We're torn about Girl Comics; on the one hand, a series written, drawn, lettered, colored, edited and all production work (proofreading, design, etc.) by women seems very... gimmicky, for want of a better way of putting it, and not unlike a token move that "proves" that women can work for Marvel too. But on the other, whatever cynicism we have is quickly dispelled by the quality of creators involved in the three issue series (many making their Marvel debut): Kathryn Immonen, Ann Nocenti, Trina Robbins, Louise Simonson, G. Willow Wilson, Amanda Conner, Jill Thompson, Colleen Coover, Molly Crabapple and Carla Speed McNeil all contribute, and io9 favorite Devin Grayson makes a long overdue return to comics in the series as well. Editor Jeanine Schaefer talked to Publisher's Weekly's The Beat blog about the project:

Although some creators have gravitated towards their favorite female super hero, it's not specifically focused on our female characters, and I'm not trying to generate content that I think will appeal to more women... I think the characters and the stories will draw in just as many men in as women, and will get people thinking that good comics aren't about the gender of the writer or artist, it's about where what you like to read intersects with what they like to create.

The series debuts in March, to coincide with Women's History Month (and She-Hulk's 30th anniversary).

Exclusive: Marvel announces GIRL COMICS [The Beat]

This week sees the release of Fall Of The Hulks: Alpha, the first chapter in a story promising some level of closure to storyarcs that have stretch back to 2006 and, with any luck, thinning the Hulk Herd just a little. Because, yes, there are now seven different Hulks co-existing in the Marvel Universe, and that seems like at least five too many. We've come up with a scorecard for the Hulks of various colors, just to make it easier for you to jump onboard Marvel's latest big event.

The Originals
Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters, these are your lives.
The Reds
Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters, these are your potentially evil dopplegangers.
The Bastards
Bruce Banner, these are your children. Jen, you're off the hook for this one.

Fall Of The Hulks: Alpha is released on Thursday.

As the Hulk's son, he has the same enhanced strength and healing power as his dad, but is into tattoos and bad rock music.

Lyra
The result of the Hulk's DNA being stolen by a time-traveling feminist who came from a future where no man was worthy to father her child and sabotage had left technology unable to propagate the human race - I promise, I am not making this up - Lyra has returned to the present day to assure the future of her kind, Terminator-style, by breeding with Norman Osborn. Understandably, she realized that wasn't really something she wanted to do, but decided to stick around in this timezone to fight crime and find some other way to keep the future (and her past) safe.

Unlike her father, Lyra actually gets weaker as she gets angrier, as the result of genetic manipulation by her mother's race, the Femizons. Yes, the Femizons. I refer you to the part about me not making this up.

Hiro-Kala
After Skaar had left to go to Earth, Hiro-Kala was revealed to be the other Son of Hulk. Raised unaware of his parentage and as a slave, Hiro-Kala inherited his mother's powers, and has revealed himself to be an able and more-than-a-little-ruthless little bastard; he managed to avenge Galactus' destruction of his home world by tricking him into eating another planet that he'd "poisoned". Sure, destroying an innocent civilization and planet for revenge may seem extreme, but it got the job done.

As opposed to all of the other Hulks, Hiro-Kala isn't on Earth right now - which is probably good, or else he might poison here as well - and hasn't met any of the rest of his family yet.

We're not sure whether or not the Red Hulk has some large plan behind all of his actions, or whether it's just unsubtle writing, but so far we've seen the character kill two long-standing Hulk foes (The Abomination and the Wendigo, AKA the character that Wolverine fought in his first appearance - A moment of silence, please) and cause an earthquake in San Francisco, before joining up with various time-tossed supervillains in order to prevent the Hulk from finding true love. That's right, he's definitely evil. We just don't know why.

Red She-Hulk
If little is known about the Red Hulk, even less is known about the Red She-Hulk, other than the fact that she has similar powers to her male counterpart, and may or may not be the original She-Hulk, former X-Men spin-off character Domino or even former Daredevil spin-off character Elektra in a new radioactive form.

