Gareth S. Young - - 1000 Trillion Suns

A quick, spoiler-free #WonderWoman review... I went to see this movie fearing the worst. DC have not had the best track record of late and there seemed to be seventy years of expectation resting on Gal Gadot's shoulders. Turns out, my fears were misplaced. DC have finally found a better balance in tone for one of their movies, and, in Gal Gadot, they have an excellent Wonder Woman. Director Patty Jenkins has made no secret of the fact she's a fan of 1978's Superman, and there are a couple of visual nods to the classic Christopher Reeve movie. However, the spirit of Superman is most obvious in the chemistry between Diana and Steve Trevor, something that's been sadly lacking from the other DCEU movies. And most notably absent from the newer Superman movies. Gadot owns the role and gives us much of what DC/WarnerBros missed the mark on with their "grim dark" superhero universe so far: optimism, charm, kindness, and humor - despite the wartime setting. ...

...Hughes! AH! Adam Hughes is an American comic book artist, primarily known for his pin-up style art and his extensive work as a cover artist on a large number of comic books. Including long runs on Wonder Woman and Catwoman. Cover Artist Hughes has no formal art training. He learned his trade alongside other artists as he picked up work, first with independent publishers and then DC comics. His intricate style didn't lend itself well to the quick turnaround required for monthly comic books, so Hughes concentrated more on cover work and in the late '90s began a four year run doing cover art on Wonder Woman for DC, while also doing covers on Tomb Raider for TopCow, establishing himself as a much sought after cover artist. Sexy or Sexist? On top of his cover work, Hughes started designing statuettes for Sideshow collectibles, the first of which - Mary Jane Watson (Spider-man's girlfriend/wife) - caused a huge stir because many thought it was a...

...Elseworlds! DC comics, blessed with three of the most iconic super-heroes in the history of the medium - The "Trinity" of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman - created an imprint in the late 80s that would feature "imaginary" stories set in alternate timelines or realities. These stories would be released under the imprint of Elseworlds. Gotham by Gaslight In 1989, the first of the Elseworlds story, Gotham by Gaslight, was released. Featuring Batman, but set in Victorian times, the caped crusader has to hunt down Jack the Ripper who has come to Gotham to continue his murder spree. Although not officially branded with the Elseworlds logo, Gotham by Gaslight is considered the first of the Elseworlds books. Superman: Red Son One of the most lauded and critically acclaimed Elseworlds story was Superman: Red Son, which wonders what would've happened if the baby Kryptonian had crash landed in a farm collective in the Soviet Union inste...

Next year, Captain America celebrates his 75th birthday. No doubt the comics will celebrate this in fine style, and it's just been announced that ABC, the television wing of Disney, will be showing a 1 hour  75th Anniversary Special . Later in the year there is, of course, a third Captain America movie -  CIVIL WAR  - to be devoured by the fans. And all of this is great. I'm a fan of comics, movies and Cap, so I'm on board for all of it. What is interesting though is how OLD all of this comic book stuff is. DC's Holy Trinity There's a lot of excitement for DC's upcoming Batman versus Superman movie and the first "on screen" appearance of the Big 3  - Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman - together in one movie. Warner acquired Time Inc. in 1989 and with it, DC comics. About ten minutes later, a Batman movie was announced. That it's taken more than 25 years to get the Big 3 together is baffling to me. Supes, Bats and WW are three of the...