DC The New Frontier frame

At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con, a preview of the upcoming DC: The New Frontier animated DVD due out in February ‘08 was shown. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the animated film is based on the mini-series by Darwyn Cooke and looks at the DC Universe before the Justice League was formed.

The world in which New Frontier is set is quite different from what comic book readers are used to seeing and is therefore ‘out of continuity’ so anyone can read it without worrying which Aquaman they are looking at. A moving tale about comic book super heroes and a more hopeful time for the United States (the early 60’s under President John F Kennedy), I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone I can (which is why I keep bringing it up).

In the book, Wonder Woman liberates a slave labor camp in Korea, despite orders from the President of the United States to stay out of it.

Here’s how that shakes down in the DVD version.

… Awesome.

Darwyn Cooke leaves The Spirit

I just read online that creator Darwyn Cooke will be leaving Will Eisner’s The Spirit with issues #12.

Apparently collaborator J. Bone has become unavailable making the comic an impossibility for Cooke to do on his own.

This is the longest comic book series that Cooke has worked on and a roaring success, so I can only hope that greater things lie in wait for him as a writer and for his fans as well. The series will continue under a new creative team that as of this writing unannounced.

Cooke went on to comment on Frank Miller’s work on the rumored Spirit movie with both excitement and disappointment.

“I think it will be a really fantastic crime movie and it’s probably going to be visually stunning,” Cooke said. “But I think his interpretation seems just a little one-sided to me. He seems to be concentrating on the sex and violence, from what his interviews indicate. I always thought the strip had so much more depth to it than that. Those were elements that helped drive many of the stories but I don’t think they were what the strip was about. And I think at the end of the day, as nasty as the business was that [the Spirit] gets involved in, it’s a hopeful strip. It’s got optimism at its heart, and humanity. I don’t know that the movie is going to reflect that, but I think it’s probably going to be damn exciting.”

At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con he also had the following to say on new ideas in the comics field:

“… there is no room in the direct market for new ideas. You can go in to DC and pitch new ideas all day long, but they don’t want ‘em. If you want to capture a new audience or take your work out into a broader area that’s something you have to do outside because they’re not built to do that type of work anymore.”

This is something I heard directly from Grant Morrison when I ‘pitched’ my anthology comic book Zebra Magazine to him at a Forbidden Planet signing in New York. To my surprise, he was more than eager to hear all about the stories collected in the book, but his shoulders sank when I finished.

He sighed, saying that comics need the new ideas that I was spewing forth but that DC Comics was ‘locked up solid’ to hearing them and ‘dusty’ with legacies such as the JLA and the big three of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Cooke went on to talk more specifically about the future of the comic book direct market (or monthlies as I like to call them):

“To be quite honest, I think that the direct market comics that we’re all here talking about are on their way to extinction. I don’t see any way around it. It doesn’t matter how much money the Spider-Man movies make, if it doesn’t bring anybody in to buy the comics. This theory’s been floating for twenty years now that these movies will bring people back to comics – it doesn’t work that way. Ask a twelve-year-old kid on the street, he probably thinks Spider-Man was created for the movie, or for the cartoon. He doesn’t know it’s a comic book. Ultimately, the characters will endure in film and animation and other media but I really don’t see how they’re going to survive [in comic-form] past a certain point the way things are going.

“The monthly comic book is becoming less and less important. The collection is the key now. Thirty years ago, before they started collecting this material when books just came out once a month, it would be unthinkable that a book would ship late. It never happened. In the real world if you work at a magazine and that magazine ships an hour late, you’re all fired. That’s just the way the world works. It’s no longer important in this industry whether books ship on time and that should tell you all you need to know about the emphasis being placed on the monthlies. Ultimately, I think we’re going to see graphic novels, manga, superhero books, and everything else in album form in book chains and they’ll have to fight it out with all the other product available, which is I think, the way it should be.”

Words that have hovered like hungry crows over the comic book industry for the past 7-8 years.