After a particularly destructive rampage, a collection of Marvel's superheroes decided that everyone would be happier if the Hulk was sent to a nice alien planet where he could do whatever he wanted without hurting anyone. Of course, things didn't go plan, and he ended up on a planet filled with enslaved aliens that he helped free, becoming that planet's ruler and, in the process, falling in love with Caiera, who becomes his bride before being killed by the explosion of the spaceship that brought him to the planet. (All of this is from the Planet Hulk storyline, soon to be a DVD animated movie:

In many ways, that trailer hits the highpoints of the story.)

Following the death of his wife, the Hulk got together with a bunch of freed slaves and returned to Earth to punish the heroes who'd sent him to space in the first place, blaming them for the explosion and Caiera's demise. After fighting a lot of superheroes and turning New York's underground into a modern Gladiatorial battle between Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic, it was revealed that it was one of the slaves who'd caused the explosion - He was worried that a happy Hulk was a soft Hulk, and so wanted to make him mad. Never a good move with the Hulk - and the Hulk pretty much let himself get defeated, turning back into Bruce Banner and being contained by the US military (This was World War Hulk).

He was released from captivity to fight the Red Hulk, but ended up having all the gamma radiation in his body drained by his crimson counterpart, meaning that he was stuck as Bruce Banner forever... Or, at least, for a couple of months; while Incredible Hulk #600 made the "Bruce Banner forever" claim in July 2009, it only took until October for Banner to get re-irradiated for future Hulk adventures.

She-Hulk
Jennifer Walters became a Hulk when she had an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner. Unlike her cousin, though, she's had no history of mental illness, and so keeps the same personality when she hulks out, meaning that she's the respectable member of the family. That probably explains why she's been a member of so many superteams, including the Fantastic Four, Avengers and Defenders.

Currently, she's missing, following an explosion. The Red She-Hulk has claimed that she's dead, but, come on. It's comics. That never works.

Announced at this weekend's Fan Expo Canada convention, World War Hulks: Alpha will introduce the Intelligensia, the evil equivalent of the company's "Illuminati" grouping of Iron Man, Professor Xavier, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Strange that's been active in the run-up to their Civil War, World War Hulk and Secret Invasion events. Writer Jeff Parker explains:

The collective are: The Leader. Dr. Doom. Modok. Red Ghost. Egghead. Wizard, and Mad Thinker... What they have in common is their super minds. Each are so smart that they tend to feel like a different thing altogether than the rest of humanity. Like the laws of man shouldn't apply to them.

And what brings them together? Well, that'd be what's happened to the Hulk recently... which, by the time Alpha is released, will include Bruce Banner's alter-ego's son and daughter living on Earth (One of them's more of a clone-thing than a sex thing, mind you), the continued existence of the still-mysterious Red Hulk and new and equally-mysterious Red She-Hulk, plus some suspicious goings-on surrounding old-school characters Doc Samson (gamma-powered shrink) and She-Hulk (gamma-powered lawyer). As Alpha leads into a story that'll run in both The Incredible Hulk and Hulk, it'll become, according to The Incredible Hulk writer Greg Pak,

the kind of insanely huge, no-holds-barred smashfest that could only be done in comics. For sheer, visceral, fun action, it's gonna be tough to top... All mysteries and character development of our biggest characters pay off in the hugest ways imaginable during this story. It's absolutely critical for Bruce Banner, the Hulk, and every member of the Hulk Family — and it'll set up an incredibly rich dramatic arc for future stories.

World War Hulks: Alpha is released in December.

In Space Judge, an attorney gets abducted from Earth, and forced to preside over a People's Court-type courtroom for the amusement of bizarre-looking aliens.

