Thoughts on Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I finally had an opportunity to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 last week.  A few people who know that I’m a huge fan of the character of Mantis were curious what I thought of how she was used in the movie.

I might as well mention that Steve Englehart, who created Mantis in 1973, was “not happy” at how Mantis was depicted in GOTG 2.  I can understand Englehart’s perspective on this.  Mantis is a character that he wrote on various occasions over a 35 year span.  He invested a great deal of time and energy into developing Mantis.  She is obviously very important to him.

Indeed, that is the primary reason why Mantis is one of my all time favorite characters. Englehart clearly put a great deal of thought into her, in the process creating a very interesting character with a wonderfully bizarre origin and an exciting, offbeat story arc.

So I realize that it must have been disappointing for Englehart that GOTG 2 writer / director James Gunn did not adhere closely to the original conception of the character.

Nevertheless, looking at it from my perspective as a reader and a longtime fan of the character, I felt that the translation of Mantis from page to screen was rather successful.  Visually she looked amazing.  The concept design of Mantis that artist Andy Park created for the movie was very faithful to the original character while also working as something that was both visually effective and functional in live action.  Mantis was played by Pom Klementieff, a well-regarded, talented actress who did great work with the material.

I admit that I was somewhat disappointed that certain aspects of Mantis from the original Marvel Comics stories were neglected or altered.  She was too passive; I would have liked for her to be a more assertive individual.  I also wanted to see her utilizing martial arts.  Klementieff previously displayed a real adeptness at dynamic fight sequences in the 2013 movie Oldboy, so hopefully she will be able to bring that skill to her portrayal of Mantis in future installments.

Nevertheless, in spite of Gunn perhaps not utilizing the character Mantis as well as he might have, she made an interesting addition to GOTG 2.  I definitely enjoyed her interaction with Drax.  Gunn’s dialogue for these scenes was both funny and poignant.  Klementieff and Dave Bautista played very well off one another.

Actually, as someone who has seen many of the entries in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” I think Mantis is much closer to the source material than some other characters.  Looking at the two GOTG movies from Gunn, the characters of Drax, Gamora, Groot and Yondu are all quite different from their comic book versions, but they each worked very well.

On the other hand, if you look at the second and third Iron Man movies, the villains Justin Hammer and the Mandarin were almost nothing like the original comic book characters.  In both cases this was definitely to the detriment of the movies.

Sometimes fans do not realize how difficult it can be to adapt comic books into movies.  They are two different mediums, each with their own sensibilities.  What works in one might not in the other.  This requires a delicate balancing act by filmmakers, as they attempt to remain faithful to the source material while simultaneously determining how to make these characters & stories work in a two hour live action movie.  Some filmmakers are more successful at this than others; Gunn is one of the better ones.

Even though the specifics of Mantis in GOTG 2 were altered, personally speaking I did feel that she was quite true to the spirit of the character Steve Englehart created.  I enjoyed seeing her in GOTG 2, and I am look forward to seeing Pom Klementieff reprise the role in Avengers: Infinity War.

Rich Buckler sketchbook drawings

Comic book artist Rich Buckler passed away on May 19th at the age of 68. I knew that Buckler had not been well for a while now, but I was still very sad to hear the news. Buckler was an incredibly prolific artist. He is probably best known for creating the groundbreaking cyborg anti-hero Deathlok, but at one time or another he drew pretty much nearly every major Marvel and DC character, as well as doing work for a number of other publishers. Buckler lived in the NYC area and was a frequent guest at conventions. I had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions. He always seemed like a nice guy.

I’ve already blogged about Rich Buckler’s great work on several occasions in the past (please check out my write-up on his Deathlok stories) so I wasn’t certain exactly how I could pay tribute to him now without repeating myself. It then occurred to me that I could feature the various convention sketches that I obtained from Buckler at comic cons. Each of these was done in one of my theme sketchbooks.

1) DOCTOR DOOM

This great drawing of Doctor Doom from June 2009 is the first piece in my “villains and bad guys” theme sketchbook. When it came to deciding who to have kick off the book, Buckler quickly came to mind. Buckler penciled Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics in the mid-1970s, paired with inker Joe Sinnott and writers Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s all-time classic super-villains, and Buckler did a great rendition of the character during his run on FF.

