Who's Your Author? discussion

A thread for the discussion of comics and manga. I thought I'd kick it off by listing two trades I would recommend to the newbies who are looking to jump into the comic fandom. Both series are easy to follow, witty, and have strong, multi-faceted characters.



Genre: Sci-Fi/War/Love

Alana and Marko are soldiers on opposing sides (planets) that have been at war for so long neither side remembers why they are fighting in the first place. The duo fall in love and have a baby. The governments of both planets object and order the execution of Alana and Marko along with the capture of Hazel (their daughter). Follow the duo as they raise their daughter while fleeing the authorities, bounty hunters, and Marko's ex-fiancée!



Genre: Fantasy/D&D

The title of the first trade sums it up perfectly: sass and sorcery. The book is advertised as the adventures of a D&D group but that doesn't adequately describe the sheer amount of fun in this series. The Rat Queens are an all-female group of mercenaries (fighter, mage, cleric, thief) that fight, party, and drink their way through adventure after adventure. Lots of fun and very quotable.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I thought I would post a list of the top African/African-American characters in comics.

In no particular order...

Marvel Comics -

The Black Panther: T'Challa is the king of Wakanda, a highly advanced yet very isolated country. Olympic level athlete, genius level intelligence, and extremely competent in anything he chooses to pursue. T'Challa's personal desires often conflict with the burdens of ruling a nation. The star of an upcoming Marvel movie, I would recommend reading the first two volumes of Christopher Priest's run - political intruige, romance, super-heroics and two of the most awesome sidekicks in all of comics: Everett K. Ross and Queen Divine Justice.




Luke Cage: Falsely convicted of a crime, Luke Cage participates in an experimental procedure that leaves him with super-human strength and unbreakable skin. Street-wise, tough, and fiercely loyal, Luke will star in his own television series on Netflix in 2015.



Falcon: Sam Wilson should be familiar to the viewers of Captain America: Winter Soldier. The details of his background are different in the comics but he is just as awesome as he was onscreen. Best known for being Steve Roger's partner/best friend, Sam has now assumed the role of Captain America and is currently leading a team of Avengers.



James "Rhodey" Rhodes - Another character who should be familiar to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he's had supporting roles in all three Iron Man movies. His movie character is similar to his comic version. The main difference is he's a Marine in the comics as opposed to an Air Force general. Rhodey is Tony's best friend (a thankless job!) and often substituted for Tony in the armor until he received his own "War Machine" armor.



Monica Rambeau: A very powerful heroine who has undergone a number of name changes (Captain Marvel, Photon, etc). One of the few female leaders of the Avengers and currently starring in the Mighty Avengers.




DC Comics

Cyborg - A character largely known for being a member of the Teen Titans. After a horrible accident, Victor Stone was transformed into a cyborg by his father in order to save his life. Cyborg is now a member of the Justice League.



John Stewart (Green Lantern) - Replaced Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern of Earth. Starred in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon series. Less hard-nosed in the comics than he was in the cartoon - an architect instead of a military veteran.



Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt)- Michael is an Olympic level athlete and one of the smartest man on the planet but is driven to suicide by the death of his beloved wife. The Spectre's interference prevents him from killing himself instead he assumes the mantle of Mister Terrific and dedicates himself to helping others and becomes the leader of the Justice Society of America.



Vixen - Another featured character in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, Mari is a model who has a totem that allows her to gain the abilities of all animals. Vixen has had multiple runs with the Justice League and a prominent role with the Suicide Squad.

Amanda Waller - One of the most unique and ground-breaking women in comics. A middle-aged, overweight woman who can keep a group of insane, super-powered criminals - and Batman! - in line with nothing but her intelligence and pure force of will. After the loss of her husband and several of her children due to crime, Amanda entered the social work program and later became an assistant to a politician. Amanda eventually became the head of the Suicide Squad - a group of super-powered criminals who underwent government missions to reduce their sentences. Easily of the top ten women in comics of all time!

Very cool but you missed my favorite Storm :-)

Storm or Ororo Munroe is an African princess and mutant who possesses the power to control the weather and if memory serves in the comics I think she becomes the Team Leader of the X-Men.

That's who I blanked on! When I was typing the post I knew there was a major one I forgot - Storm is the first "big time" black heroine in comics. She later becomes the wife of the Black Panther and the Queen of Wakanda (the marriage has since been annulled as Marvel and DC seem to have issues with marriages or happy couples in general).

I meant to start a Saga series re-read at the beginning of the month - the series has a strong romantic element - but work interfered - so better late than never!

I highly encourage everyone to check Saga out - even if you aren't a comics fan. Spoilers for Volumes 1 - 4 will be present in the thread. I'm going to start with a character and location list for the newbies. The series is narrated by an adult Hazel. Here we go...

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...


Characters:

Private First Class Alana - Green/black hair. Insect-like wings. Wife of Marko and mother of Hazel. Loves to read books. Former soldier/prison guard.

