I'm going to submit in a day or so.
( I think it's better than last year's anyway-critique away! )
It weird explaining my experience to people who aren't comic book fans- they're all like "did this really happen?" and "I can't believe someone would do this". OH BELIEVE IT.
It's many pages, so. Be warned.
( TRUE LIFETIME STORY )
I'm still alive, just a tumblrite! But I want to do a COMIC REVIEW and I figure this would be the best place to do it!
Basically this was the Batman Brave and Bold ALL ROBINS ISSUE. This and the Tiny Titans all BATGIRL issue are the only DC Comics I will buy now. I LOVE how just as all these Batgirls and Robins get shafted, the kids comics do fantastic issues featuring all of them together being awesome. Such a fabulous FU to the main continuity. LOVE.
This comic is also better than anything the regular company's put out in years
The cover is all the Robins (ALL OF THEM STEPH AND CARRIE INCLUDED) and Disco Wing so THE BEST.
Page 1/2/3: I can't get over discowing. YOU. He and Speedy are trolling each other when RANDOM PHANTOM STRANGER. And then a fantastic double page spread with Batman in a pieta and BATMAN DIES AT DAWN!!! Everyone's expression just...Dick, Carrie and Tim look like they're basically going "oh god not this again over it" (Tim is facepalming), Steph is horrified, Damian's like "...huh" and Jason is a sad panda. Steph has her anime hair, it looks fab in this art style!
Page 4: Greatest page in history of pages. Jason is AUTOMATICALLY AGGRESSIVELY SUSPECTS EVERYONE OF MURDER (oh you) and Steph GETS UP IN HIS FACE because NO ONE CALLS HER A PHONY ROBIN SHE'S HAD ENOUGH OF THAT SHIT. Oh gosh she is so fierce and perfect look at Jason's expression he is basically completely intimidated. Damian does his "ttt" thing and is like "In case no one told you girls can't be Robin!" (Oh look Damian is Dan Didio) and Carrie is just TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL totally chill. "Shyeah. Figure we can't." You can't even touch her ilu Carrie.
Page 5: But Dick Head Robins it up and is like "BATMAN NEEDS US!!!" and Phantom Stranger is like "YES THIS IS A CRISIS THAT REQUIRES ALL THE ROBINS.
Page 6/7: Oh gosh Damian you angry little cat doing the Robin handpunch thing. Basically a family went into Crime Alley (seriously why are people always going in there) to be menaced by a thug in a PURPLE SWEATSUIT!!! Batman flipped out and got stupid and therefore shot yadda yadda.
Page 8: Steph is all "HE NEEDS A DOCTOR!!" (no Steph that's real world logic you silly) and Carrie is like "FUTURE SLANG" and Steph is all "...what did you say?" Ahhh girl Robins interacting and being hilarious together I love it. I like how Steph is the most emotional about this, girl is all heart. Jason is of course all "STOP TALKING I'M OUT OF HERE TO KICK ASS WE MUST ACT" and Tim is all "NO! PLANS! TEAMWORK!" Oh gosh Robins.
Page 9: Dick is now in full older brother mode and reciting the BATMAN RULES. Steph is still freaking out oh my poor baby you care so much. Jason's all "WHO SAYS YOU'RE IN CHARGE" and Damian's like "I DO (I LOVE HIM) YOU HAD BETTER LISTEN TO HIM" oh my gosh it's so adorable I love that they had Damian inadvertantly revealing his *special bond* with Dick Grayson. It's an ANGRY ROBIN FACE OFF and Damian is basically like "hey I know you're gonna die say one more word it happens sooner". Um. Harsh. Tim is like "oh they're just worried and covering it up with their anger " because this is happy rational Tim (you can tell from the costume) and not douchebagTim. Dick *comforts* Stephanie with a manly shoulder pat oh my gosh I'm in love.
Page 10: And of course Damian can't be in the same comic with Steph without insulting her (though he's fanboying Dick at the same time I notice) and Steph is going to punch his little face in and is like "NIGHTWING DOES NOT TRUST US NO ONE BELIEVES IN ME :(((" my poor temperamental insecure baby and Tim is like "NO WE PROTECT BATMAN HE BELIEVES IN US THE MOST" because again this is the good Tim.
Page 11/12: and then assassins. Haha Damian. "ASSASSINS I COMMAND YOU BY MY BIRTHRIGHT- oh shit I haven't been born yet that's right".The best. His sheepish expression is actually pretty adorable.
