Fanzing Archives

Features

Compiled by David R. Black and Michael Hutchison

Features Elastic Wars - Elongated Man vs. Plastic Man as the JLA's stretchable team-member. -- Michael Hutchison Steel Movie Review - Was Shaq's superhero movie a joke or a masterpiece? -- Michael Hutchison Off On A Tangent -- Tangent Week reviewed. -- Michael Hutchison Women of the DCU More than just Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Supergirl! -- Michael Hutchison Secret Files 1998 -- The 1998 roster of DC's popular character-specific magazines -- Michael Hutchison Anything For A Laugh -- Will people ever pay to read humor again? -- Michael Hutchison "I See Batman In A Dress" -- Is there any hope for a good Batman film? -- Michael Hutchison A Complete History of the JLA! -- The post-Crisis history of DC's premier superteam. -- Michael Hutchison Blue and Gold -- DC's OTHER Dynamic Duo -- Ed Dillon JLA: Silver Age to Today -- Bruce Bachand shares his thoughts on the JLA's publishing history. JLA: Paradise Lost -- A review of Zauriel's miniseries Bruce Bachand Look! Up In The Sky! -- The History of Flight in the DCU -- Michael Hutchison Superman Lives? Maybe Not! -- The Superman Film Franchise Gets Off To A Lacklustre Start; We Cast OUR Superman Movie -- Michael Hutchison The Hal vs. Kyle Thing -- Does this really need any explanation? -- Ed Dillon The Bad Decisions That Be -- How to wreck a great character in 3 months -- Michael Hutchison Dark Knight Redux -- Recalling one of the turning points in the comic book industry. -- Jon Karl Franklin Haynes The Golden Age, Thomas Era & Beyond -- Including plans for a new JSA! Green Lantern: The Movie -- A cast, plot and pictures! -- Michael Hutchison with Chad Sanborn DCU Humor -- Realistic superhero origins; Top 10 signs you're reading an Elseworlds; Top 10 signs you're living in the DCU -- Ratbat Happy Birthday, Superman! -- Superman's 60th Anniversary is the beginning of celebrations for many pivotal DC characters. -- Ed Dillon The Forgotten Superman -- The Golden Age Man of Steel gets a little respect. -- Bruce Bachand The Greatest Stories Ever -- We look at our favorite mini-series, maxi-series, one-shots and story arcs. -- Fanzing Staf f JLA: The Movie -- An exclusive review of the never-released pilot! Includes a downloadable wallpaper. -- Michael Hutchison The Titans Do Oprah -- They promised themselves they wouldn't cry! -- Louise Freeman Davis The Three S's -- Sidekicks, Spouses & Supporting Characters -- Michael Hutchison How To Do Magic -- Writing magic characters -- Michael Hutchison Redheads Review -- Discussing "A Crown To The Aged" -- Marilee Stephens Dark Knight Detective? -- How much detective work does Batman do? -- Dave Ziegler & Louise F. Davis The Dibny Mystery Casebook -- Elongated Man's run in Detective Comics -- Michael Hutchison In Memorium -- We mourn the passing of Batman creator Bob Kane and Roddy McDowell Crisis on Infinite Earths -- Bruce Bachand -- Crisis, Zero Hour, Hypertime and beyond. Ret-Cons Revisited -- Michael Hutchison -- Recounting the post-Crisis changes. Troubled Waters -- Tracy Mallon -- Charting Batman and Robin's break -- up. Leisure of Super -- Heroes -- Chaim Mattis Keller -- The private lives of the LSH Home Town Boy Makes Good -- Benjamin Grose -- Heard of this young man named Kent? Private Lives -- Bruce Bachand -- When heroes just hang around. Hypertime -- M. Hutchison and C. Keller -- Our editor and sci -- fi writer discuss DC's newest threat to continuity! Yo Ho Ho and a Battle of Bats -- Louise Freeman Davis -- Louise recaps her favorite Batman Elseworlds, Leatherwing Why Impulse Sells -- Michael Hutchison -- Just one opinion, mind you. Elseworlds -- Bruce Bachand -- Origins, Observations