Superman: Earth One (Comic Book Review)

DC comic titles employ the concept of a multiverse, which is a fictional intergalactic construct assembling the various universes where the stories take place (click here to read more on the various Earths of the DC multiverse). One recent and popular example is the second season of the hit television series, The Flash, which has recently featured The Flash of Earth 2.

The comic book cover where the multiverse was first introduced and the television series paying homage.

My favorite DC title taking place on one of the alternate Earths is Earth 2. I have long been a fan of the multiverse concept and it was one of the reasons why I purchased a copy of Superman: Earth One (Volume 1) at the 2015 New York City Comic Con.

Earth One presents Superman in a familiar way: rocketed from the doomed planet of Krypton as an infant, landing on earth to be found and raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent. What distinguishes Earth One is how wonderfully grounded it is: we see Superman congruently come to terms with his humanity and Kryptonian nature while trying to save the world from an alien invasion. If this plot seems familiar it is because the 2013 film, Man of Steel, was clearly influenced by this book (published in 2010). What makes Earth One better than Man of Steel are the never-before-seen invading aliens, whose origins were a complete surprise! Bravo to J. Michael Staczynski for brilliantly adding to the already rich Kryptonian mythology. After reading Earth One, I have to again ask: Why do Kryptonians look exactly like Earthlings?

Artist Shane Davis does an outstanding job depicting the well-known characters, Metropolis, the new aliens and all of the science fiction elements of the story. The artwork combines a modern sensibility with a classic color palette.

DC has published two more volumes of Superman: Earth One and has, to date, published two volumes of Batman: Earth One with Wonder Woman: Earth One on the horizon in 2016. If these titles are as good as Superman: Earth One I am going be enjoying some more great comic book reading in the near future.

The Earth One versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

A Walk Down 56th Street: A Photo Collection

I have previously written about how former mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg have sucked the personality out of New York City and essentially transformed Manhattan into a gated community for the rich. Now that mindset is spreading to the outer boroughs: take out a subway map and use it to chart the future course of gentrification. Even subway stations are getting gentrified! So you can imagine my surprise when, earlier this year, I walked down West 56^th Street and saw so much real New York personality. Yes, one block away from the 57^th Street detailed in the Moyers & Company documentary The Long, Dark Shadows of Plutocracy. Fortunately, I had my camera to document it because who knows how long it will last. What surprised me about me this street was how unchanged it was: I was a student at John Jay College during the late 1980’s when one of the campus buildings was on 56^th and 10^th Avenue. While the surrounding neighborhood and John Jay campus have changed significantly, I found that 56^th Street, from 8^th to 11^th Avenues, was relatively unchanged. I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoyed rediscovering this street.

Rusted Banister

Flower Pot on 56th

Dog on 56th. First he barked, then he posed.

Wall Molding

Dramatic Increase in Homeless on Streets of NYC (PBS MetroFocus Video PLUS)

Everyday, during my commute from my home in Queens to my workplace in the Bronx, I am awed by the numerous apartment buildings being constructed in Long Island City, Harlem and the South Bronx for “high end” renters. The featured image of this blog entry depicts this construction in Long Island City during the summer of 2015. If you want to see the physical route of gentrification in NYC, simply take out a subway map. Concurrently, I am awed and saddened by the numbers of homeless people I see in the subways EVERYDAY.

33rd Street Homeless Man

Until 2005, New York City’s primary resource for addressing homelessness was to give these families and individuals priority for federal housing programs (public housing and/or Section 8). For 25 years, these resources had been a proven way to move families out of shelters, off the streets and into long-term, permanent homes. In 2005, the billionaire mayor, “king” Mike Bloomberg, changed this and homeless families and individuals were given CITY-funded short-term rental subsidies known as the Advantage program. These short-term subsidies were ineffective and wasteful. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, more than one of every three formerly-homeless families returned to the shelters after their Advantage program subsidies ended. The Bloomberg administration then terminated the Advantage program in 2011 and refused to replace it with the successful federal programs ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/michael-bloomberg-homeless-population/ ). For the first time since modern homelessness began in the 1980’s, there is no housing assistance in place to help homeless families move from shelters to permanent housing.

Mary Brosnahan, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless, discusses the current state of homelessness in New York City with MetroFocus host Rafael Pi Roman. Click here to watch the video: Dramatic Increase in Homeless on Streets of NYC

Keeping in mind my daily commute, also watch this video where Bill Moyers explores how the changing skyline of Manhattan is the physical embodiment of how money and power impact the lives and neighborhoods of every day people.

Also keeping in mind what I mentioned earlier in this blog entry about the route of gentrification, read this previous blog entry where I discussed “The Gentrification of a Subway Station” : https://theartistworks.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/gentrification-of-a-subway-station/