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Writers: Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie/ Artists: V Ken Marion, Sandu Florea, Dinei Ribeiro / DC Comics
I have enjoyed every single one of the New Age of DC Heroes titles that have spun out of Metal. The diversity in the titles covers a wide range of characters and genres, each one endearing in its own way. It is a wonderful mix of old school DC mythos reimagined for the modern aesthetic, none more apparent than with the New Challengers.
No one will fault you if you’re not familiar with the original Challengers of the Unknown, a group of adventurers written by Jack Kirby (and friends). It’s a deep cut of DC Comics dating all the way back to the late 1950’s, where a ragtag bunch of misfits with a mysterious benefactor go to various locations to investigate different scientific and paranormal oddities. You’ve probably heard this pitch dozens of times, but listen: the trope works for a reason. The New Challengers succeeds in evoking this scientific pulp fiction. You can’t help but smile at the obtuse references and callbacks.
New Challengers #4 is primarily narrated by Bethany. Snyder and Gillespie’s monologue is a little on the nose at the times throughout the issue, but the camp works in the issue’s favor more times than not. Death is the focal point of the issue, but much like the original tarot card, this isn’t a literal interpretation. There are a lot of decapitated dinosaurs, mummified looking mooks, and other things, so Death may be a little literal. And again, each member of the team also has an hourglass tattoo. It’s campy. It’s still enjoyable.
Trina, Moses, and Krunch get some moments to shine, but the spotlight is really on Bethany. The glimpse into her backstory and the incidental interactions with the grander DC universe make for fun vignettes. Marion, Florea, and Riberio make all the panels pop with vibrant colors and expressive scenes that just make you feel at home reading classic science fiction stories.
Admittedly, you’re going to have to do some research to truly appreciate the scope of what’s going on. At the same time, there’s enough compelling character work to give you something to latch onto.
8.1 “Deaths of Dinosaurs” out of 10
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The post Exclusive: Advance Review of the Latest “New Age of DC Heroes” — New Challengers #4 appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Writers: Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie/ Artists: V Ken Marion, Sandu Florea, Dinei Ribeiro / DC Comics
I have enjoyed every single one of the New Age of DC Heroes titles that have spun out of Metal. The diversity in the titles covers a wide range of characters and genres, each one endearing in its own way. It is a wonderful mix of old school DC mythos reimagined for the modern aesthetic, none more apparent than with the New Challengers.
No one will fault you if you’re not familiar with the original Challengers of the Unknown, a group of adventurers written by Jack Kirby (and friends). It’s a deep cut of DC Comics dating all the way back to the late 1950’s, where a ragtag bunch of misfits with a mysterious benefactor go to various locations to investigate different scientific and paranormal oddities. You’ve probably heard this pitch dozens of times, but listen: the trope works for a reason. The New Challengers succeeds in evoking this scientific pulp fiction. You can’t help but smile at the obtuse references and callbacks.
New Challengers #4 is primarily narrated by Bethany. Snyder and Gillespie’s monologue is a little on the nose at the times throughout the issue, but the camp works in the issue’s favor more times than not. Death is the focal point of the issue, but much like the original tarot card, this isn’t a literal interpretation. There are a lot of decapitated dinosaurs, mummified looking mooks, and other things, so Death may be a little literal. And again, each member of the team also has an hourglass tattoo. It’s campy. It’s still enjoyable.
Trina, Moses, and Krunch get some moments to shine, but the spotlight is really on Bethany. The glimpse into her backstory and the incidental interactions with the grander DC universe make for fun vignettes. Marion, Florea, and Riberio make all the panels pop with vibrant colors and expressive scenes that just make you feel at home reading classic science fiction stories.
Admittedly, you’re going to have to do some research to truly appreciate the scope of what’s going on. At the same time, there’s enough compelling character work to give you something to latch onto.
8.1 “Deaths of Dinosaurs” out of 10
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here!
Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Google+?
The post Exclusive: Advance Review of the Latest “New Age of DC Heroes” — New Challengers #4 appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is a Fortnite superstar. With over 10,000,000 subscribers, the 27-year-old is the most popular streamer on all of Twitch. And in a new interview with Polygon, he’s defended his choice not to stream with female players, essentially branding himself the Mike Pence of online gaming.
In a stream from last month (which now has almost 4 million views on YouTube), Ninja explained why he doesn’t stream with women, saying “This is exactly what happens. I play with another girl streamer, right? A joke would be made, a giggle would happen, and then this is the YouTube video: ‘Ninja Flirting With So-and-So? JGhosty [Ninja’s wife, also a streamer] Angry?’ Like clockwork, a video like that would be up in less than 10 minutes.” He frames that as “a life lesson” for his followers.
It’s true that female streamers face a unique set of hurdles, with many viewers aggressively sexualizing and romanticizing them, rather than respecting them as gamers. They are notoriously subjected to the kind of gossip and rumors Ninja describes here. That’s why it’s so unfortunate that he chooses to perpetuate that treatment of women, rather than work to change it.
Obviously, Ninja is free to stream with whomever he chooses. But he’s also going to be criticized for effectively denying all female streamers, no matter how talented, access to his 10,000,000 followers. Streaming has a persistent reputation as a boys’ club and players like Ninja refusing to ever share that kind of platform with a woman is exactly why. How are women ever supposed to rise to the top of this or any field when they’re actively and deliberately ignored by major players in their industry? (How does one get to be a major player in the first place? By forging connections with other players and offering each other shared exposure.)
By refusing to play with female streamers, he may feel like he’s staying out of things. But in reality, he’s only reinforcing the idea that female streamers should be avoided, that they come with drama attached, and that there is an inherent sexualization when playing with them.
He tells Polygon that “The only way to avoid that [gossip] is to not play with them at all.” Or he could use his massive platform to condemn that kind of gossip. He has an opportunity to dispell the view that men and women can’t have a platonic gaming session, which he could do simply by leading by example. Instead, he’s choosing to tacitly perpetuate this sexist view of female gamers.
(via Polygon, image: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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