and the Future You're kidding, right? -- the staff -- Comics we thought were jokes. In Defense of Joel Schumacher -- Matt Morrison -- That's a thankless job! Tamaran -- Marilee Stephens -- The planet that made Krypton look lucky. Sci -- Fi Characters of the DCU -- Chaim Mattis Keller -- A chronicle of future history. A tribute to John Broome -- We mourn one of the Silver Age's founders. Who The Hell Is Donna Troy? -- Alan Kistler-- Getting to the Bottom of this Origin Nightwing Chat -- Alan Kistler-- A glimpse at the Titans' leader Legacy of the Hero -- Mario di Giacomo-- An historic look at sidekicks Suicide Squad -- Jason Tippitt-- 5 Years of Treachery, Death, and...Redemption? The Trickster -- Matt Morrison-- The Man Who Sold the World Superman: The Movies-- Michael Hutchison -- Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Christopher Reeve film My Hero-- Fanzing's staff and readers -- Assorted writings and art on our favorite characters A Long Talk With A Long Guy-- Michael Hutchison -- Michael interviews his fave, Elongated Man WingNuts-- The Wingnuts -- There were so many Nightwing fans, we gave them their own section! HOW TO SAVE THE COMICS INDUSTRY!-- Michael Hutchison -- Editor Michael Hutchison and numerous industry pros on how to revitalize the comics economy. Includes thoughts by Chuck Dixon, Ty Templeton, Mark Waid, Tom Bierbaum, John Ostrander, Steven Grant, Mike Carlin and Devin Grayson How to Save The Comic Book Industry: An Opposing Viewpoint-- Mario Di Giacomo-- Mario offers a few alternate ideas for changing the industry. The Death of Superman: A Writer's Escape -- Mark Gillins-- Mark takes you back to the Mother of all Superman events! Death and the High Cost of Comics-- Michael Hutchison -- Why are characters killed off? Dueling Crisises, Part One:-- Gary Ancheta -- Crisis On The Infinite Worlds #s 1-3 Dueling Crisises, Part Two:-- Alan Kistler -- The Post-Crisis Crisis Crisis On The Infinite Planets #s 4-6-- Gary Ancheta -- Gary continues his take on the Crisis as it happened post-Crisis! Crisis on the Infinite Planets #s 7-12-- Gary Ancheta -- Gary's take on the post-Crisis Crisis concludes. No Man's Land: Review -- Matt Morrison-- Re-capping 1999's year-long event in the Batman titles. Batman Can Kick Everyone's Butt?-- Michael Hutchison -- A Plea For Sanity Primal Force -- David R. Black-- Plot synopses and background info on the short-lived but intriguing supergroup. The Force of July-- David R. Black -- Heroes or Villains? You be the judge! The Freedom Fighters-- David R. Black -- Timeline and Bios for more Quality Comics characters than you knew existed! The Legion of Screwed-Up People -- Chaim Mattis Keller-- Discover the shocking secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes when they go on Jerry Springer! So You Want To Be A Hero?-- Matt Morrison -- A look at the superhero MUX. Flash: What Doesn't Work -- Michael Hutchison-- How can you fight Flash, really? Super Speed: Not As Easy As It Looks-- Mark Gillins -- Being part of the Speed Force doesn't fix everything! Chain Lightning and the Dark Flash Made Simple -- Matt Morrison -- Didja get lost somewhere in the last year and a half of Flash comics? Matt helps you make sense of it all! A Fanzing Tribute to Charles Schulz-- the Staff of Fanzing-- Okay, so it's not DCU-related. But we can fix that! Gil Kane Remembered-- by Kent "Cheeks" Orlando-- Kent, that wise old, old, old wizard of Silver Age knowledge, tells us exactly what made Gil Kane one of comicdom's greatest artists! 