Page 13: Then Dick decides to randomly analyze everyone's fighting because he's a dork. Jason IS THE ANGRY ROBIN. Damian is the other angry Robin only he is an assassin so PRECISION. Carrie is the awesome slingshot girl with enthusiasm and attitude. DICK IS AN ACROBAT.
Page 14: "Stephanie seem good but she's headstrong" Yep, that's my girl. Yay Dick recognizes she's GOOD yessss good comic. So her team up with Tim is because he's the RATIONAL ROBIN and they are a pretty great team they look so amazing (even if Tim's leg is miscolored).JUST LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS only Tim isn't being condescending to Steph at all HURRAY. RA'S AL GHUL.
Page 15: Carrie's thumbs up at Damian is the cutest thing. And then "WE WERE ALL TRAINED BY THE BEST SO WHATEVER THE ODDS WHEN WE'RE TOGETHER WE'RE UNBEATABLE!" Yessss. There is nothing not to love about this. Steph and Tim being back to back badasses with high kicks, Jason punching two dudes at one, DAMIAN IS BASICALLY DUCKING AROUND LIKE A LITTLE CAT, and Carrie with her slingshot. DISCOWING!
Page 16: Ra's Al Ghul: STOP! *Everyone bows*
Damian: So that's how you do that...
Damian stop it gosh tumblr has made me too fond of you but he is seriously pretty hilarious here. Oh gosh Steph's faaaace she's so upfront about how worried she is and Tim has his hand on her shoulder (it's miscolored) THE MOST ADORABLE I LOVE IT. Damian is trying to play it ice cold but his random cheek tugging gives it away.
Page 17: Aaah Look at Damian's face is facade has totally cracked he is freaking out as much as Steph now. Then Jason gets all up in Ra's face, oh you.
page 18: All the Robin faces are so perfect. Dick is smiling, Jason is fistpumping, Tim is jumping up and down and cheering like a dork, Steph is like :0 and Damian and Carrie have TWIN SMIRKS. SASSY ROBINS.
Page 19: Dick is like "whatever Batman is immune to insanity as long as he has my loving hand to guide him" and Batman is like "YES I AM" and then Steph does the GREATEST TACKLE HUG. She knocks the wind right out of him! Ohmygosh such perfect Steph.
Page 20: STEPH IS STILL HUGGING even while Batman is all "um do I know all of you what" and Carrie is like "FIGURE YOU WILL" while Damian does the manly shoulder pat. Actually I take it back THIS is the best page because Madame Xanadu lets us know if the Robins couldn't get it done WE GOT ALL THE BATGIRLS. THAT'S RIGHT. Babs. STEPH (apparently she's so awesome she can exist in two places at once). BETTE. CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSS. Crisis of Infinite Batgirl come to liiiife!
Perfect comic perfect comic. The best thing about this is it confirms all these robins and batgirls come to be in BATB, and since BATB Batman is much nicer than regular Batman (who isn't) he probably treats Steph well and doesn't fire her! He is also probably nicer to Jason and Damian too! Steph achieves the Robinhood she deserves in one canon continuity yeeeessss.
100000000000000000000000/5. SHOLLY FISCH YOU ARE FLAWLESS NEW FAVORITE PERSON.
I hope they do a Batgirls one too. Tiny Titans was great but my DESIRES ARE ENDLESS.
gonna post my review of the whole Batgirl series and last issue soon someday (been busy writing fic, sporking fic, doing internships and ramdomly discussing Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sailor Moon on Tumblr...also letting everyone move into my apartment....
I actually finished the 25 chapter DAYD sporking. Tearing apart terribly sexist, overrated fanfic was fun, but exhausting, I'm going to do a linkpost of all the sporks on journalfen sometime, but for now, here's the memories post that links all chapters.
Then I actually did some fic of my own! About Ginny Weasley!
Actuallly. after finishing my sporking and seeing the DH movie again, I got some random urge to write my own ideas of what it might have been like for Ginny when they all started the DA and stole the sword of Gryffindor. I really love Ginny (BET YOU COULDN'T TELL) and hate how fandom shafts her. I wish she'd gotten more screentime in canon as well. And then the movies basically shaft her completely. So, this was my attempt to write some Ginnyfic in an effort to give her the attention she deserves, show the badass things we know she did, and actually look into what I think she'd be insecure about a bit. Did it work? YOU DECIDE! I had a hard time writing Snape in this position (though I don't think I did as bad as most people...ahem....) and the last bit is totally contrived, but whatever, I finished the fic and that's more than I expected of myself. I'm proud to have a Year 7 missing moment fic under my belt and a Ginny fic!
