The Comics Journal’s Tom Crippen discusses the potential character change, comparing it to the original incarnation of Ebony as created by the late Will Eisner:

…“attitude (sass)” is a long way off from summing up Ebony White. Yes, he’s mischievous sometimes, but he’s quixotic sometimes. He’s a lot of things: officious, greedy, tender, poetic, warm-hearted. Maybe you could put “sassy” in there, but the word isn’t his hallmark. Ebony makes noise, but the noise isn’t about himself; it’s just a byproduct of him leading his life. He isn’t staking out a place for himself, and he isn’t trying to brush people back. For a 12-year-old black kid in 1947, his position with the Spirit and Dolan, et al., is magically secure and well respected. He doesn’t have to be sassy: he can say what he thinks.

When Darwyn Cooke relaunched The Spirit a few years ago, he set it in modern times (though he kept the 40s-noir atmosphere) and made Ebony a regular kid, in both looks and dialogue. And of course, director Frank Miller did away with him altogether in his film version of The Spirit. This is different; the intent with First Wave (essentially an Elseworlds story, not unlike New Frontier) is to be faithful to the spirit of the pulp hero era. According to Azzarello in the CBR interview, he has the consent of Eisner’s estate to reinterpret the Spirit as he sees fit. Apparently this also extends to the Spirit’s supporting cast.

I’ve always had a blind spot regarding The Spirit, specifically because of Ebony. I have read Eisner Spirit strips with and without Ebony, but it’s next to impossible for me to truly enjoy them. If the purpose of First Wave is to evoke the pulp hero era, this does put Azzarello in a bind, since it’s hard to write about this time period without dealing with the prejudices inherent in that era, especially when one includes POCs in the story (First Wave will also include the Blackhawks, with a reimagined version of Asian character Chop Chop).

Granted, as Crippen says, Ebony enjoys an unusually privileged position as the Spirit’s sidekick, but it’s a fantasy, and how much one is willing to buy into this fantasy depends on how one sees the character within the context of the strip. How often does the Spirit step into Ebony’s world? How aware is he of the life Ebony would very likely live as a black male child in 1940s America? I don’t know for certain, but I suspect Eisner may not have had these questions in mind when he was creating the strip – and even if he did, it’s highly unlikely he would have been allowed to tell stories that address these issues.

Making Ebony a “brash, sassy girl,” however, may not be the best answer. The sassy black female is a greatly-overused stereotype in pop culture. It makes black women seem shrewish and unsophisticated and is almost always played for laughs. I don’t believe Azzarello would consciously feed into that stereotype, but by invoking the words “brash” and “sassy,” one cannot help but draw the correlation. And lest we forget, this would not be the first time Azzarello has written black characters with unfortunate implications, as anyone who remembers his Luke Cage mini-series will recall.

I’d rather Azzarello wrote the Ebony-Spirit relationship honestly: make them partners, make them heroes, but at the same time let each be aware of the positions each other occupies in their world as a result of their race. It’s not something that needs to be in the reader’s face every time we see them, but it needs to lurk just below the surface, ready to pop up at any time. And the same should apply to Black Canary and Chop Chop. Anything less will come across – to this reader, at least – as flawed.

Isn’t Archie a married man now?

Raven Gregory

PRODIGAL: EGG OF FIRST LIGHT #1

It’s a rough week for “retrieval specialists” Jacinto & Lennox. On Monday the Egg of First Light is stolen. On Tuesday J &L are hired to get it back. By Thursday alien magic, deadly super warriors and global Armageddon stand between them and their payday. Friday: Ka-Boom?

Ask your local Comic Shop retailer to order Prodigal: Egg of First Light #1 in the FEB issue of Previews.

DCD Item # DEC090660

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Geoffrey Thorne is a sci-fi writer who also dabbles in comics. Us Star Trek fans know him for some of the Trek novels and short stories he’s written, the most recent one being Star Trek Titan: Sword of Damocles, so I can attest to his skill as a writer. The link takes you to a preview of the entire book, and from what I can tell, it’s not bad. Light action-adventure, lively dialogue, very good art. Pretty straightforward. Let’s see how it does.

[Full disclosure: This book is being released through the publishing house of a former editor of mine.]

