I am a bit of a political junkie. I watch the news a lot, read all the online news sites and keep tabs on Facebook and Twitter about what’s being said in this year’s election. That being said, I have been ready to take a long walk off a steep cliff since June. If you don’t know who you’re voting for by now, you’re either too stupid, not paying attention or don’t care one way or the other.
I have to say that I don’t want to hear movie stars or other celebrities gloss over about who they think we should vote for. It turns me off, especially if my views are different from theirs. I think back to the whole Dixie Chicks debacle during the Bush Administration. I loved their music and when they decided to put their politics in the forefront, it made them unappealing to listen to. By the fact that they are no longer a group demonstrates my point exactly.
So where am I going with all this? I don’t want to see political correctness in my favorite comic book characters. I don’t want to see them changed or updated for the purpose of political correctness. I want to see the ’70s “Blaxploitation” version of Luke Cage, the X-Men that stand up the bigotry and bias of humanity, and the dark, brooding Batman that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. Why can’t we have comic book characters be comic book characters?
We are losing our grip on what it means to be a comic book character. Everyone is trying to be edgier, darker, more shocking than the next one and it’s getting out of hand. We have a new generation being introduced to comic books through great series being put out on Netflix and the CW, and yet, they’re getting skewed. Luke Cage is being panned for being “too black” and people are criticizing the casting of a “white guy” as Iron Fist? These are people who clearly don’t know who these characters truly are.
At the same time, some of the producers are going “over dramatic” on some series. Arrow and The Flash have both gotten poor ratings for relying on too much drama and not enough action. Agents of Shield has also been guilty of this. Yes, we want to see character development but at the same time, the thing that brings them to life for fans like me is the action and adventure that goes with it.
Maybe it is this “politically correct” environment we live in that tries to make these shows something for more than just the average comic book fan. I understand that but if you change the essence of the character to fit a narrative that meets the criteria of PC, it dilutes the story into a mess.
This is something we, as writers, deal with all the time. Times change and, yes, people need to change with them. Captain America went from World War II hero to fighting the Cold War to fighting terrorism today, and through all that, he never changed who he was. The essence of Steve Rogers was always there, except when they made him a double agent for Hydra but we won’t open that can of worms.
I know that most of the people who write the storylines for TV are themselves fans, but even they have to change things to make them fit into an hour show. Stories yes, but not the characters themselves. Let’s be true to how they were originally written.
Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at 
Ah, the joys of Christmas (in July) from the cosplayers all dressed in their finest costumes, the shrieking sounds of grown men as they find a rare comic for their collection, and the flashing lights of cameras as the stars take the stage. This is San Diego Comic-Con or Christmas for us nerds. It’s our time of year to bathe in the glory of everything comic book, sci-fi, and video game fantasy.
The CW is charting a course “full speed ahead” with The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. The Flash is definitely moving in the “Flashpoint” storyline direction, with a lot of changes in Barry Allen’s new reality. We get to see Kid Flash in all his glory (great costume BTW) and, in the teaser, I saw a brief glimpse of the name and image of a classic Flash villain, Dr. Alchemy. It’s not exactly Flashpoint from the comics, but it seems to fit into the CW’s DC universe. Arrow is changing its tone a bit as Oliver tries to be mayor by day, vigilante by night. He gets help from a handful of new recruits in the form of Mister Terrific, Wilddog and Artemis. The villain for season 5 is Prometheus. He’s a big bad in the comics with tech that allowed him to mimic his enemies fighting style and use it against them, like Taskmaster in Marvel. His origin is different in CW as he was affected by Arrow’s initial killing spree in season one. We’ll see if these changes can bring them out of a dismal, and often criticized, season 4. There’s not much on Supergirl, though one rumor brings the Legionnaire Mon-el to National City and we’ll finally get to see her cousin, Superman, in real life. We’ll have to wait and see if they make an impact as part of the CW. Lastly, Legends of Tomorrow is putting together the Justice Society of America and facing off against the Legion of Doom. You can’t get any better than when Smallville brought the JSA to TV, so this will be interesting to see. Overall, CW has tried its best to keep their TV shows separate from the DC movie universe but still true to the comics. In my opinion, they’re doing a great job.
Besides Netflix and the cancellation of Agent Carter, Marvel’s only other show is Agents of Shield on ABC. With the release of Doctor Strange in November, Agents of Shield are introducing magic to their combined movie/TV world. Ghost Rider will be the main antagonist for them, but not the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider as portrayed in the movies by Nicolas Cage. This is the current comic book version of Robbie Reyes, played by Gabriel Luna. Instead of a motorcycle, Robbie drives a Dodge Charger with flaming wheels. There are a lot of great back story elements that will tie this version of the Ghost Rider into the current cast of Agents of Shield, including Inhuman Daisy’s evil dad, Calvin Zabo, a.k.a. Mr. Hyde. Marvel does it different from DC, keeping their movie and TV universes one and the same. It’s great because it plays off each other and sometimes brings their movie star power (Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Alexander just to name a few) to the small screen.
Wonder Woman took an early turn out of the gate by starting her adventures in World War I vice World War II, though the sentiment behind this was mainly because there hasn’t been a superhero movie done in that era before. To be honest, I think that putting Wonder Woman in World War II would bring too many comparisons to Captain America: The First Avenger anyway, so it was a good choice. They are sticking to her mythology, so that’s good news to me, and her fighting scenes in the movies are killer. Plus it’s about damn time Wonder Woman got her own movie anyway. Lynda Carter has been waiting for more than 40 years to pass the torch and Gal Gadot was the best decision Warner Brothers made in casting this movie.
I don’t want to go back-to-back DC, so let me jump into Doctor Strange next. I really have mixed feelings about this. The trailer was amazing. The special effects reflect the incredible power of the mystic arts as created by artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan “The Man” Lee. The casting was undeniable as Benedict Cumberbatch and the rest of the cast are incredibly talented, even with the haters trolling about Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. What bothers me is Baron Mordo, as portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor. In the comics, Mordo was a jealous, ambitious protegé of the Ancient One that turned to evil when Strange was picked over him. They seem to be more allies than adversaries in the movie. I’ll have to wait and see if there’s more to their relationship.
We’ve all experienced it, some more than most. It is an obsession that we can’t explain nor can we understand ourselves. With me, it began in college in the 1980s, where I was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons. That’s where I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Even after I joined the Navy, I continued to play D&D. I found friends aboard the ship and we played during our duty days and off-duty hours. When I eventually stopped playing, I turned my obsession around and started writing, and it was from that, I created my
The BFG, written by Roald Dahl in 1982 and directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, is the only book by Dahl that hasn’t been made into a feature film previously. The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams.
This brings me back to my opening statement. Kids, and even parents, today flock to Finding Dory instead of The BFG. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Pixar movies, but to see a classic like The BFG ignored for a talking fish is sad. This generation is so hung up on movies, television, the internet, and video games that they all but ignore reading such great stories. It’s only because of technology today that movies can bring these stories to life. Watching The BFG made me want to read the book again, to bring back the magic from long ago.
Today is Memorial Day, a day when we honor the sacrifice of military service members who died in defense of our great nation. According to 
Inspiration … it’s a word I use a lot in most of my social media posts. You’ll find #inspiration in almost everything I write. I can relate to so many different things as I weave my stories together. Movies, books, television, theater, and music give me the focus and drive in everything I do. Even as I am writing this blog, I am listening to Joss Whedon’s 2005 sci-fi classic Serenity.
It’s the simplest things in life that inspire us. I remember a few months ago when I was working to finish the third book in the 
Mark Piggott | Fantasy & Steampunk Author 