I’m extremely happy with this piece. Buckler did an amazing job sketching the iron-fisted monarch of Latveria, starting off this sketchbook with genuine class & style.  This sketch was subsequently published in Back Issue #74, edited by Michael Eury, from TwoMorrows Publishing. The theme of that issue was the Fantastic Four in the Bronze Age.

2) The Vision

Bucker only worked on a handful of issues of Avengers over the years, but he did very nice work on the series. One of the stories that Buckler penciled, in issue #106, contained an incredibly dramatic depiction of the Vision on the splash page, inked by the amazing Dave Cockrum… what a wonderful collaboration! Buckler & Cockrum really brought to life the synthezoid’s somber brooding and contemplation of life.

After I started my Avengers Assemble theme  sketchbook, the question of who to have draw the Vision inevitably came up. Well, that splash page from #106 almost immediately leaped to mind, and I knew I had to ask Buckler to sketch the character. It definitely came out very well. I wish Buckler could have worked on more Avengers stories; he had a real affinity for the characters.

3) HAN SOLO

You might have previously seen this great sketch of Han Solo from the Star Wars movies on my entry for Super Blog Team-Up 7. I still think it’s an astonishing oversight that, outside of a single trading card for Topps, Buckler was never given the opportunity to contribute artwork to any Star Wars related projects. His work would have been such a wonderful fit for the series. He certainly did an amazing job on this sketch, capturing both the likeness and the personality of the character.

Years later, when Buckler was on Facebook, he shared numerous images of a great deal of his work, both published and unpublished. One of the pieces he posted was this sketch. Unfortunately he only had a small, blurry pic of it. When Buckler found out I was on FB, he asked me to send him a larger scan, a request I was more than happy to fulfill.

4) MANTIS

Yes, I do have a Mantis sketchbook. She is, quite obviously, one of my favorite characters. I thought it would be nice to have the first piece in the book drawn by an artist who had worked on some of the character’s published appearances. Rich Buckler previous drew Mantis in Giant-Size Avengers #1 and Fantastic Four #325. He used that FF issue for reference, creating a beautiful portrait of the character.

This sketch, which was drawn in December 2015 at Winter Con in Queens NY, nearly didn’t happen. I approached Buckler early on Saturday morning about doing a sketch. Less then half an hour later, though, Buckler was feeling ill, and he had to be rushed to the hospital. Amazingly, though, in the afternoon he was back at the show. I thought he was crazy, and that he ought to be resting at home. However, since he was there, I asked him if he felt well enough to draw a sketch. Buckler said he was, and he did this great piece. That was the last time I got to see him before he passed away, so I’m grateful I had that opportunity.

I highly recommend reading the eight part essay series “From the Desk of Rich Buckler” that Daniel Best presented in 2010 on his blog 20th Century Danny Boy. These essays by Buckler offer an in-depth look at his career, his creative process, and his thoughts on the comic book industry.

Black Lightning in the 1990s

Black Lightning, the DC Comics superhero created by Tony Isabella and first published in 1977, will be appearing in an upcoming television series to air on The CW.  I looked at the first Black Lightning series in a previous blog.  Today I’m examining the character’s return to headlining status in 1995.  Once again written by Tony Isabella, this new Black Lightning series features artwork by Eddy Newell.  Inking the first two issues is Ron McCain.

Black Lightning, aka Jefferson Pierce, teacher and Olympic gold medalist, has relocated to “The Brick City,” an impoverished area within an unnamed city in the Great Lakes region.  Once again Pierce is hoping that he will be able to make a difference in the lives of inner city teens.  By day he seeks to educate them at Carver High School; by night in his costumed alter ego he attempts to defeat the drug-dealing gangs that have infested the Brick City.

Jeff’s twin tasks are literally herculean in nature.  With the gang culture having permeated the Brick City, its youths are in constant danger.  For many the gangs and the drugs they peddle are all too tempting, a seemingly easy escape from the overwhelming poverty & despair of the Brick City.  Even those who manage to avoid drug use or a life of crime are unsafe, constantly in danger of getting caught in the crossfire of the Brick City’s rampant gang warfare.