80 Page Giant Introduction-- Matt Morrison Major Anouncement #1-- Michael Hutchison -- A month off. Major Anouncement #2-- Michael Hutchison -- T-SHIRTS! How To Write The JLA Like Grant Morrison-- Michael Hutchison -- A bit of advice for JLA's new writer, Mark Waid. Includes Fanzing's Ultra-Cool Grant Morrison Gibberish Generator©! The Problem With Batman's Crotch-- Michael Hutchison -- A lecture on one of modern man's most pressing issues of the day. A Treatise Upon Kyle Rayner's Ring-- Matt Morrison Stand By Your Guy-- Erik J. Boklund & Melissa Wilson-- In defense of Guy Gardner Homeowner's Guide To Babs Repair-- Michael Hutchison-- Can Oracle ever walk again? Where, Oh Where Has My Green Arrow Gone?-- Matt Morrison-- A brief history of a long wait. The ULTIMATE J.L.A. Line-Up Discussion-- Michael Hutchison-- The latest (but hardly the last) entry in the "Most Over-Discussed Online Discussion EVER"...namely, Who Should Be In The JLA?. Why Characterization Counts-- Charles Glasgow-- ChuckG lets fly with a rant! Save Superman the Animated Series-- Benjamin Grose-- Ben tells us how! Makin' Movies-- Steven "Conduit" Conroy--Our resident fan movie artist explains how he does what he does. What Does Fanzing Mean?-- Erik Burnham Dr. Ennis-- Michael Hutchison -- How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Hitman Reflections on Superman-- J. Morton The Main Event-- Michael Hutchison -- Plastic Man vs. Elongated Man vs. Mr. Fantastic in a 3-way bout! Comic Return Policies and the Retailer's Bad Rap-- Blake Ragsdale -- A little enlightenment about how the distributions system works. A Little Bit of Nepotism -- It's all a matter of who you know! The DC Implosion-- David R. Black -- An overview of DC's problematic 1970s publishing schedule. Includes a timeline! Memories of L.E.G.I.O.N.-- Chaim Mattis Keller -- A canceled favorite! Is Wonder Woman Gay?-- Michael Hutchison -- Also answers the questions "Why doesn't Wonder Woman have a man?" and "Just how stupid are these Amazons anyway?" Is Batman Gay?-- Michael Hutchison -- Since You Asked... Where Was Batman?-- Decaf -- Batman's whereabouts during the major DC events. The Trouble With Comic Fans & Comic Movies-- Bill Kte'pi -- Do fans actually hinder the making of superhero movies? Post-Structural Observations on the JLA and Stormwatch in the 21st Century-- Bruce Bachand -- Just what the title indicates! The Most Powerful Man In Comics -- Decaf -- Batman as a sales force Whence Came Plastic Man?-- Michael Hutchison -- Is he a Golden Ager or not? The Concept of 'Family' in Starman-- David J. LoTempio-- Starman may be one of the most family-oriented comics today David Knight: The Pre-Robinson Years-- David R. Black-- The readers' first introduction to David Knight in "Starman" Convention Report-- Michael Hutchison-- Chicago Wizard World 2000 Multimedia: Heroes Mural-- Jas Ingram Multimedia: Villains Mural-- Jas Ingram -- Rotating QuickTime VR movies! Let's Go Back To Earth!-- Jack Morman-- The JLA/JSA crossovers Opinion: What Went Wrong?-- Rupert Griffin-- Comparing the modern Batman and Superman to the Silver/Bronze Ages. The Batman Protocols-- Adrian Tullberg-- What ARE Batman's specific plans for dealing with the Justice Leaguers? Bumper Stickers-- Michael Hutchison -- Can you match the bumper sticker to the hero? Growing Pains-- John Wells -- The Nightwing Timeline Only In The Eighties-- Rupert Griffin -- A danged foreigner weighs in on how the New Teen Titans were portrayed in the Reagan era. Once We Were Macho-- Rupert Griffin -- Dick Grayson and Masculinity. If you thought Rupert's take on 1980s Americans raised some eyebrows...hoo boy! Dick and Babs-- Duane Thomas -- Let's talk about our relationship.... There's Something About Nightwing-- Matt "Stars" Morrison-- Oh, dear. Raant-- Michael Hutchison -- Let's get on the same page about Adam Strange, OK? DVD Review-- Rupert Brown -- "Supergirl" Special Edition DVD Welcome to the Lost World-- D.J. LoTempio -- Never heard of the Warlord? D.J. will introduce you! The Warlord Reading Guide-- David R. Black -- A summary of all 133 Warlord issues plus guest appearances! Warlord Character Profiles-- Black & LoTempio -- Tara! Shakira! Ashir! They're all here! The Quotable Warlord -- Black & LoTempio -- A compilation some of the best dialogue from the Warlord series! The Siren of Sword and Science!