For the past 40 years, the Wonder Woman has had almost as many make-overs as Barbie. A change in appearance, abilities, and back story have created a character that seems as malleable as a folk tale. Its not without effort that the character hasn’t been given a big break. Baby boomers may recall Wonder Woman as played by Lynda Carter, with spinning transformation sequences and bullet-blocking abilities. Gen X’ers remember her as one of the few female characters featured in the Superfriends. Millennials know Wonder Woman from her role as naive and honorable Diana from Justice League. With each new introduction, the character took on changes to reflect the era, serving as a symbol of female empowerment.

Last month Bruce Timm’s Wonder Woman movie, a direct-to-DVD film featuring the character’s origin, hit store shelves. The animated movie was a success, making more than $2 million in its first week. Keri Russel (Waitress, Felicity) played Wonder Woman and received critical praise for her performance.

Despite the success, I’m left to wonder if these types of films ever find the same audience the big budget, live-action movies do. Warner Bros. has released several Batman and Superman titles in their animated DC Universe line, often focusing character development and hero origin stories. Although avid fans may end up purchasing or renting the films, this type of promotion is devoid of the event-based experience of movie theater watching. Summer blockbusters are about sharing the movie experience. My discussions about Batman, with friends, are a direct consequence of watching the film together, not reading the comics or renting DVDs. Wonder Woman’s chance to be a water cooler topic has been stifled once again.

I know times are tough, and studios are not too keen on attempting risky projects. A live-action Wonder Woman film has attempted pre-production twice by Warner Bros. (once in 2005 and again in 2007), only to be halted for another movie. There seems to be a fundamental lack of faith that a male-dominated audience will turn out to see the a female super hero. Charlie’s Angels, Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, and Kill Bill all attempted to link post-feminism with a strong female archetype, but ended up creating  a caricature of a hero rather than a fully-flushed persona. I won’t begin to delve into the various gender, equality, or objectification discussions, but I will say that the character has proven to have appeal. Countless comic books and graphic novels prove that the character isn’t driven on her looks alone.

I’d like to believe that Wonder Woman will get her big break. The success super hero films has proven that even obscure characters can have mass appeal. I don’t need to be bound by a golden lasso to tell you the truth: Fans want Wonder Woman on the big screen.

(Photo by : Looking Glass)

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Rorschach Ski Mask
This ink blot mask  is perfect to protect your identity while you’re robbing a bank…I mean fighting bad guys.

Night Owl Dark Roast
Super heroes have to stay up late. Of course they need an all organic coffee.

Dr. Manhattan Lunchbox
Send your kid to school with a lunchbox that features a glowing naked man on it.

Doomsday Clock
A real working clock that counts down the last days of humanity. Perfect for for the holidays!

Watchmen Bearbricks
Lego-sized figures are nothing new, but making the cast of the Watchmen look like bears is a little bit strange.

That’s all for my list, but I’m sure there are a few more odd pieces of Watchmen merch. If you spot anything, please post it in the comments.

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And the bad guys are clear too.  They might as well be wearing black hats and Tee-shirts saying ” Hi! I am the villain in this piece. I will do all I can to make everyone’s life hell and generally F— up your day!”  Unfortunately life is not like this…at all.  Life is messy.  Real people have deeper motivations and back stories.  Its difficult to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.  Who are the evil forces in your life?  There is no Death Star to blow up, no Ring to melt in the fires of Mt. Doom.  No, life is not so simple.  You have to unclutter things and find your own goals. They might change a thousand times.  You might think you want to storm the castle, but later change your mind, and in real life, that’s OK.  So choose your path for now…  But know, that unlike in the movies, you’ll take a fork in the road and go to a different place than the one you started towards.

On a side note:  Can you imagine what would have happened if halfway down the Death Star trench Luke had decided he really really wanted to be a moisture farmer?

(photo: Helico)

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Cover for ShortPacked! vol 2

I am usually quite skilled at procrastination all on my own, but every once I awhile something comes along that just pushes me over the edge of what is a reasonable amount of time to put something off. I could not motivate myself to write this week because a coworker suggested this site. Good readers I give you ShortPacked. It’s a web comic. It’s a brilliant Webcomic, which you should go read, bookmark and enjoy. The blend of geekdom and comedy, driven by interesting characters creates one of the best webcomics I’ve read.

The story follows the employees of a small toy store run by an ego-maniacal man bent on world domination. While there are several supporting characters there are really only three that are central to the ongoing storyline. Ethan, a hopeless geek to his very core, Robin, neurotic and cheerful and Amber, who starts off quiet and mousy but becomes much more rounded as the strip progresses. About the time you start to get used to the characters and plot Robin goes and pulls the Drama Tag and all hell breaks loose.

I simply cannot stop reading it until I’m caught up with the current strip. I know that as soon as I’m finished I’ll regret rushing through it. But perhaps then I will find time to do laundry and take a shower before I’m shunned from society. The stories are fun and full of current geek events. Start reading from the beginning, you wont be sorry… unless you’re consumed by its awesomeness and forget to go to work.

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