Kyle Higgins Bids Classy Farewell to Nightwing Fans

It is with a touch of sadness that I read today that Kyle Higgins will be leaving Nightwing as of this April after almost three years on the comic. He has written every issue since the New 52 relaunch and has undoubtedly became my all-time favorite writer on the character - although I remain a pretty big Chuck Dixon fan.  In a message released on his Facebook account today, he relayed a classy farewell to the character that serves to make me feel even more melancholy about the switch-up.

But all good things must come to an end...

Truth be told, with all of the inevitable changes the character will go through as a result of his central part in Forever Evil I had long suspected a new creative team would take over. I just did not want to believe it. In one sense, it's exciting that my favorite character has a mainstream storyline and that the future looks bright for Nightwing in April, as in, an epic transformation in light of his identity being revealed to the world as opposed to the possibility of him dying and being replaced, but I will get back to that shortly.  What this announcement first made me think of was one of my all-time favorite memories as a comic book fan.  In one of my few star-struck moments, I had the fortune of meeting Kyle Higgins while attending my first Comic Convention at the Javits Center in October 2011.

Aside from the profanity, I think I came across pretty cool

As the enormous late morning crowd had trapped me in a slow-moving line to nowhere in-between a video game demonstration and the abyss of fandom that was the autograph section, I began having idle conversation with a familiar-looking face. Suddenly it dawned on me who he was and my wholly-inappropriate response to discovering his identity was: "Are you fucking Kyle Higgins?"

He was kind enough to let that slide - although looking back he did not exactly have an escape path at that moment - and for the next few minutes I was able to talk to the man who was writing my favorite character in comics. At the time of this meeting, only the first issue of his run had been released but had already given me high-hopes for the future therefore putting him at the top of my list for autographs. When I mentioned to him that Nightwing was my favorite comic book character, to my excitement, he revealed that was something we had in common. Even as the crowd slowly dissipated he stuck around and discussed his passion for the character with me before signing my book. By the end of that conversation, I was certain that Nightwing was in good hands.

Fast-forward a couple years and almost thirty of the best issues I have ever read, Kyle Higgins revealed that he was leaving the book on his Facebook page earlier today:

So here’s something I’ve put off writing for a while. On Tuesday, DC solicits for April 2014 hit. They’ll introduce a new creative team on NIGHTWING which, sadly, I won’t be a part of.

It’s a weird feeling to leave the book after almost three years, and even though I would love nothing more than to write Dick Grayson for another fifty or sixty issues, it’s time to move on. (In that spirit, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention BATMAN BEYOND 2.0 and C.O.W.L…two of the books I am currently working on, which are also– both in their own way– helping to curb the Grayson withdrawal :-)

I’ve talked many times about my love for Nightwing. He was the hero I grew up with, the book that got me collecting, and the inspiration for my first film. For all those reasons, I had a lot of reservations about launching his New 52 series. What if I wasn’t good enough? What if DC wouldn’t let me tell the stories I wanted? What if people hated it? What if I hated it?

As much pressure as I felt about doing DG justice, the truth is there’s very little I ever could have done to break him. He’s an amazing character who’s been around for almost seventy five years and will still be around long after I’m gone. Instead of thinking about what I’ve been able to do for DG, I’ve found it much better to think about what DG has been able to do for me. In that regard, I’ll only ever be able to look at my time on Nightwing and smile. Why?

Because Dick Grayson made me a better writer.

So, with that, I want to thank Mike Marts for championing me, Scott Snyder for believing in me, Jen Aprahamian, Ryan Parrott, Alec Siegel, Michael Nie, James Tynion, Brian Buccellato, and Brad Bode for supporting me, Eddy Barrows, Rod Reis, Trevor McCarthy, Geraldo Borges, Andres Guinaldo, Juan Jose Ryp, Brett Booth, Will Conrad, Jason Masters, and Russell Dauterman for inspiring me, and finally– to every single Dick Grayson fan out there who bought the book and gave me the chance to live out a dream… issues 28 and 29 are for you. You guys are amazing and I owe you everything.
Kyle Higgins
Los Angeles 2014

All good things must come to an end and are a lot easier to swallow when paired with an earnest display of humility and gratitude. In response, let me just say "thank you" and I look forward to your continued success in whatever projects you choose to pursue in the future. Meanwhile, I will have to remind myself to add C.O.W.L to my pull list.
   