Here's the synopsis:

On the planet Tukluk, Jack, an earthling, is forced to preside over an alien court where common punishments are severing of limbs (they’ll grow back), or 500 years in prison (if that being’s lifespan might be, say, 600 years). It’s all bizarre and extreme, and Jack, as Space Judge, succeeds at bringing a sense of decency and a moral code to the planet that didn’t exist before. As a result, Jack is hugely popular, and his biggest fan is the Earth-obsessed Overlord’s daughter, Chevy (named after the beautiful Earth transportation device). Chevy would like to be a lawyer herself, but her father won’t allow female lawyers (Who would take them seriously? Seriously!). There’s an intelligent banter between Jack and Chevy, and the sexual chemistry is obvious but, the Overlord warns his daughter, “People can’t date humans.”

You might have guessed that the Overlord is a pin-headed, sexist and homo-phobic buffoon. He’ll quickly laugh at his own stupid jokes, or pat his daughter on the head as he sends her on an important mission: “Find me the two coldest beers in the galaxy.”

Jobee, the Overlord’s sycophantic assistant, has the hots for Chevy too, and is obsessed with getting rid of Jack and taking over as Space Judge.

Space Judge is the brainchild of Mark Gross, currently a writer on the sitcom Gary Unmarried, and Scott Schofield, who's a producer on Kyle XY, and started his career as an assistant production coordinator on Space: Above And Beyond. Here's the show's trailer:

Gross says the idea of Space Judge came about as way to satirize thorny social issues without falling afoul of network interference. "I was working on a show for ABC, and the network was squshing a lot of our stories because of advertising." With an outer space setting, you can address racism, for example, using red and green people. And nobody will object. Also, Gross was attracted to the idea of a sitcom about a guy who's trapped in a place where he doesn't belong and doesn't want to be — but where people need him.

Gross and Schofield shot a 10-minute short video of Space Judge, and then edited it into the three-minute trailer you see above. They don't have a complete episode yet, but they have enough of a "sizzle reel" to show to the networks. As you can see from the above, the show is done very cheaply, using a greenscreen for all the backgrounds, but the cheapness is part of the show's humor. The show deliberately plays with its fake-looking stuff — for example, one spaceship is a Nerf football. Schofield says he and Gross thought about making the show much bigger and more ambitious, but decided it would actually be funnier to go small and "make your limitations part of the story." Silly touches include an alien overlord's chambers, which are one of the rooms in the palace at Versailles.

So far, the duo is just starting to talk to cable networks, including Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block. They've also considered doing it as a webseries, which would give them more artistic freedom and less pressure to appeal to big advertisers. "There's huge advantages on the web," says Gross. But there might be more money, and more of of a chance for it take off, if they do it for a cable network.

I really like the weird cartoony look of the greenscreen fakery and the rubber-monster looking aliens. If the new space sitcom Boldly Going Nowhere takes off, I could totally see it riding that wave. One thing's for sure: the Space Judge is going to rule! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Here's a video of the making of Space Judge:

This image was released from Marvel Comics on Wednesday, without any comment other than "Ring in the New Year by welcoming an all-new Savage She-Hulk to Marvel!":

The new She-Hulk in question appears to be the offspring of the Hulk and Fantastic Four character Thundra, the result of genetic experimentation to find a new protector of the 23rd Century Earth - which, by the way, has become a female-dominated planet called Femizonia (I only wish I was making this up). If true, it demonstrates another step in Marvel's recent domestication of their green monster franchise; it was only last year that we were introduced to Skaar, Son Of Hulk, after all. Suddenly, calling their anthology title Hulk Family seems entirely appropriate.

Happy New Year from the All-New Savage She-Hulk [Marvel]

Website Marvel Animation Age is reporting that all work on announced animated series Hulk: Gamma Corps has been stopped, with existing work being folded into the upcoming Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series:

Joshua Fine, Director of Animation Development for Marvel Animation [said that e]ven though the creative team was well into pre-production of Hulk: Gamma Corps, with scripting underway, they saw the chance to tell bigger stories that reached far beyond Hulk's universe.

