Thursday, November 12, 2015

 

DC You Thoughts



I find it weird that I actually decided to fire up "Seven Hells!" again when as of the last Wednesday of November, I'll be reading ZERO DC Comics with my beloved PREZ coming to an end with issue six.

There was time when I'd have believed I'd be looking at an Avengers comic with a black Captain America and a female Thor kissing on the cover before I'd believe I'd be reading no DC Comics.

At my peak DC reading, I was doing about 25-30 comics a month.

Now? Zero.

That day is here because well... frankly, DC has given me nearly five years to think about it. Since the New 52 reboot, I've found exactly one comic I'd want to subscribe to on a monthly basis and today, I finally admitted it to myself...

Somewhere along the line, I knew DC didn't want me as a customer anymore. 

I left comics retail nearly two years ago but old habits die hard and I still look at sales charts and... Oh, boy, wow.

One DC Comic in the Top 20. One. It's Batman, of course, while most of their books are selling below 20,000 copies. 

The true DC fans have been shaken out and the diehards stuck around for a universe that trained you to think there's only Batman, maybe The Justice League and then, everyone else.

I won't go into great detail about interconnectivity as I've done it before elsewhere but I will say that it was a selling point for me and my dollars. Now, my dollars go to trades like the recent Birds of Prey, Volume One where I can revisit those themes.

The weird thing is that they're publishing some of the best books they've done in years.

I'm excited to read Tom King's Omega Men and Steve Orlando's Midnighter in trade. DC has a crop of new and exciting writers doing incredible things but unfortunately, I think the audience who would've shown up for them was abandoned by DC nearly five years ago.

Don't get me started on this new rocker Black Canary thing....


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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

 

Supergirl Thoughts



Watched the pilot episode of CBS' New Supergirl series and I was thoroughly charmed.

In the opening, we get the obligatory rocket launches and over explanation of events that lead to her and her cousin's arrival on Earth and from there we go into a young Krypyonian girl who's fully assimilated to everything this Earth has to offer.

Melissa Benoist is absolutely charming as Supergirl. With one episode, she's done for Supergirl what Robert Downey Jr. did for Iron Man. She embues Supergirl with a light that in other hands could come off as naïveté but in her portrayal it plays as absolute sincerity.

Other things I truly liked were that she lives in the fictional National City; fictional cities are key to my DC universe experience. I'm glad Supergirl gets her own as many great DC Comics character have. The thing I find interesting is that, nowadays, if you want to find the truest version of a DC comics hero, you have to turn on the television. Supergirl is the truest of heroes.

More fun was had in Kara's very own Lo(u)is Lane, Winn Schott, a name that longtime Superman fans know comes with its share of legacy and trouble. 

Jimmy... excuse me, James Olsen is front and center. A recent transplant from Metropolis, he finds himself at the event horizon of another once in a lifetime phenomenon.

The thing that I found the most interesting is that Kara Danvers AKA Kara Zor-El is perfectly grounded in so many ways. Her original mission was to watch over her baby cousin upon their arrival to Earth. En route, she's inexplicably diverted to The Phantom Zone and years later, transported to Earth.

The thing of it is is that we're never told HOW she was transported or why. What I'm most excited about is the possibility of finding out what years in the Phantom Zone could have done to Kara.

Hopefully, this is something that will be explored in future episodes.

Supergirl is off to a great start and I'm honestly hopeful about where this series can go. It seems to know the depth of its source material and more importantly, the care fans have for Supergirl.




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Sunday, October 04, 2015

 

Find Me On The Twitter Machine!



The image has nothing to do with anything other than my future father/son goals.

That said, I don't know why I hadn't done this sooner but if you want more of me in your life (and why wouldn't you), you can find me on Twitter at, amazingly, @devonsanders.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

 

Look! I Was On A Podcast!



For your listening consideration:

Buddy Alexandru Lupp records a pretty damned good podcast called "Hey, Look! Comics!" he asked me along for an episode and I brought along writer Mark Russell, writer of DC Comics' excellent PREZ series!

And in the second half of the podcast, we talk about what we love and would absolutely change about the mainstream comics industry.

Learn why I hate Superman!

OK, not Superman but his current direction and much more!

Monday, September 14, 2015

 

My New Bleeding Cool Article: Why Prez Is The Most Necessary Mainstream Comic Out Right Now.




No mainstream comic has more to say than DC Comics' Prez; a true gem of a comic; I was happy to write about it for Bleeding Cool.

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Thursday, August 13, 2015

 

Lady Cop Joins CW's Arrow


You were living in the "Age Of Devon" all along.

It's taken nearly a decade to say this but, "I was right." (See "Labels" below)

You all laughed at my love for Lady Cop. I was paraded around the comics square and asked to renounce my love for all things Liza Warner, Lady Cop and I wouldn't.

I held my head up high and continued to love my favorite VD detecting detective. I withstood the heavy sighs. The offers to make a Blackhawks comic featuring ZERO Blackhawks as my new favorite. I held fast.