Isabella demonstrates the harsh realities of the Brick City through the character of Lamar.  An intelligent young man from a good family, Lamar has genuine potential, and Jeff seeks to guide him towards a better future.  Unfortunately Lamar had accidentally offended the Royal Family, the largest street gang in the Brick City.  Twice threatened with death for his supposed “disrespect,” Lamar is approached by Strapper, a member of the Home Crew, rivals of the Royals.  Lamar really doesn’t want to join the Home Crew, but he does so anyway, because he believes that without their protection the Royals will succeed in killing him next time.

In my look at the original Black Lightning series, I lamented that the then-common 17 page length of comic books in the late 1970s meant that Isabella had little room to explore Jeff’s personal life.  With an expanded length of 24 pages afforded him in volume two, Isabella has ample room to delve into Jeff’s relationships with his students, his co-workers, his neighbors in the Brick City, and his ex-wife Lynn.  Isabella does excellent work developing Jeff, his supporting cast, and his adversaries in these stories, as well as setting up several interesting subplots.

Probably the strongest story of this run is “Blowed Away” in issue #5.  Jeff is in the hospital, in intensive care, having been seriously injured in an attack by the Royals.  His ailment is as much spiritual as physical, as he despairs over the lives he has failed to save, and his inability to ever make a lasting impact against the crime and poverty he has been fighting for so long.

Isabella’s writing for “Blowed Away” is very introspective and moving.  The insights into Jeff’s personality and emotions are deep and genuine.  It is clear that Isabella has given a great deal of thought to the development of the character.

The art by Eddy Newell on Black Lightning deserves special praise.  Newell is an amazing artist whose work I had enjoyed since I first saw it a few years earlier on issues of The Twilight Zone published by Now Comics.  He does stunning work on Black Lightning.  The first four issues are genuinely gritty and atmospheric, yet also full of subtle characterization.  However with issue #5, “Blowed Away,” Newell excels even further, creating incredible storytelling and illustration to complement Isabella’s script.  Newell vividly illuminated the hospitalized Jeff Pierce’s mourning and existential despair.

Following on from “Blowed Away” is a three issue arc that sees Black Lightning forced to reluctantly work alongside the vigilante Gangbuster.  Lightning’s old enemy Tobias Whale has allied himself with the Royal Family, and they seek to ignite a brutal gang war in the Brick City, with the intention of swooping in afterwards to seize complete control of the drug market.  Lightning and Gangbuster narrowly manage to prevent the conflict, but Jeff’s relief is mitigated by the fact that the Brick City remains a powder keg, and by the knowledge that the Whale, his most implacable foe, remains waiting in the wings, the gangster’s voracious ambition and cruelty unchecked.

It is unfortunate that Isabella’s run on Black Lightning volume two was abruptly cut short.  Due to problems with an editor at DC, his last issue was #8.  Recently re-reading these issues, reaching the end of his last one was genuinely disappointing.  Isabella did incredible work on his eight issues, and I would have loved to have seen what happened next, with Jeff, with the war against Tobias Whale and the Royals, and with the great members of the supporting cast that had been introduced, especially Lamar, who after issue #8 finds himself on the outs with the Home Crew and facing a very uncertain future.

Black Lightning volume two lasted five more issues with another writer at the helm.  It’s difficult to say if Isabella’s departure played a part in the cancellation.  In 1996 the comic book industry was having  a lot of problems overall, and a large number of other titles were also getting axed.  Nevertheless, even if Black Lightning would have been cancelled no matter what, I still would have liked to have seen Isabella on board until the end.

Fortunately Isabella did have another opportunity to write Black Lightning in late 1997.  He was reunited with Newell on “Twas the Night Before Kwanzaa” which appeared in the anthology special DC Universe Holiday Bash II.  Once again Isabella crafted a great story, and the black & white artwork by Newell was beautiful.

Black Lightning volume two has not been reprinted in a trade paperback collection yet.  Hopefully the upcoming television series will motivate DC to rectify this oversight.  If not, then I encourage everyone to seek out these books in the back issue bins or online.  The stories by Tony Isabella and the artwork by Eddy Newell are spectacular.