"It became apparent to us that the creative work that was being done to bring Hulk’s world and his villains to life was too good to relegate to his universe alone, and would be much better suited as part of an full-on Avengers scenario," says Fine.

A more realistic reason for the change was the underperformance of this summer's Hulk movie; when Gamma Corps was initially announced, the show's existence was defined as being "contingent on the movie’s performance."

The cancellation of the project may be a blessing in disguise for the Green Goliath; the concept was a surprising departure from familiar takes on the Hulk, instead giving us a Bruce Banner who teamed with other gamma-ray-powered characters like She-Hulk and Doc Samson to fight "deadly threats" (Probably traditional Hulk badguys like the Abomination, the Leader and... um... Zzzax), which seems to rob the character of both his "tragic loner" and "misunderstood monster" traits. Sticking him in the Avengers cartoon gives him more of a chance to act out... as well as more chance for audiences to get ready to see him as the kind of threat that the movie Avengers will have to stop.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is due to be broadcast in 2011.

"Hulk: Gamma Corps" Status Confirmed, Update On "The Avengers: Earth's Greatest Heroes" [Marvel Animation Age]

Marvel Apes launches next month, with ape variant covers for many of September's Marvel Comics also available.

Behold The Invincible Iron-Monkey [Comic Book Resources]

Playboys:

I think comics are one of the few places you still see men referred to as "playboys." Usually it's part of a phrase that also references their wealth, like "billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne." In any case, Bruce Wayne lives up to the term, bedding lots of supermodels as well as Talia Al Ghul, daughter of his arch-foe Ra's Al Ghul. When Grant Morrison took over writing Batman, he vowed to bring back "hairy-chested love god Batman," who really never left. Here's a whole article from the Long Island Voice complaining that "Batman Gets Laid Too Much." (They're uptight in Long Island, I guess.)

And then there's Tony Stark/Iron Man, who's portrayed as a total ladies' man in many of his comic-book appearances as well as his recent movie, where he seduces a hostile reporter in like 10 seconds flat.

I don't think Wolverine is a billionaire or even a millionaire, but he's hooked up with a lot of women in his time — there's one issue of Grant Morrison's New X-Men where he goes to Asia to fight some army of evil, and he meets a female mutant bad-ass ninja. A few pages later, they're off to bed together. It's part of Wolverine's mystique — his animalistic drive and beasty scent drive women wild, and his healing factor probably gives him incredible stamina. He's slept with everybody, including Black Widow. He's even had sex with the Scarlet Witch's mom (Magneto's wife) in The Ultimates.

Also, The Spirit, Will Eisner's pulpy detective/science hero/superhero, had women all over him, all the time, says Reading Comics author Douglas Wolk. Just look here. And here. And here. And Spider-Man gets his fair share of excitement, including dating a bunch of models and marrying a model/actress. He had the easiest divorce in history, courtesy of the Marvel Universe version of the Devil, and has been dating like a madman ever since. And Wally West, who took over as the Flash in the mid-1980s, was speeding through a series of one-night stands before he finally settled down with his wife Linda. Plus Luke Cage, aka the former Power Man, has scored with a number of superheroes in his time, and has been described as a big "Cape-Chaser" in Alias #6.

Other big comic-book playas include Batman's protege Nightwing, Green Arrow and his sidekick Red Arrow, and most of the Authority. There's a running subplot in recent issues of Green Lantern where John Stewart teases Hal Jordan (the original silver age Lantern) about his huge number of booty calls. And thanks to commenter Whitworthian for the list of all the women Daredevil has hooked up with.

Women of ill repute:

There's a great scene in a She Hulk comic where She Hulk goes to bed with Tony Stark, because why not? And afterwards, She Hulk and Tony have a whole conversation about the double standard: they both love having sex, with lots and lots of other people, but Tony gets to be a cool "stud," and she gets jeered at as a naughty slut. (The SHIELD helicarrier gets conveniently attacked before Tony can give a good answer.)