Alto Soldato Marko - Ram-like horns on head. Long pointed ears. Former soldier and now a magical pacifist. A native of Wreath.

Hazel - Alana and Marko's baby.

Prince Robot IV - Charged with the execution of Alana & Marko along with the capture of Hazel. Robot wants to finish his mission so he can return to his pregnant wife. Traumatized by the events of the war.

The Will - A bounty hunter accompanied by Lying Cat.

The Stalk - A spider-like bounty hunter.

Places:

Landfall - Alana's home planet.
Wreath - Marko's home. Landfall's moon.
Cleave - Alana gives birth to Hazel on this planet.
The Robot Kingdom - The home planet of Prince Robot IV.


Chapter One -

"Am I shi**ting? Because it feels like I'm shi**ing!"
"Just keep pushing. We're so close."
"Seriously, you'll never have sex with me again if I defecate all over you. Unless your secretly into that. Please don't be into that."

We start the series with Alana and Marko - on the run refugees - in an abandoned body shop. Alana is in labor and soon gives birth to a baby girl. The baby has her father's horns and her mother's wings.

"I made a vow, Alana. I'm a father now, not a soldier, and that blade is never again leaving it's scabbard."

"we'll, we don't have to make a final decision until her wing-bleeding."
"What? No way! You said when we started this - no politics, no history, and no more barbaric religious nonsense!
"Wing-bleeding isn't religious, it's...cultural."
"What is cultural about mutilating an infant?

Alana and Marko's argument is interrupted by the arrival of Baron Robot XXIII and his forces who are here to arrest "for abandoning your post and aiding the enemy".

The Baron is prevented from arresting Alana as forces from Marko's home planet have arrived in pursuit of Marko. The two groups eliminate each other and the man who sold Alana and Marko out gives the duo a paper before dying.

Adult-Hazel, the narrator of the series, gives the readers some background info: "I was born on a planet called Cleave, an ancient ball of mud circling a faded old star. It never had much strategic value, but the place still mattered. To me, anyway. See, this is where my parents met, but it's not where they were from. They grew up way over here, back where the war began. This is landfall, largest planet in the galaxy, and also my mother's home. It's one and only satellite is Wreath, my father's native moon. If there was ever a time these two got along, nobody remembers it. ... But because the destruction of one would only send the other spinning out of orbit, both sides began to outsource combat to foreign lands. While peace was restored at home, the conflict soon engulfed every other world, with each species forced to pick a side - planet or moon. Some of the locals never stopped thinking about the battles being waged in their names on distant soil. Most didn't really give a sh**."

A nice summary that states everything you need to know about events previous to the series.

We now travel to the location of Prince Robot IV. Robot IV has finished a two year active combat tour of duty and has reunited with his wife. FYI - the "Robots" are actual robot-like aliens. Special Agent Gate of Secret Intelligence arrives and give us more background on Alana and Marko:

"Name's Alana, drafted after she flunked out of state. ... She was reprimaned for "abject cowardice" her first time seeing action and later redeployed to the planet Cleave. ... a Wreath foot soldier we know only as Prisoner #9763572. Eighteen months ago, he surrendered to coalition forces on a Cleave battlefield. Claimed to be a 'conscientious objector'...we transferred him to a detention facility...where he was guarded by none other than Private First Class Alana. Twelve hours later, they both disappeared."

Gates explains that three months ago Secret Intelligence obtained video footage showing a pregnant Alana and that the couple are wearing wedding rings. Gates informs Prince Robot that the King wants the Prince to "handle the situation". The Prince is not happy about the news as he and his wife wanted to start a family this year.


Off to supper - I'll be back to finish chapter one afterwards.

Chapter 1 continued...

Alana and Marko discover the paper is a map to the "Rocketship Forest" - an area that grows tree-like space ships.

The Will, a "freelancer", is contracted by Wreath representatives to eliminate Alana & Marko in order to "protect troop morale". The Will is accompanied by a Lying Cat - a panther-sized cat that detects lies.

Marko and Alana continue their journey to the Rocketship Forest. Night is approaching and they are debating about whether to seek shelter or to continue. Marko wants to seek shelter because "the Horrors" come out at night and Alana wants to keep going as she feels "the Horrors" are a myth.

"You know what my idea of horror is? Nine months of sobriety. If I could survive that..."

The duo travel over a hill and discover that the war has moved onto this area.

"It's not fair. The frontline was on the other side of the planet last year. How are both of our armies already fighting here?"
"Alana..."
"I know, okay? I was stupid to think we could ever outrun this retarded f***ing war!"

Marko urges Alana to keep the faith - all they have to do is find an alternate route as they have hope on their side.

"If you think I'm calling my daughter that, I want a divorce."
"Seriously? Too corny?"

Chapter One ends with the following narration from Hazel: "My name is Hazel. I started out as an idea, but I ended up something more. Not much more, to be honest. It's not like I grow up to become some great war hero or any sort of all-important savior...but thanks to these two, at least I get to grow old. Not everybody does."