Dynamite's 'Buck Rogers' brings a hero up to date
With "Buck Rogers," Dynamite has taken yet another iconic character and updated him for today's audiences. It may be their most impressive endeavor to date.
With "
Buck Rogers
," Dynamite has taken yet another iconic character and updated him for today's audiences.
It may be their most impressive endeavor to date.
Why? Because unlike most of the properties in their stable, there have been no projects starring the character in decades.
If you take away the TV show starring Gil Gerard in the 1970s - which disappointed die-hard Buck Rogers fans - there have been no truly memorable stories told starring the character in any medium in a long, long time.
The public and even sci-fi fans were familiar with the name but the actual character was in danger of becoming as irrelevant as Paul Bunyan. Dynamite has taken care of that in a big way.
Comics Guy had never really gotten into the character, so he had no pre-conceived ideas of what a "Buck Rogers" comic should be.
All he knew right away was that the title character looks cool and talks and acts that way. Rogers, as written by Scott Beatty exudes a disarming, everyman charm.
Beatty writes the series with wit and humor. Rogers always seems to find the lighter side of things, whether it's being stranded centuries in the future or finding himself literally cheek-to-cheek with a female ally's assets.
Though some elements have been updated (Rogers is now in the 26th Century for example) the book has a decidedly classic sci-fi feel. Beatty has the characters spouting sci-fi language without having them be overwhelmed with it, as shows like the "Star Trek" spinoffs were accused of; his plot is engrossing and imaginative without indulging in the outlandish excess of Warren Ellis and he eschews the Lucasian need to squeeze scores of highly detailed new creatures into every panel.
Perhaps the best part about this book is that instead of a utopian future like "Star Trek" portrays or the dystopian future presented in countless other novels, TV shows and films, "Buck Rogers" presents a future not much different than our own present, at least as far as man's evolution is concerned. Some things are better, but it's still a violent dog-eat-dog world. It needs someone confident that things can get better. It needs Buck Rogers.
Toss in impeccable John Cassaday covers, stylish art by Carlos Rafael and the bright coloring of Carlos Lopez and you have a book that is simply dynamite.
Caulfield's 'Contropussy'
Actress Emma Caulfield hasn't done much since "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" wrapped six years ago, but with four other creators, she has produced a controversial webcomic called "Contropussy." In an interview with Newsarama, she explained what the title means and how she came up with it. "Contropussy is a state of mind yes, but literally she is a cat who is not unlike an ID personified. On the surface it is a sort of 'Sex and the City' with animals," Caulfield said. "Go deeper and the comic explores human behavior through a different kind of animal. And the name, well Prince gets credit for that. It's a take on his song 'Controversy.'"
'Walking Dead' anew
Unlike many fanboys, Robert Kirkman doesn't insist that the upcoming adaptation by AMC of his fan-favorite zombie comic "The Walking Dead" be 100 percent faithful to the comic. He wants the series to have the same tone, but not tell the same story the exact same way the comics have.
"I really don't want them to do that," Kirkman told Newsarama. "I think 'Watchmen' and the 'Sin City' movies . . . those are really entertaining . . . but I can read the comic. I don't need to have the comic acted out in front of me by a bunch of actors. I like things like 'Iron Man,' where they take the best parts about a lot of different comics and spin it into a new story, and it gets kind of the best parts of everything put together.
"Luckily, I trust Frank Darabont to know what the best parts are and so, I'm hoping that's what we'll end up with 'The Walking Dead,'" Kirkman continued. "I want him to pick and choose and do the best possible version of 'The Walking Dead'as a TV show. While I'm 100 percent sure he'll be doing a 'Walking Dead' show that will be faithful and everyone will enjoy, I hope he veers off in any direction that he sees fit as he comes up with good ideas, because he is a brilliant writer and director.
"It would be absurd for me to sit back here and want him to follow my comic book exactly."
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