Wonder Woman is part of DC's Trinity. Sure thing, right? Obvious? Doesn't fee like it to me.

Let's go to the videotape, shall we?

Feature movies - Superman (at least 5), Batman (7), Wonder Woman ( NONE)
Animated series- Superman (2, at least), Batman (4), not counting Superfriends, Wonder Woman (0)
Animated features - Superman (2), Batman (at least 4), Wonder Woman (1 that has yet to be released)
Live action TV series - Superman (3 at least), Batman (1), Wonder Woman (1)
Comics - Superman and Batman have supported 2 series that have never ceased publishing since the GOLDEN AGE. They've had multiple others. In the 90s I recall Bruce and Clark supporting 4 titles. The only other character to do that ever is Spider-Man. Wonder Woman doesn't have a single series that has seen continuous publication. She has never been able to support 2 series at the same time. DC has never even put that to the test. Except for a brief hiatus in the 50s. Oh, I think Wolverine is probably the next character who might be able to support 4 series. I think he's effectively supporting three since Marvel seems to release a Wolverine one shot every 3 weeks along with "Wolverine" and "Wolverine: Origins."

Great stories that everybody knows:
Superman - Man Who Has Everything, Red Son, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, Man for All Seasons,

Batman - DKR, Killing Joke, Death In The Family, Long Halloween, Hush really too many to name. No character's catalogue of amazing stories is in the same ballpark. DKR, KJ have been constantly in print and get special absolute editions as did Hush and LH.

Wonder Woman - There are great Wonder Woman stories out there - but it's telling that i don't see any of her definitive stories in HC, Absolute, Authoritative or Omnibus type editions. Why? The market won't support it.

HC collecting many of the great Superman covers? Check.
HC collecting many of the great Batman covers? Check.
HC collecting many of the great Wonder Woman covers? Try again.
HC collecting many of the great covers featuring DC's heroines? Check.

What does this all mean? We're told that Wonder Woman is part of DC's Trinity. Methinks the emperor has no clothes. In most cases just because you keep saying it doesn't make it so; the proof is in the pudding.

This isn't a rant about Wonder Woman not being a great character; she is. It means something that she's survived for 70 years; though I think Black Canary can claim the same thing and appeared first.

What's Moving The Needle - October 1, 2007

What's moving the needle at the start of this week? This week, just 3 topics. Isiah Thomas,The Patriots and Batman.

Isiah Thomas - It's a hard name to spell for whatever reason. What is it about certain combinations of letters or digits that make them harder to remember? Well anyway, it seems that MSG network may have to wrestle with a digit that has 6 zeroes behind it with respect to punitive damages. Oh, snap! Of course, Mr. Thomas has a tremendous amount of egg on his face, but Anucha Brown Sanders demanded $6M to walk away from the suit. Ronald M. Green, lead counsel for MSG "pioneered the use of preemptive litigation in suing current and former employees, and others, who threaten to bring legal proceedings of an extortionate nature against the firm's clients. He also is an innovator in the use of the federal Declaratory Judgment Act to protect clients' business interests that may be at risk from disaffected employees."

A guy like this does not come cheap and neither is the overhead associated with such an expensive attorney. How long has this case been in courts and what about pre-trial work, what's been the billable cost of it? Mr. Green is a name partner at his firm Epstein Becker & Green P.C. ("EBG"), he could easily be charging $500 per hour. This trial and the pre-trial phase has been on for months, I wouldn't be surprised if EBG had run up billable costs near the $1M mark. All signs point to an unfavorable verdict and the question is how much the punitive damages will be.

Ms. Sanders is not the most sympathetic plaintiff, but it seems clear she was harassed by a superior, and to me, that's sympathetic enough. If punitive damages awarded are even near the $5M mark consider it a big loss for MSG. They will have paid out in tandem with billable costs the same amount as Ms. Sanders demanded to walk away from the suit. In addition this public trial has revealed that as bad as the Knicks may be on the court, the "back office" is in worse shape. Punch it up as another loss for the Knicks. Fans are used to this by now. James Dolan continues to make his case for one of the worst owners in sports.

The Patriots - Wow, let's cancel the season and give these guys the Belichick, I mean Lombardi trophy. It's hard for me to hear the breathless analysts talking about these teams since they seem to be tripping over each other to either fellate Favre or the Patriots. Before we coronate the Pats, let's note one thing. The combined record of the four teams they've played to this point have a 4-8 record NOT counting the losses the Pats handed to these teams, otherwise their combined record is 4-12. The winning percentage of the teams on their schedule for the rest of the year for games they've played this year is 47%, not counting the undefeated teams of the Colts and Cowboys it shrinks to 35%. This is a schedule almost worthy of the '72 Miami Dolphins. The next five games for the Pats will really determine whether they're a good team or a potential team for the ages. The upcoming 5 games pit them against teams that have accumulated a gaudy 12-7 record including undefeated Colts and Cowboys teams. If they get through that stretch 5-0, I'll put a Pat Patriot decal on my jalopy.