“So brace yourself for more sacrificial beasts than you can shake a stick at (if that’s your idea of a good time — and if you’re Jacob, it is), along with the grand characters you know and love from Genesis and the high-concept special effects of Exodus.

“It all begins with the beginning…”

Found on Facebook: this forthcoming graphic novel that reinterprets the Torah of the Judaic faith with a number of quirky flourishes. Why does it get a mention here? Because co-creator Aaron Freeman is a brother. Check out his website; the guy’s got quite a history.

Check out more pages from the book here. Looks like a winner to me.

Reuniting the original artists = EPIC WIN.

“We were looking to really focus on what was special about the series, which to us was its frontier nature… Unlike the other Trek series, which were all about exploration, ‘Deep Space Nine’ was about just the opposite: about staying in one place, making a commitment, and finding a way to make it work, in the face of adversity. And alongside people that you might not necessarily have chosen to work and live with in an ideal situation. With that in mind, we knew our story needed to be focused on the station itself in some way. So, when the station is overrun by mysterious soldiers of fortune from across the galaxy, it creates a powder keg on DS9 with a very short fuse.”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Totally missed this, but better late than never: Mat Johnson’s next Vertigo graphic novel will be about Hurricane Katrina.

“The Great Ten are the Chinese government’s officially sanctioned superhero team. That “officially sanctioned” part is important, because in mainland China, an independent vigilante isn’t going to last very long. The communist government would crack down on that sort of thing right quick. Also, members of The Great Ten are referred to as “super-functionaries” instead of superheroes. The emphasis is on the role they play – their function in society. But in the world’s most populous nation – a nation that will probably wield the most influence in the 21st Century – these 10 individuals will determine whether that influence is used for good or ill.”

The Great Ten

Barack the Barbarian

5-page preview (plus cover)

Devil’s Due’s new series puts President Obama in an age undreamt of.

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Also this week:

Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #2 (of 6)

Perhapanauts #6

Immortal Iron Fist #27, IIF: The Mortal Iron Fist TP. Pencils by Foreman.

Squadron Supreme #12

Gold Digger Swimsuit Special 2009. By Perry.

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The Obama-worship continues with this animated cartoon (which is actually really good).

Luke Cage and Iron Fist reunite – as Thunderbolts?

Samuel Delany has a new book coming out – and here he answers fan questions.

Off-topic: The computers of artist and all-around good guy Steve Lieber got robbed recently. You can help him out by reading this.

Doctor Voodoo

That this is something unusual, something noteworthy, is in itself telling. But you know what, let’s save that for another time and be thankful these sisters are getting their shot.

And if that doesn’t do the trick – look at this:

I’m telling you, this book is gonna be hot. Check his website if you still don’t believe me.

The solicitation for Captain America #600:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #600
Written by ED BRUBAKER with MARK WAID, ROGER STERN & OTHERS
Pencils by BUTCH GUICE, LUKE ROSS, DALE EAGLESHAM & OTHERS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
50/50 Cover by ALEX ROSS
Where were you when Captain America died? It’s the anniversary of the day Steve Rogers was killed, a day of reflection and mourning in the Marvel U…a time to look back on the things Steve did and what he stood for… or is this issue actually the beginning of the most wicked plot twist since issue 25? Yeah, actually it’s both. Plus, contributions from Cap creators past and present, including a very special essay by Joe Simon, a classic story from Cap’s Golden Age, a full gallery of 600 Cap covers, and more anniversary shenanigans than you can shake a shield at!
104 PGS./New and Reprints/Rated T+ …$4.99

The teaser image for Reborn #1 (of 6) by Ed Brubaker & Bryan Hitch (left)

Wikipedia entry on Isaiah Bradley, the main character of the mini-series Truth: Red, White and Black by Robert Morales & Kyle Baker

Marvel announces that CA #600 will be released on Monday, June 15, two days earlier than their other weekly releases

Will Smith denies rumors that he had been offered the role of Captain America for the forthcoming movie

And now we get this image (right), posted by Truth artist Kyle Baker on his website, related to what he calls “an upcoming Marvel gig.”

What does all of this add up to?

…

Beats me.

But you gotta admit, it’s pretty exciting.

Variant cover for issue 7, part of a “80s and 90s” theme being shared with a few other titles. Normally I don’t go for variants much, but this is too funny to not share.