Like Higgins, Nightwing was the first series I started collecting when I became interested in comic books. Actually, it was Nightwing and Ultimate Spider-Man, but largely for the same reason. Unlike the vast majority of mainstream super-heroes the journey of these two characters is always about growth and transformation.
Sure, those themes present themselves from time-to-time in the tales of all super-heroes but with these two it is ingrained in their characters from their origins onward. Despite my love for Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man, including Miles Morales, I personally find Nightwing even more interesting than Spider-Man...or Batman for that matter. I always have.

While Peter Parker became a hero after a freak accident gave him super-powers and tragic circumstances brought him face-to-face with the weight of his new-found responsibilities, Dick Grayson never had the benefit of super powers and does what he does because he was given the opportunity to help - as Robin - and then chose that life for himself - as Nightwing. He's a hero you can believe in and, in my view, Batman's greatest victory is helping to form a better hero than himself because Nightwing is not driven by tragedy and inner demons but instead by genuine altruism and his incredible dedication to servicing his community. Plus a lot of money for vehicles and grappling guns but I let that slide. Over the years he has opened up his shop of good works in Gotham, New York City, Titans Tower, Bludhaven and most-recently Chicago...which is a lot like real life in that he never outgrows the shadow of the Batman and Gotham but simply grows out of it into his own man by being a hero wherever and whenever one is needed.

In a departure from the obsessed approach of Batman, Dick sometimes takes a break to get laid or is the best friend he can be to the Teen Titans rather than always crime-fighting. A few years ago, he took over the role of Batman for a temporarily-dead (time-displaced is more accurate) Bruce Wayne and, during that time, helped instill humanity in an impossibly competent but tragically immoral Robin in Damian Wayne. Now it seems the character is headed for another transformation as his central role in the New 52's first big event, coupled with the recent announcement that he will appear in the upcoming Batman-Superman film, makes me believe the notion that Nightwing is not a mainstream hero is going to become, like Kyle Higgins magnificent run, a thing of the past.
 
As I have stated before, I personally find that reading most mainstream comic books often feels like you're ingesting the same stories ad nauseam. Oh Superman saves Metropolis from so-and-so but there is bigger threat looming and they have Kryptonite...uh-oh there's another psychotic band of super-criminals on the loose in Gotham City and Batman has to come face-to-face with his inner demons in order to stop them...damn Supergirl is hot and also punches bad guys and flies and stuff. All right, maybe I am exaggerating a bit to make my point but its inevitable that the same themes to get repeated when characters have existed in much the same ways for decades on end. That's part of being a super-hero, if there were no criminals there would be nothing but a character study. The publishers bottom line relies on those other stories to maintain a healthy bottom line. Sometimes we get both, but it is a tricky balance to maintain both for the writer and the publisher. But, from my perspective, Nightwing has never fallen off that tight rope.

Like Spider-Man, Nightwing has always been a hero whose greatest strength was his ability to smile and enjoy a life of altruistic service to his community while maintaining strong relationships coupled with general badassery. But what really made me connect to him was that, unlike Spider-Man or any other character I can think of, Nightwing is a character who is in constant transition. From where he lives, what he does for a day job, who he associates with there have always been changes to his status quo. Now it appears that he is headed for another transformation, perhaps as a public hero or perhaps as an hipster chick, but I take solace in knowing that his legacy will always be that of a young man with no powers other than his ability to be an ass-kicking light of hope and justice in a world of crime-ridden darkness. If Batman became fear to overcome darkness, then as Robin he became hope to light his way. Then he went off on his own as Nightwing to do good works on his own while honoring his past. That's a life-long commitment that I, as an emotionally-subnormal adult, can rationalize a lot easier than most mainstream heroes.