I loved Liza Warner and you couldn't stop me and now, I've been vindicated as Liza Warner will be added to The CW's Arrow series.

(dances)

Will she finally find The Killer In Boots? Will we finally find out why she knows so much about venereal diseases?

Will we find out just how many venereal diseases Oliver Queen has?







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Saturday, July 11, 2015

 

Finally!!!



It's finally happened!

After eight years of hoping, I finally have a trade paperback of Will Pfeifer and Patrick Gleason's excellent AQUAMAN: SUB DIEGO in my hands!

All of the smiley faces!!!!

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Monday, July 06, 2015

 

Eight New DC Comics For 2016



DC is trying. They'll be releasing eight new limited series based on fan favorite characters such as The Metal Men, Swamp Thing, Poison Ivy and Sugar and Spike.

(pause)

A new Sugar and Spike series.

Wow.

And smartly, instead of making a bunch of series that should have been limited series to begin they're producing them as finite.

Smart.

Do we need more horribly received Klarions?

They probably won't set the world on fire but these are the most DC Comics-looking DC Comics I've seen in a while.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

 

Off The Top Of My Head Canon



Said it once and I'll say it again, Rashida Jones (Parks And Recreation) is absolutely my head canon Lois Lane.



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Monday, June 22, 2015

 

My Prez #1 And Robin: Son Of Batman #1 Reviews At Bleeding Cool




New reviews of some of DC You's latest offerings by me!

Can a girl who got her ponytail stuck in a fryer become President and be the most thought provoking book on the comics rack?

Can a pre-teen sidekick with a penchant for beheading find his humanity?

Find out this and more at Thor's Comic Column!

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

 

Batman #41 Review At Bleeding Cool


Was Batman #41, the first issue taking place in the new DC You Universe a boom or a bust?

Find out in my latest Thor's Comic Column review for Bleeding Cool!

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Monday, June 01, 2015

 

New 52 And The Absence Of Joy



My new article on Bleeding Cool: "The New 52 And The Absence Of Joy"

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Monday, May 11, 2015

 

The Kid Was Alright


Rest in peace, Kyle. (If that's truly the case.)

We had some good times and over that time, you really grew on me.

In the end, you resurrected the Green Lantern Corps and were a pretty damned good Lantern for the Morrison era Justice League and still never quite got your due.

Here's hoping that someday someone finally figures out your place in the grander scheme.

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Monday, April 13, 2015

 

My Bleeding Cool review: CONVERGENCE: THE QUESTION #1


 
Writer Greg Rucka and artist Cully Hamner reunite with CONVERGENCE: THE QUESTION #1 and I'm all over it at Bleeding Cool...

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Saturday, April 11, 2015

 

10 Years Ago...

I began this blog ten years ago today.


Ten years ago.

In those ten years so much has happened. So much. A lot of heartache. A lot of learning about this world and where I want and should stand in it. Today, I find myself in a place where I was found.

This day, I find myself waking up early and writing a review on DC Comics' Convergence: The Question #1 for the comics and entertainment website, Bleeding Cool.and feeling quite happy to have been given the chance to re-visit something I'd had a profound fondness for. I'll throw a link up here when it posts to Bleeding Cool. 

"Seven Hells!" began life as a blog devoted to all things DC Comics. The ridiculousness of it all. The legacy, Yesterday, the New York offices of DC Comics closed for the last time. These halls, through their many incarnations hosted the likes of Jack Kirby, Bill Finger, Curt Swan, Jim Aparo, Gil Kane, Joe Simon, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Paul Levitz, George Perez, Bob Haney, Jim Lee and more. The whole of DC is moving but the soul will always be in New York.

It became a place that in many ways, saved me and I'll be forever grateful to it and the readers who commented and more.

Yesterday, not knowing, I came back to this blog and discovered that I was one day out from a 10 year anniversary.

Ten years ago, I started this blog barely knowing what the word "blog" meant. I knew I had a lot to say about comics and specifically DC Comics but simply did not know how to go about it.

I was shown a way and took it from there. In that time, I wrote many things that I think still hold up and many things that show that I was still learning. I stand by it all. Seven years ago, I shuttered this blog knowing that I'd accomplished everything I'd set out to do. I became a better writer. I learned how to provide content. I learned what works for me and what doesn't.

Sadly, I learned that after three years, "Seven Hells!" as a blog, no longer worked for me. The day I shut it down wasn't a hard one. It was what happened. It was what I'd needed to happen. 

Today, on its tenth anniversary, I look at "Seven Hells!" and it feels a bit more comforting. Like a friend that maybe, just maybe, you can start a conversation with again.

There are things about the DC Universe that need holding up to the light.

No promises, no sschedules but I will say this... I wouldn't hate firing up this blog again and seeing where it takes me.

Thanks for reading,
Devon Sanders

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Thursday, March 26, 2015

 

The Return Of The King

The greatest Aquaman story never to be collected, writer Will Pfeifer and artist Patrick Gleason's AQUAMAN: SUB DIEGO, finally is!


And it only took DC Comics about a decade to realize it.

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