Neville and Luna feature prominently in this too of course, and it was fun to write them- maybe I'll do sequels from their POV sometime.
( The Sword of Gryffindor )
The Sailor Moon/ Wonder Woman crossover continues!
This bit mostly focuses on the Sailor Moon side of things. It's really long and full of ANGST. Sort of. Don't worry though, it won't drag on. I guess that's why I decided to mostly draw from Anime canon for this fic, Manga!Usagi had pretty much finished her personal journey by the end of her story and the other characters as well, while Anime!Usagi, I feel, still had some self-worth issues that hadn't been addressed, and while the aftermath of the Stars manga would basically be "well, that sucked, but we're okay now" as Usagi and the others seemed to have fully grocked and made peace with the implications of everything that had happened, the Stars anime still had some implications that needed to be adressed and I felt that if we looked at it realistically, the characters would struggle with. So basically I just thought it would be interesting to address that, hence the whole freaking out bit Usagi does here. I mean, the anime ended with her still needing reassurance from Mamoru that she was loved, and still sometimes feeling she wasn't strong, so that's what I'm trying to do here. So um. Yeah.
Fanfiction.net link
For those not familiar as familiar with the manga canon, Sailor V was of course the identity Sailor Venus assumed before joining the team- she was the first Senshi to be contacted, and has the entirety of the V prequel manga was her heroics before she even knew about her connection to Sailor Moon. She remembered her past life as the guardian of the moon princess at the end of the manga, and set out to search for her comrades and protect her princess. She also decided to work with the police, having befriended the superintendent Sakurada. This takes place between the end of the V manga and the beginning of Sailor Moon.. In the Sailor Moon manga, Tuxedo Kamen was introduced as a gentlemen thief type who had been going around robbing jewelry stores because he was getting visions telling him to find the Silver Crystal. He has no idea about his past life as Earth's Prince/Guardian and in fact, has no memory of his childhood at all, and so is desperate to find answers and knows the Silver Crystal can lead him to them.
In the live action version of Sailor Moon, the thief thing was amped up even more and Sailor V was shown to be Tuxedo Kamen's nemesis in the beginning of the show, showing up to bust him whenever he stole shit. As in the manga, she knew who everyone was, only she was actually was determined to keep Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon apart, because in the live action their little lovefest had led even more directly to the destruction of the world in the past. Despite being nemesises, I can't recall them ever actually exchanging significant words on the show, and Sailor Venus's live action personality was all serious and somber, completely the opposite of her cheerful, loopy and hyper (but still an extremely effective hero and leader) manga persona.
So this fanfic was just basically me exploring the possibility that the same scenario (Sailor V runs into Tuxedo Kamen stealing shit and busts him) could have very well happened in the manga, only it would be a lot more conversational and low-key due to manga V having a brighter-but-still-equally-kickass personality and no major grudge against him- and being a bit less informed. Also it explores the fact Tuxedo Kamen is actually a huge dork who is really lonely awwww. Like I said, it takes place between the Sailor V and Sailor Moon manga, so before either had properly met Sailor Moon (though V knows about her past life) except the end bit takes place during chapter 1 of the Sailor Moon manga, just after Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon briefly met, and Venus hasn't revealed herself yet. Hope you enjoy!
( Something Interesting )
*(When V refers to having a bad experience with a guy named Mamoru, that's all in the V manga. Her rant is past life stuff, where she had to keep Princess Serenity from sneaking out to see Mamoru's past life incarnation, Prince Endymion, which was also covered in the manga)
My letter to DC Comics. A little overlong, but actually way shorter than it was before. The one I sent to the letter column was slightly shorter, I will send this one via snail mail, though if there's any suggestions for editing, please let me know. It will be sent Friday. A lot of it is just the post I just did edited and reformatted.
To whom it may concern at DC Comics,
I am writing to tell you that the decision to revert Barbara Gordon to Batgirl has made me decide to stop reading your comics after five years of steady and loyal readership. I am a young woman who would represent relatively new readership, the sort your company claims it’s trying to court with added diversity in the reboot. But instead, your erasure of Barbara Gordon as Oracle and erasure of comics most prominent disabled hero, as well as what looks to be the erasure of my other two favorite characters- one of whom is Asian, the other of whom is a lower class assault survivor, and both of whom have been erased by your company before- has driven me away. Sorry this letter is so long, but as it is my farewell, I figured I should not leave anything out.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about Barbara- when it looked like you were going to regress her two years ago (before the new Batgirl title debuted) I wrote in my concerns. You listened to fans like me and kept Oracle. But it appears you’ve gone in this direction again, and I will restate my reasons why this upsets me enough to leave if only because I feel it’s right to let you know as a former customer.