Hopefully the bigger spotlight will show only serve to shine that light brighter. If the new creative team is anything like Kyle Higgins, I don't think I will be disappointed.

How to Best Utilize the Original Cast in the Upcoming Star Wars film

Some interesting news coming from the Star Wars production team over the weekend.  According to Borys Kit's recent update from The Hollywood Reporter, the script for the upcoming Star Wars film is going through rewrites to tighten the stories focus on a few familiar characters.

What follows is an excerpt from the report which, obviously, you should take with a grain of salt:

According to multiple insiders, the reason for the parting of ways was not due to a timeframe issue, as has been reported, but rather due to a difference of opinion of which characters to emphasize.
Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy's heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being added.

In my opinion, not only does it make good sense to focus this film on the original trio but it's good business. The upcoming Star Wars film is going to be one of the biggest blockbusters in sci-fi film history. Moreover, it's being directed by J.J Abrhams (one of my all-time favorite directors) who already has proven he can breathe new life into classic stories with his Star Trek series. Now he faces an even greater challenge...unparalleled possibilities and unbelievably-high expectations from the worlds most ardent troupe of groupies.



After almost forty years, the storyline of the original trilogy will be continued and the characters of those films are going to return. Fans will finally find out what the future holds for what occurred a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Of course, it may or may not be entirely foreign material, but this side-note gets a little convoluted for my mainstream agenda so if you care to know what the Story Group is up here's a link to a recent article.  Personally, I believe some stories are better left untold.

When you consider how much money the prequels made, despite being constricted to the finite chain of events necessary in order to set-up the original trilogy, it is only logical to assume that these films have the potential - nay, the responsibility - be superior by merit of their dramatic possibilities alone.  

Well, what better way to ensure success than by starting this new era off with a film that focuses heavily on the main characters of the original trilogy? They already are so popular with fans that it's totally conceivable that movie-goers would eat up a scene consisting of Han and Leia having space coffee and joking their way through five minutes of small-talk sprinkled with exterior dialouge. Sure would be a convenient way to introduce a certain son or daughter destined for great adventure. You can almost say it writes itself...and, in a way, it has been being written in the imagination of fans for generations. Even fictional characters have gotten into this sort of thing.


On that note, this thought occurred to me last night. In the original Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobis' death served as a catalyst for Luke's growth throughout the trilogy. In the same vein, one or all of these characters getting the axe - after an appropriate amount of screen time - could really get movie-goers invested in the new storyline. Last night just before sleep, well, could say it wrote itself: Han Solo is the ideal character to sacrifice himself in order to save the lives of the new characters. Moreover, I think it would be pretty cool dramatically if it's in a manner that is eerily similar to the carbonite scene with him standing heroically accepting his fate.

His final words to Leia: "I love you," to which she replies: "I know," then one final classic scoundrel's grin before he takes final heroic bow to audiences everywhere. His daughter or son watch as Luke saw Obi-Wan perish...setting up preconceptions for their role in the series while creating bloodlust for the head of the new baddie who takes him out. It is a well-known fact that Harrison Ford pushed for the characters demise to George Lucas...perhaps he will finally get his wish. Art imitates life, after all.

Back to the point - really, isn't this obvious? I mean, why wouldn't they have a large portion of this film devoted to these classic characters? There is more scrutiny and attention being paid to this film before it even goes into production than most films get after decades of analysis. It even makes the upcoming Superman-Batman film seem like just another Superman. While you can argue its playing with fire to kill them use these characters to forward the plot I believe that, so long as it's done with artistic integrity and respect, there is no finer way to re-open the doors of the Star Wars universe than with one more wild ride with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo.

Thoughts?

