THINGS COMICKAL AND RANDOM

Broken Frontier | Quest for Xena's Soul:

...Dark Xena is the second Xena storyline from writer John Layman and the first for artist Noah Salonga. Taking place prior to the events in Dynamite’s first four-issue storyline titled Contest of Pantheons, Dark Xena links the finale of the Xena television show with the all-new Dynamite comic book series. Longtime fans of the television series can recount how Xena was introduced as a brutal villain but changed her evil ways and set out on a quest for redemption that ended when the warrior princess sacrificed her life to right the wrong she had committed many years ago. Dark Xena bridges the gap between the television series and the comic book series by featuring the sacrifices Xena’s companions were willing to make for her to return, as well as the consequences of her resurrection.

XENA #8 (JAN073533)- WRITTEN BY JOHN LAYMAN, ART BY NOAH SALONGA; COLORED BY CHRIS GARCIA; COVER ART BY: FABIANO NEVES (25%), JONATHAN LAU (25%), PHOTO (25%) AND STJEPAN SEJIC (25%)

As our story concludes, Xena prepares for her wedding to Ares, as Gabrielle and Joxer make their move to save their friend's very soul, all while battling against her new, dark crew. Will they succeed? Or will Xena remain dark at heart and a scourge of the age? Find out in this issue!

Hmm. I was wondering what was going on with this series. It's enjoyable, in pretty much exactly the same way that the series was enjoyable, but also puzzling. Dynamite has been very clear that, with the exception of the one-shot Xena Annual that came out last week, the storylines are supposed to take place after the end of the series, yet it was never clear how they could possibly relate.

It appears, from this summary, that they're going to be doing some picking and choosing from the TV show about what to keep and what to toss. Apart from anything else, the major difficulty with having Gabrielle and Joxer fight for Xena's soul is that (1) Joxer is at least 20 years older than they've been showing him to date, thanks to the Big Sleep that Xena and Gabrielle went through at the beginning of the final season, and, oh yes, (2) Joxer is also kind of dead himself. Killed in the gladiator arena rescuing Xena and Gabrielle and fighting Xena's daughter, or something like that. But nonetheless. Very very dead. Mind, so is Xena, so it's entirely possible that this issue may be dealt with as well.

But ... wedding to Ares? Huh? Wha?


Men Without Tights (slate.com)
Comics that reinvent the superhero genre.
By Dan Kois
Posted Monday, Jan. 22, 2007, at 6:36 PM ET

NBC's series Heroes, about a group of ordinary people who suddenly acquire extraordinary abilities, is among the year's biggest hits—it attracted 16 million viewers for one episode during November sweeps. The show returns Monday night, as the heroes attempt to avert a nuclear explosion in New York. Heroes is but the latest example of a superhero story becoming popular outside the comics medium; movies like Spider-Man and X-Men and TV shows like Lois & Clark and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have all given their protagonists extraordinary powers and achieved success. [...] . Heroes doesn't have a monopoly on humanizing the superhero story, or wrestling with the practical and ethical quandaries of superpowers; many contemporary comics are doing the same...

An interesting list of comics. I'm glad that someone else noticed Heroes' resemblance to Risen Stars; I'd been wondering if it was just me. And I wish I'd known about Living in Infamy when it was being published; I expect it's about impossible to find now. Apparently Comflix is going to animate it for the web, accessable with a small payment, and it's also been optioned for film or television.

To Slate's admittedly brief list, I'd also add Fade from Grace, which was really lovely and heartbreaking. And also the new ongoing Welcome to Tranquility by Gail Simone out of Wildstorm; it's essentially the flipside of Living in Infamy: what happens when superheroes and supervillains get old?