Thursday, July 31, 2008

IS HALF A HANCOCK BETTER THAN NONE?

I'm a fan of Will Smith and a fan of Black Superheroes so when Hancock came out I got in line to see it. I worked to subdue my negative expectations and for the most part succeeded. I didn't hate the movie. I didn't love it either. I was just that there was something missing. As far as I'm concerned, it could have been a made for TV movie.

What would I have changed? During the second half of the movie, if you still haven't seen it then don't read any further, they talked about him having been around since the Egyptian days. Now that, I would have loved to see more of. A Black Superhero that had been around forever, leading people into their greatness generation after generation would have been awesome. It would have really spoke to the character's plight and how far he had fallen. That story within itself only showed up as an inadequate, conversational, explanation to Hancock's origins. I've only briefly perused the original source material, Tonight, He Comes, but I know the movie could have been better...much better. I'm still a Will Smith fan though. I know the movie wasn't written for a Black Man but if it wasn't for Will, there would be one less Black Superhero for children of color to look at.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Black Panther Plus BET

Finally the Black Panther comes to the screen brought to you by Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan. I've always felt that this was the only Black superhero that rightfully had the prefix "Black" in the name. He seemed, and still does, to be perhaps the most positive representation of Black people in comics. That's why I'm more than a bit amazed that this is coming out of BET. I haven't had a reason to watch that network in years due to lack of positive programming. The first look at the animation is great and disappointing at the same time. It's a step up from Flash animation but not to the level of the Batman animated series. Regardless, it still looks great and I am very excited that this is finally happening. Maybe it will pave the way for a live action movie, hopefully with someone other than Wesley Snipes. Take a look at the the attached videos. The first is a sample of the show. The second is an introduction to the show by its creaters and the last is an interview with the people who are bringing it to the small screen. Enjoy!

Who Is The Black Panther?

How Did the Black Panther Come to TV?

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Stronger Than Superman?

the Blue MarvelSo the Blue Marvel is supposed to be stronger than Superman but weaker than Thor? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Anyway, come December there will be a new major Black Superhero on the block. Marvel comics will be presenting the Blue Marvel, not the 1st of their heroes by that name. Apparently this guy started fighting crime in the late 50's in a costume that covered every inch of his skin. When it was found out he was black, the Kennedys asked him to retire so as not to work against a larger civil rights agenda. He's been out of the game since then but apparently still alive and kicking. Marvel comics did something similar when the created the black Captain America.
This newly created hero will be written by an African-American writer by the name of Kevin Grevioux whose work I actually like. Apparently this was his brainchild so I will give him and the Blue Marvel the benefit of the doubt. This is all still new info coming from the Comic con but you can read more about it here. Stay tuned.