With most readers ‘waiting for the collection’ rather than making the trip to the local comic shop and more comic companies catering to that desire with more beautifully produced collections (Absolute Watchmen, Sandman, New Frontier, Batman: Long Halloween… etc), it could be an inevitable reality.

This is probably why, after firming up his reputation by working on super heroes, Cooke is probably looking to the graphic novel for his next two rumored projects; a fairy tale for children and another that will have “sex, and violence and swearing,” and “involves a lot of paranoia and craziness. I think it’ll be a fun read for the adults out there.”

Suggested reading:

Absolute DC: The New Frontier
DC: The New Frontier, Vol. 1
DC: The New Frontier, Vol. 2
Catwoman Vol. 1: The Dark End of the Street (Batman)

Blake’s 7

Created by Doctor Who writer Terry Nation (also creator of the Doctor’s greatest foes, the Daleks) as a ‘Magnificent Seven’ in space, Blake’s 7 is all but unknown in the United States… there’s probably a reason for that.

In 1978, Doctor Who had become it’s own institution. While the series had enjoyed greater heights of success in the past, there was an increase in viewing opportunity due to more families having TV licenses. With such a big audience ready to soak up TV programs, Terry Nation was eager to develop a new kind of sci-fi program.

Nation had already created the Survivors, a post-apocalyptic tale of a small group of survivors who had narrowly escaped death from an accidentally released plague that had wiped out much of the population. It was clear that Nation had a pessimistic world view. By placing his heroes in desperate situations, he found some of his most fantastic ideas. Even from his time at Doctor Who it was clear that Terry Nation was interested in uneven fights. His Dalek stories pitted the Doctor’s great intellect and skills against the sheer power and terror of his dreaded foes and each time the Doctor and audience were united in their worry.

With Blake’s 7, Terry Nation upped the ante by creating an enemy that was the very thing most other sci-fi stories admired and supported, authority.

In the first episode of the series (perhaps the best episode of all four series), the stakes are set up as dire and insurmountable all at once. Everyday guy Roj Blake, living in a future domed city, was taken outside of his comfort and told a duo of deadly secrets:

1. The Federation that supports and governs over the entire planet and all of its many colonies was corrupt and evil.
2. Roj himself once lead the only successful attempt to overthrow the entire Federation before he was captured and brainwashed.

Before Blake could even digest these messages, the small group of revolutionaries he had just met were wiped out by Federation guards. Blake was captured and put on trial for many things, but chief amongst them was corrupting two minors. His previous threat to the Federation was treated as a joke, as if he were a failed rock musician. He offered no defense because he knew that not only was he not guilty, but the whole judicial process was rigged.

His lawyer saw a spark of truth in Blake’s words and after some investigation discovered that the children themselves were brainwashed. Before the lawyer could save Blake, he was assassinated and Blake was sent to prison on another planet.

On the way to prison, Blake encountered the first at many hints at alien life in the form of the starship Liberator. The Liberator was incredibly fast, self-thinking and had a hull that can heal itself. However, the ship seldom answered a simple question with a simple answer and a crew of three, at best five was vital to pilot the craft. Rather than escaping the Federation altogether as his new compatriot Avon suggested, Blake decided to free slaves everywhere and destroy the Federation once and for all.

Five men against an empire. ‘Why not?’ Avon sardonically purred. The next four year’s worth of stories were set in that moment.

While Tom Baker self-consciously mugged at the camera in Doctor Who and offered candy to murderous villains rather than run away in fear, Blake’s 7 gave viewers a more sophisticated program. More adult than Doctor Who and more ‘realistic’ in tone (though this would change in later years), Blake’s 7 was a tougher sci-fi program full of rich characters and situations.To show how ahead of its time it is, many refer to Joss Whedon’s Firefly, which is full of dynamic characters and thrilling story lines as an homage to Blake’s 7.

In talking about Blake’s 7, you’ve also got to talk about the crew.