She Hulk's huge sexual appetite is a by-product of her Gamma-radiated superpowers, and it's a huge theme of Dan Slott's run on the comic: when she gets big and green, she gets really, really horny and has fewer inhibitions. She beds lots of male models and superheroes — but she protests that she never had sex with the Juggernaut. (The She Hulk-Juggernaut hook-up happened in a comic by reviled writer Chuck Austen.) Eventually she discovers that it was actually an alternate universe version of She-Hulk. But not before she hits on Wolverine, and he gives her shit about it. (Click to enlarge.)

In a similar vein, the poor Huntress gets all kinds of shit in Birds Of Prey, after she sleeps with her fellow hero Oracle's ex, and she sleeps with her fellow hero Black Canary's (sorta) step-son Speedy/Arsenal/Red Arrow. Says Black Canary, "Gee, Helena, maybe this would be easier if you'd just tell us who you haven't done the freak dance with?" (Later, Oracle and Canary apologize for slut-shaming Huntress — but not before Huntress has had sex with Josh the parking attendant whom she agreed to date in exchange for help on a mission.)

But Black Canary should totally not talk — she has hooked up with lots of guys during her single days, including the Ray, a teenage superhero whom she, ummm... took under her wing. (DC Comics' editors have since tried to claim the Canary-Ray hookup didn't happen, but it's right there on the page.) Another superhero woman who gets lots of nookie is Tesla Strong, daughter of Tom Strong.

Then there's The Pro, about a sex worker who gets superpowers from the all-powerful Viewer, and joins a thinly veiled parody of the Justice League. She's expelled for profanity, ultra-violence, and for giving the Saint (a Superman rip-off) a blow job.

Heroes Who Cheat:

In the movie The Specials, Ms. Indestructible proves that her sexual ethics aren't indestructible after all, by cheating on her husband the Strobe with his friend, the Weevil. Also, Scott Summers aka Cyclops cheats on his wife, Jean Grey, with the formerly evil Emma Frost — although only psychically, I think. Meanwhile, here's a guy who thinks Jean was looking at Wolverine a little too much — and he's really really really mad about it.

Also, the whole plot of Jay Faerber's Dynamo 5 series revolves around adultery — Captain Dynamo is a beloved protector of his native Tower City. But after he dies, it turns out he's slept with tons of women besides his wife — and he's had five kids by various mothers. Each one of the kids has inherited one of his superpowers, and they all have to team up to save the day.

Sexually transmitted superpowers:

Some superheroes actually get their superpowers in the sack — like the heroes of John Byrne's Next Men, mutants whose powers are triggered when they become sexually active with another superpowered person. (Because the teenagers, grown in a lab, are more innocent, they refer to sex as "dancing." Awww. They "dance" a lot, even after it's given them their superpowers already.)

Also, in OMAC #5, the OMAC nanovirus passes from Mike to Vienna when they hook up, giving her special robo-superpowers. In Alan Moore's Top Ten, there's the S.T.O.R.M.S. sexually transmitted disease, which either kills you or (in rare cases) gives you superpowers.

But my favorite is probably the novel The Bonds Of Love by J.M. Snyder, as described in this review:

Whenever Matt and Vic have sex, super-powers get conferred upon Vic. If you can think of a super-power, Vic has probably already experienced it: the ability to fly, self-heal, teleport, be invisible, or develop immense strength. Some powers are of dubious use: once his bones kept melting away, and he had to call in sick because he couldn't drive a bus with a boneless arm!

It turns out the powers originate with Matt, but he confers them onto Vic. Or something.

Okay, I'm sure I missed some incredibly awesome and obvious examples of superheroes whose booty calls outnumber their calls to adventure. (For one thing, there was an actual comic, Young Heroes In Love, all about superheroes' love lives, but it's a blur to me now.) Who else did I forget?

Thanks to Douglas Wolk, once again, for research help.