Breaking The Rules

Okay so this is kind of timely. You'll recall my recent post - the law of change vs superman - highlighted the fallibility of mainstream superheroes in that they are immune to development. Each character has a seemingly infinite number of problems to solve in their geographic landscape. Flash always has another Gorilla or fellow Speedster to find. Green Lantern has a whole universe of aliens picking fights with him. Batman has his asylum of nutbags which, in a touch of pop psychology, are costumed reflections of the caped crusaders original sin of idealizing vigilante justice. Much like the characters found in syndicated sitcoms and children's stories, the development of mainstream heroes is, to retool some old jargin; fridged. A Batman who put away his cape and cowl, or dies, is of no use to the publishers who rely on him to give Two Face the old one-two. 

On that subject...

A few months ago, the writer & artist team of Gerardo Preciado and Daniel Bayliss produced in an original Batman comic and put it up on their blog entitled "The Deal." Here's a link. In the short story they utilized the Batman myoths to tell a unique spin on the Joker-Batman relationship. It's short, dark, exploitative and - most of all - memorable. At the time I thought to myself: "wow, what a great idea it was to tell such a simple yet powerful story and make a name for yourself." It's not like they were exploring uncovered ground, Frank Millar has been publicly postulating the "latent homosexual nightmare" that is the Batman-Joker relationship since The Dark Knight Returns. Darling, that would never make it into the on-going series. That would be like Family Guy going off and killing a beloved character just for the media attention. Oh wait.

So today these two came out with another comic and I think it's just as good...maybe even a little better despite its length. Check it out on BleedingCool with a little analysis here.  Now what is this? Is it art? Is it exploiting the myoths? Both probably, but regardless of your opinion, it's memorable and it goes to the heart of what is wrong at the core of mainstream comic book culture. The stories don't end. The heroes are on a never-ending loop of similar adventures. Some die, then they come back or are re-tooled, some hook-up, but nothing ever changes. The humanity, or reality, of these characters is never fully explored. Why? Because Superman fights bad guys who show up every week and so does the Justice League and the Avengers. That's just what they do... and the day that stops happening is the day emotionally subnormal fans everywhere loses their collective minds and start asking questions that are not in accordance with what is best for business. The fish bowl, if you will, has curved glass because that's just what's best for business.  The target audience defines the content and the publishers have stock holders to think of...nuff said.

Nightwing's a Female Hipster Now?

So I just read an article, well a blog by Cody Connelly, which was aggregated by BleedingCool for my viewing pleasure.  In it he discusses some potentially heart-breaking news for "wing-nuts" (outdated and regrettably uncreative terminology for fans of the DC Comics character Nightwing) that Scott Snyder will debut a female Nightwing in Batman #28.  Now before you get all flippant about spoiler warnings this is going to be one of those possible future issues that we're all so fond of...ya know, the ones that are only canon insofar as the publishers plans stay set in stone for months and years at a time. Done laughing yet? Hey Damian is still dead. That's right, SHUT UP.  Anyhoo, here's what Snyder had to say about the issue to his Twitter followers the other day:

"Then I started thinking about all the crazy plans we have in BATMAN, and in BATMAN ETERNAL (the weekly), for Gotham of 2014, and I figured: what if, as a thank you to you guys for all the support, we took a month off from Zero Year right at the halfway point, and instead did a special issue that showed you what's coming up in the world of Batman AFTER ZY? Not an issue that cuts to the present, but one that actually shows you a glimpse of the FUTURE of Batman - Gotham circa summer 2014? So I got to talking with the other Gotham writers, and we agreed that with all the crazy stuff that's going to happen in 2014 - and my goal above all in 2014 is to keep things daring and fun - it'd be a thrill to do a total spoiler issue. A stand-alone issue that takes place in the near future and reveals all sorts of massive surprises coming to Gotham in the spring of summer of 2014."