From cowardly master thief Villa, to sly and clever Jenna, to telepath and terrorist Cally and the gentle giant Gan, Blake had his hands full of those misfits willing to put their lives on the line for the good cause. In addition to the human crew members, there was the addition of Orac, a computer capable of hacking into any computer system remotely… and the most indignant character in the entire program.

Despite the strength of his crew, Blake was second-guessed every step of the way by Kerr Avon, a man so brilliant that he almost hacked into the world bank but was undone by trusting someone else to help. Never one to forget where trusting others got him, Avon was always one step on his way out the door while his other foot was setting him in place to protect his leader, Blake.

As the third series aired, Gareth Thomas who played Blake decided to leave the program. Blake’s fate hung in the air as an ‘is he really dead’ situation, but someone needed to fill his shoes in the meantime. The producers saw Paul Darrow’s Avon as the best fit as an ‘unlikely’ leader and bought the program two more years.

It was an inspired decision and more or less re-created the series. Neither an idealist nor a mythic leader of men, Avon was hard as nails and more brilliant than any person he could manipulate or computer system he could hack into… and he never let anyone forget that. The series continued to grow in its popularity, with both critical and viewing reception remaining high in its entire run. The third and fourth year of the program saw the addition of yet more followers of Blake’s dream including the dynamic Dana, the altruistic Tarrant and sharp-shooting Soolin.

None of the additions to the team could stop the inevitable, however. The final episode reunited Blake and Avon… but it did not go well between the two characters. The finale shocked creator Terry Nation who was not aware of writer Chris Boucher and producer Vere Lorimer’s plans to end the program outright. As the credits ran, many viewers watched in shock… if only for a few moments, as the dull realization that Blake and his crew never stood a chance set in.This is why Blake’s 7 was a success abroad but hardly ever shown in the US. The production values are similar to Doctor Who (wobbly walls, desk chairs on space ships), but the message that of rebellion and terrorism against your own government is not one that I can see US TV producers jumping on.

The final message that authority is unbeatable regardless of whether you like it is similarly grim and we know how Americans hate sad endings. As such, the DVDs are not available for the US market and it’s very unlikely that they will be ever be made so. You can still find the old VHS copies online and I encourage anyone who enjoys TV sci-fi to seek out the first collection as soon as they can.

Blake’s 7 remains popular amongst both fans and the science fiction community to this day. Dennis Potter (The Singing Detective, Pennies From Heaven) based his final work Cold Lazarus on the grim and pessimistic future upheld by Blake’s 7. SFX’s top fifty poll of the most important British telefantasy of all time put Blake’s 7 at number four.

The rumor of revival has hung heavy over Blake’s 7. Soon after the finale aired, Nation and star writer Boucher were hard at work on a mini-series that would follow the aftermath of the finale episode, ‘Blake.’ But it never came to be.

After the success of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, talk resumed on a new Blake’s 7 program, but star Paul Darrow who had become involved in the ownership of the program, did not approve of where the concept was going and pulled out. Life on Mars creator Matthew Graham was at one time involved in a revival, but it is unclear if these ideas will be used.

After talk of a movie, a TV series and an animated series passed, finally something emerged.

Just this year a series of audio adventures starring Robin of Sherwood star Michael Praed aired on BBC Radio. Written by Doctor Who scribe Ben Aaronovitch (Remembrance of the Daleks, Battlefield, Transit) and Marc Platt (Ghost Light, Spare Parts), the series is a radical re-interpretation of the classic program for a new generation.

They could not have gotten better writers to work on it, if you ask me.

Seven years after the initial statement from the BBC that the series would be returning, B7 Productions maintains that their intent is to bring the program back to the TV airwaves. After seeing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy and Doctor Who re-interpreted by some of my favorite British creators, it strikes me that the time is ripe for a comeback.

But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Suggested reading/viewing:

Liberation: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Blake’s 7 (Blakes 7)
Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7: The Programme Guide (Virgin)
Blake’s 7, Vol. 01 VHS – The Way Back / Space Fall
Blakes 7 – Series 1 [Region 2]
Blakes 7 – Series 2 [Region 2]
Firefly – The Complete Series