his order seeking out Strange. This fits Stephen’s firm beliefs in science over superstition; every method he had pursued had been rooted in modern medicine in some way, and he had never gone as far as to pursue “magic” as a possible remedy.

Another new element that really works is Dr. Strange’s lament over being unable to save his sister, April. His inability to get over her death makes his curt demeanor and descent into despair all the more believable.

Despite these positives, Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme doesn’t remain consistently good throughout. For every moment that the story captures your interest, there is another moment where it utterly fails to. For every smart move the movie makes, it also makes at least one move in a direction that leaves you wondering why.

Take Mordo, for instance. His betrayal just happens out of nowhere. It felt like I was watching Revenge of the Sith all over again: here is this character that I know, based on established lore, is going to be a traitor… and yet, when it finally happens, it makes little sense given his actions prior. Mordo’s unmotivated betrayal could have been handled a lot better.

Actually, much of the film should have been handled a lot better. An hour and a half felt like too little time to finish the story, and while some details are nicely fleshed out, others, such as Strange’s training and his final battle with Dormammu, are unnecessarily rushed, almost as if the creators were bumping their heads on the roof of a budget. Speaking of which…

Animation/Visuals
The animation in The Sorcerer Supreme is a mixed bag at best. Some scenes, whether they be elaborate fights or moments of drama, are animated beautifully. But there are other scenes that look absolutely bargain-basement, the kind of stuff you’d find in bad Saturday morning cartoons or low-budget anime. When at its best, this is a very nice-looking animated film. When at its worst, it’s laughable.

Voices/Music
Fortunately, at least one area of The Sorcerer Supreme remains consistent throughout. Guy Michelmore, who scored the previous three Marvel Animated Features, returns with an orchestral soundtrack befitting the film’s moments of mayhem and melancholy. Though the tunes are your typical superhero fare, Michelmore’s score fits very well.

The voice acting is equally high quality, professional stuff, despite some of the dialogue not being particularly well-written.

Overall
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme manages to entice and entertain, but it could have done so much more. As an alternate take on Dr. Strange’s origins, it does reasonably well; Dr. Strange fans won’t be disappointed, nor will anybody who enjoyed The Invincible Iron Man or either of the Ultimate Avengers movies. More discerning viewers, though, will find themselves thirsting for more.