Having said that, 4 games into the season isn't a big enough sample size for any sort of prognostication. I'll take a look at Brett Favre's "revival" at the halfway mark and analyze what's up with Brady's Bunch after their game with the Colts (Game 9 of their season). The way both teams are playing, this will, undoubtedly be the big matchup of mid-season. It'll also clearly establish which team are the Super Bowl favorites, all things remaining the same.

All-Star Batman & Robin # 7 - I love this comic and normally, I would review it, however, a gentleman by the name of Stephen Schleicher over at his wonderful website http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/2519.htm/ has written a wonderful review that pretty much exactly states what I feel about this much read and much maligned series. That site in general is one of my most frequently visited, so if you love comics, it should definitely be a frequent update.

In a bit.

Quick Hits ~ 9-11-2007

Is it any surprise that General Petraeus' report to Congress mirrored and supported the official position of the White House? General Petraeus, like most of us, works at the pleasure of his boss. His boss is the Commander-In-Chief. The expectation that Petraeus would report anything that wasn't supportive of the current administration's stance is head-scratchingly naive. Both sides on the Iraq war debate are dug in deeply and the anti-war side can rant and posture as much as it likes, the fact is that the White House continues to act with impunity and the Democrats do NOT have the votes to block the President. This is a fact and it is indisputable.

Today is obviously a significant anniversary but what's also significant is how much people have moved on. Our ability to move on and continue is no slight to those who are no longer with us but a testament to the resiliency embedded within all of us. Whether it's a function of the individual or a result of inbuilt psychological coping mechanisms is at this point unknowable.

All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder #6 was delayed. This sticks in my craw. I can hear my buddy Stokely laughing in his office. He hasn't taken a sip of the Frank Miller Kool-Aid that I imbibe in massive quantities. Knowing the source of the delay isn't going to help, either. DC has no comment what the later date for resolicits will be. Aargh.

In a bit.

What I'm buying - Comics 9-12-2007

After a night of clubbing, I like to sit down with a bagel, muffin and some sort of sugary drink (Gatorade, Powerade, Snapple) and review Diamond's expected shipping list on Sunday mornings. By the way, I went to a club called "Retreat" on 17th St. between 5th and Avenue of the Americas. The club has a lot of wooden furniture which is actually nice but doesn't really go with the chi chi vibe of the place. A Budweiser costs $6, a Heineken costs $7; these are both bottles. I'm not sure if that's reasonable or not, the only two cities I've been in the last few months are NYC and Miami. Neither city is reputed to be bargain-friendly, so keep that in mind.



Regardless, here's what I think I'm getting this week



DC

All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder #6 - Everybody hates this right, so how come it's routinely selling 100K copies six issues into it's run?

Black Adam: The Dark Age #2 (of 6) - Does anyone draw spookier than Mahnke?

Countdown #33 - I'm in, but not willingly at this point, it's

Fables #65 - best ongoing series in comics, no doubt

Green Lantern #23 - Sinestro Corps is delivering a wonderful event and should get a lot more publicity. It's much better than WWH. I've enjoyed reading reviewers trip over themselves trying to justify the Hulk's actions and Marvel's INCREDULOUS justification that this rampaging Class 100+ being has never caused real casualties.

JLA Wedding Special #1- I'm still a dude even though I'm getting it, right?

Stormwatch PHD #11 - Apparently it's being cancelled with #12, what a shame

Welcome To Tranquility #10 - Neil Googe's art is so beautiful and Gail Simone is one of DC's best writers, no doubt. How are the sales doing on this series?



MARVEL

New Avengers #34 - Marvel's flagship is falling very low

Nova #6 - More cosmic stuff, please, Earth is a crappy place in the Marvel U

Punisher War Journal #11 - Enough of Hatemonger let's get Punny back into the Marvel U

Ultimate Spider-Man #113 -Bendis must be having so much fun doing his cover version of the Lee/Ditko first run on Amazing Spider-Man. Hey, I'm having fun reading it.

X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #1 (of 5) - Someone, anyone, please avenge Corsair.



Alright people. The first Sunday of football season has arrived. My dad can't wait to get home to watch his beloved Jets taken on the Patriots. I imagine a slew of rationalizations will follow as he tries to justify their loss today. I guess we know where I think the game's going.



In a bit.