 So forgetting all the times that comic fans have been told that the contents of an issue on sale this or next month contains future spoilers, like a future for the Teen Titans where Beast Boy is the lone survivor or something even more believable like a Batman future where Terry McGinnis has taken over the role for good, lets take this one with more than a grain of salt because it is the New 52 after all... anything is possible in this era. The Batman Eternal print line has a lot of room to play with and there are a few female characters waiting in the wings (ha-ha) so you never know.  Now lets take a look at the design because I think it's got some real promise. First off, the design just screams Cos-Play win! This is a great brand for fangirls to rally around because of the long-standing legacy of the brand which leaves for lots of storyline potential. The color scheme is a callback to the original Nightwing design, which is a wise because, really what was wrong with that? The decision to make Nightwing red in the New 52, I think, had more to do with the Robin brand in making Nightwing a more visible extension of the Robin identity.

Anyways, here's what Connelly thinks the story on all this is: "While this is purely speculation, I have a feeling Harper Row will take on the role of Nightwing. The character depicted in the Nightwing design does look like her and the costume fits her style. Also, it would make since for a character that Snyder created to take on the role and become a full -fledged member of the Batfamily."

Dead on Connelly! Or, at least, I hope your right because that sounds like a great decision. Harper Row has all the makings of a home run character. Introduced in the pages of Snyder's Batman the character is described on ComicVine as a "young, punky Gotham City electrical engineer who wants to assist Batman in repayment for protecting her brother and her from assult, much to Batman's frustration." Not only that, but her abusive criminal father has given her a some anger issues and likely a few shady backstories to boot. Her harsh personality is softened by her protective streak as expressed through her relationship with her little brother Cullen.
 
Of note, while Cullen is gay, which draws ridicule from his father and provides Harper another reason to be at odds with him and in the right with us, so far she appears to be straight and could therefore  make her a potential love interest for a Tim Drake or some lucky nice guy vigilante in the long run. Then again, how about a nerdy normal guy - how's that for a social mirror effect? Cos-Play FTW. Anyways, she's smart, punky, kicks bad guys and will make a great addition to the Bat-family so long as they don't play the chords of this cliche too hard. One nose earring and some daddy issue sub-text goes a long way. I digress. Sure hope they don't kill Grayson altogether. While I think this is going to be a lot better than the 2007 model in which Jason Todd was to take over the mantle after Nightwing died a forgettable death in the pages of Infinite Crisis - I think they would be leaving way too much money on the table to get rid of him entirely at this point. Plus, with his identity public knowledge, there is room for a new Nightwing whereas there are plenty of other stories available for an off-the-radar Dick Grayson.

He could be a new Steve Trevor or a Green Lantern or something.  Even a bad guy for a minute, though I'm against that for a bunch of reasons...but lets leave that for another rant.

The Law of Change Versus Superman

                                                     The Web of Suspended Fandom

A few months ago I was struck by an article that appeared in the Guardian from Sir Alan Moore, who for those not in the know, is one of the most powerful beings in the comic book zeitgeist.

He is like the Watcher of the Marvel Universe - if the Watcher was too cool to care about the Marvel Universe.  Better analogy is that he is the Jesus of comics in the way that his works are considered sacred and his perspective that of an omniscient narrator but that would imply maybe a bit too much...that's fine though, this is a rant so you can get used to a few misfires but Moore wrote some of the best stuff the medium has ever seen so if he has grown a little jaded or bored of mainstream comics than so be it. Hell, that's cool, like this guy to my right.  At least he's willing to open up and share his opinions from time-to-time.
 

"The only thing an actor owes the public is not to bore them"

So call me "emotionally-subnormal" if you will, but I find it endlessly interesting when successful people greet the industry that worships them by saying something like "it's no big deal anyone can do it - please now go make your own legacy and give me some privacy." While we all like to believe that our appreciation of their work warrants us a little respect and - some might dare say - appreciation from our heroes if we were to ever meet them and express our appreciation for their work but that's just not always going to be the case. The stars are different from us lowly maggots of fandom.  Like Marlon Brando who, in addition to a myriad of other memorable quotes about the less-than-reverential nature of acting and dieting, once said: "acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. It's a bum's life. Quitting acting, that's the sign of maturity." The question asks itself; was he just talking about how people act in real life or the profession? Either way, I think Brando would get this.