-- David R. Black -- A look at the original Starfire (not that orange skinned Tamaranian)! On The Wing-- Constance Cochrane --- Why read Birds of Prey? Confessions of a Comic Book Addict-- David R. Black--- 12 reasons why comics are great! Nightwing No More! by David R. Black & Michael Hutchison--- It needed to be said. The Racial Justice Experience - by John Wells -- Diversity In The DCU: '61 - '79 The Racial Justice Experience II - by John Wells -- Diversity In The DCU: "79 - Today Black Power or Blaxploitation? - by Rupert Griffin-- On Black Lightning's Afro Wig and Black Heroes in comics Batman Not Beyond Censorship - by Michael Hutchison-- An analysis of the changes to Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. My 712 Day Fast - by Mark Gillins-- Sharky says good-bye. The Reign of Terra-Man - by John Wells - The lowdown on the Superman rogue and eco-terrorist! Pittsburgh Con Report - by David R. Black - The inside scoop on the 2001 Pittsburgh Comic Con! Power Boys and Hyper Men - by John Wells - Discover the parallel lives of Superboy, Power Boy and Vartox. In Memorium - by Michael Hutchison - In memoriam of Fanzing's Bob Riley: 1970-2001 Hitchhiker's Guide to the 30th Century - by John L. Censullo --Read all about the geography of the future! How the Legion was Saved -by Brad Parnell - An appreciation of Dave Cockrum's art The Artists of the Decade - by Bonita Del Rio - A subjective and untrained analysis of the Legion artists from the past four decades If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It - by Brad Parnell - Against the Reboot Legion Building a Better Tomorrow - by Nicolas Juzda - For the Reboot Legion 30th Century World Politics - by Todd Schoonover -- A political primer on the worlds of the 30th century! The Earthwar Saga: Nearly A Quarter Century Gone - by Rick Bennett-- A review of the epic storyline! The Legion Academy Curse -by Matthew E. Childers -- Why being a Legion trainee isn't such a good idea The All-Inclusive, Multi-Reality Legion of Super-Heroes Roster -- by John L. Censullo-- Can't figure out who's who pre-Crisis, post-Crisis and after the reboot? This'll help! The Confusing Sexuality History of Element Lad -- by Chris Companik --So is he, or isn't he? Legion of Customized Action Figures - by Chris Galdieri -- Can't wait for DC Direct? Here's a peek at Chris's custom made figures! The Five Year Gap - by John L Censullo -- A cohesive chronology of that missing period in the Legion's history. Diversity in the Legion of Super-Heroes -- by David J. LoTempio - One of the most diverse casts ever still has its social problems. Legion Characterization: The Best and Worst -- by Todd Schoonover -- How does the characterization in the new Legion compare to the old? Whatever Happened To The Cineplex? - by Ye Olde Editor Parallels Between Fiction and Reality - by David R. Black -- All about Steve Savage (Balloon Buster) and his real-life counterpart Frank Luke Our Fighting Forces -- by John Wells - Bios on tons of war heroes, from the Revolutionary War to the present! Armageddon 2001: Ten Years Later - by David R. Black - A look back at the 2001 futures proposed for DC characters in 1991 The Rock Of Easy - by John Wells - The Life and Times of Sgt. Rock All-Out War Quiz - by Michael J. Condon - Can you solve it before the enemy does? Long Live Le Livitz Legion - by Michael J. Condon - An affectionate if persnickety look at the Levitz era Legionnaires The Many Deaths of Miss America - by John Wells - You would think a character named Miss America would get some respect! The Wonder Family - by Carol Strickland - It's Impossible! But some of those impossible tales really happened! The Barren Earth: An Appraisal - by D.J. LoTempio - All about swordswoman Jinal Ne' Comarr! The Duke of Deception - by John Wells - The scoop on Wonder Woman's golden age foe! Wonder Woman Quiz - by Michael J. Condon - Can you solve it before the Amazons do? The Diana Prince Era - by Carol Strickland - Truly, Modly, Deeply: Wonder Woman issues #179-204 Happy Birthday, Plastic Man! - by Edward Buckler It's Plastic Man's 60th birthday, too! JLA: Justice League Afterlife - by David R. Black - Think OWAW was bad? Here's the lowdown on the worst (and best) deaths in the JLA! Etta Candy - by John Wells - From sidekick to sidetracked, the tale of Etta Candy. Looking Back Already - by Rupert Griffin - Notes on Comics and Comic Trends in the Nineties Aliens of the DCU Quiz - by Michael Condon - Can you solve it before the Rannians do? Fanzing At The Movies - by Nicolas Juzda - Nicolas reviews a whole slew of summertime movies! JLA Casebook: "Terror Incognita" - by Bruce Bachand - A Waid-ian Retrospective: Issues #55-#56 reviewed Green Arrow Reading Guide - by Matt Morrison - An amazing overview of all modern age Green Arrow issues and annuals! Emerald Archers and Boy Bowmen - by John Wells - An in-depth history and commentary on Green Arrow, complete with a checklist of appearances! Why Do Archers Get All the Hot Chicks? - by Andrew Pellerito - Hmmm, here's an interesting theory... Green Arrow: The First Decade - by John Wells - Recapping GA's golden age adventures, gadgets, and gizmos! Is Green Arrow A Metahuman? - by Nicolas Juzda - We do know he's a bloody good shot! Hard Travelling Heroes - by Rupert Griffin - Rethinking the Sixties: O'Neil and Adam's classic Green Lantern and Green Arrow team up, thirty years later The Coveted Demographic Speaks - by Lee Spriggs - How can the comics industry attract new, younger readers? Why not listen to what the next generation has to say! Metal Men - by Michael Hutchison - How can the Metal Men robots really be human beings? Robot To Ruin - by Andrew Pellerito - Does Cyborg of the New Teen Titans really work anymore? What A Time To Be A Geek! - by Michael Hutchison - Smallville, The Tick, Enterprise...and Justice League! It's the 30th Century...Do You Know Where Your Robots Are? - by Chaim Mattis Keller - Robots and the Legion mythos. In Defense of Trade Paperbacks - by Brian MacDonald - A well balanced look at the pros and cons of TPBs! JSA Chronology - by John Wells - A definitive and exhaustive look at the world's first superteam! The Trouble With the Titans - by Andrew Pellerito - The second generation super team has been in a rut recently... Major Announcement! - by Michael Hutchison - The Fanzing Reboot! One Strike and You're Out - by David R. Black - A look at a trio of limbo-ized characters from First Issue Special Paroled from Limbo - by Douglas Ethington - How long did your favorite character reside in limbo before being released?

April Fools Features Rejections Revisited-- Nicolas Juzda-- Nicolas tells all about his rejected Fanzing stories Imp-ossible Court Cases-- Michael Hutchison-- Superman and Mr. Mxyzptlk head to the Supreme Court! The The Clown Prince reviewed-- Rupert Griffin and Matthew Minnich-- Read all about TinTin's teamup with Batman! Interview: William Wininiski-- David R. Black -- The writer of A Date With Debbi tells all!