Anyway, lets get back to comic books.  This Alan Moore fellow has spoken out against how his work is perceived in the broader context of the entertainment industry for years. One of my favorites to point out is his feelings on the adaptations of Watchmen. His beloved revisionist superhero story starring a cast of original characters in a self-contained mystery that served as my personal entry point into the world of comic books. The stories heroes, or rather its main characters as there are no real heroes in Watchmen (brilliance) are unique interpretations of contemporary archetypes and the story reads like a novel that goes to great lengths to demonstrate the unique endowments of the medium. Personally, I like to describe a good comic book akin to reading a novel and going to an art museum at the same time. When a writer and artist find the right synergy between their disciplines and create something that is more than the sum of its parts. This happened for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons with this one.

It includes a thorough examination of the psychological implications of a normal human being receiving the powers of a God. As opposed to Superman, who exists in a vacuum filled with weekly visits from powerful monsters to defeat in time to write an article about it, Jon / Dr. Manhattan is stripped of all humanity before recognizing its value on strictly a cosmic level before musing that he will create some...all within 12 issues. Where are those conflicts brought to light in the first thousand or so issues of Superman? Whatever, here is a little commentary on the Guardian article courtesy of BleedingCool.com, with analysis provided by Hannah Means Shannon, which I highly recommend.

The key quotation that Shannon highlights is as follows: I hate superheroes. I think they’re abominations. They don’t mean what they used to mean. They were originally in the hands of writers who would actively expand the imagination of their nine- to 13-year-old audience. That was completely what they were meant to do and they were doing it excellently. These days, superhero comics think the audience is certainly not nine to 13, it’s nothing to do with them. It’s an audience largely of 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-year old men, usually men. Someone came up with the term graphic novel. These readers latched on to it; they were simply interested in a way that could validate their continued love of Green Lantern or Spider-Man without appearing in some way emotionally subnormal. This is a significant rump of the superhero-addicted, mainstream-addicted audience. I don’t think the superhero stands for anything good. I think it’s a rather alarming sign if we’ve got audiences of adults going to see the Avengers movie and delighting in concepts and characters meant to entertain the 12-year-old boys of the 1950s.

The truth of the matter is that, it is emotionally-subnormal to become continually enraptured by the exploits of characters that have been living the same stories for decades upon decades. How many times can Superman save the day before it gets old, asks a normal 12 year old boy from the 1950's or anytime. What is the point of reading about this character when his choice is always the same and his endowments are impossibly unattainable. What about Batman, how many times can we read about a man with a bunch of gadgets, karate and great timing defeat a never-ending supply of costume-clad criminals as well as the occasional immortal or monster? Why? Because his parents got killed in the bad part of town so now he has to be a symbol of fear for criminals within his hometown. Not even the tri-state area? Apparently the Flash takes care of everything else. Tuff lyfe.

Spider-Man and Green Lantern are driven by guilt were given their powers and are now doomed to use them to stop every bad thing that they hear about forever...they will never age because that depletes their marketability. Nor can they ever get married because that's too limiting - the publishers need some sexual tension to help sell these books. Cause if they sell enough books then they can get funding for one of those 300 million dollar Hollywood adaptations - which will help sell a lot more books and action figures. Keep the machine running. The fans will love it because whenever that happens their questionable passion gets affirmed on a mainstream level. Who knows? Maybe after a few more Avengers movies they will come out with a comic book bar that plays those movies, sells the action figures and lets you read the books amidst other people caught in this web. Self-loathing can be a thing of the past once we get a few more excuses in there.

In short, Alan Moore is always right about comic books. Now Grow Up.

You too.