I first started getting comics five years ago, when I was barely fourteen. Almost immediately my three favorite characters were Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon as Oracle. Oracle inspired me with her strength and ability to reinvent herself. I loved the legacy she had passed onto Cass and Cassandra’s strength in carrying it out and how Cassandra followed her moral convictions and turned her back on the wrong things she had been taught as a child. Stephanie Brown was her best friend, a plucky self-made hero who never gave up and even got to be Robin! She like Cass and Babs, was constantly strong, constantly moving forward to reinvent herself.
So I cheered when these characters were treated well. When Steph became Batgirl, her title was wonderful. I mourned the loss of Cass though, but held out hope for her return. Meanwhile, Oracle remained a unique and independent hero, mentoring Steph, inspiring and leading other heroes as the information hub of the DC Universe. Batgirl was part of her and it was the legacy she passed on, but she was more powerful and unique than ever as Oracle. Not only that, but she gave a little representation to the disabled community. I know of countless who love her for that. Giving Babs her leg use back when real life people do not have that choice, and treating the move like it means she’s more effective now, a wholer person and a better character, is unbelievably offensive..
So, you can see, by regressing Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, you have taken my three favorite characters away from me in one move. I have heard no news of Stephanie and Cassandra in the reboot. Even if they still exist in some capacity, they have has their accomplishments, legacy and identities erased by returning Babs as the one “true” Batgirl (as trusted professionals like Gail Simone seem to be selling Babs’ return that way) and tossing these two away. Never mind that from what I can see, Stephanie’s title did pretty well, it still gets to be tossed aside like nothing.
Batgirl is a name that inherently speaks of youth, being new to the job and not Batman’s equal in experience. Barbara is none of those things. There is no reason a thirty plus woman who is one of the world’s most seasoned heroes would let herself be called a girl- especially when Katherine Kane, not any older than Babs and certainly less experienced, calls herself “woman”. So are you planning to deage Barbara Gordon and strip her of all her experience? That’s the same as depowering her, and it’s gross.
The fact is, Babs has outgrown Batgirl and sticking her in that role again is as ridiculous as sticking Dick Grayson the scaly panties again. Wouldn’t that be demeaning and degrading to his character? But Babs is a woman, so she doesn’t get the respect Dick does. Women can be regressed; they can have their accomplishments erased.
Cass has finally JUST returned in an independent role with her own place in the DCU, only to be immediately erased again. I sort of doubt DC’s commitment to diversity with this treatment of their most prominent Asian character who had the longest running title of any person of color in their company.
This company cannot just put pants on some women and call it a day and then say they are diversifying and trying to attract a female audience. Not when in one fell motion, you trashed the disabled woman, the Asian woman and the poor woman.
I have a blogroll of mostly women bloggers and not a single one of them is happy with this decision. Women are more likely to be the “new fans” attached to Cass, Steph and Oracle. It’s the straight white aging male who wants to regress to Babsgirl and the Silver Age.
Your company never saw fit to put Cass and Steph in outside media, so of course they aren’t as recognizable as the Barbara Gordon Batgirl. Still, the average Joe doesn’t know who Barbara Gordon is. They won’t care if Batgirl is a redhead, Asian or blonde, just as long as she’s in a recognizable costume and easy to understand. In fact, Dick Grayson as Robin is a far more recognizable property than Barbara Gordon Batgirl, but again, I don’t see you regressing him to Robin for that reason.
Come September, I am gone for good. This move had convinced me you do not care about the characters I care about, and are not really committed to diversity or your audience. It is with a heavy heart I make this decision, but it is what’s best for my wallet.
Batgirl is a name that inherently speaks of youth, being new to the job and not Batman's equal in experience. Barbara is none of those things. There is no reason a thirty plus woman who is one of the world's most seasoned heroes would let herself be called a girl- especially when Katherine Kane, not any older than Babs and certainly less experienced, calls herself "woman". Having Babs as Batgirl and Kate as Batwoman implies Babs is a rookie and whippersnapper compared to her, maybe even her sidekick. That is not true, and it's silly. Babs, who has always been proud of her experience, would not stand for that. So, is DC planning to deage Barbara Gordon and strip her of all her experience? That's the same as depowering her, and it's gross. Or will they ignore the silliness of the whole thing?
The fact is, Babs has outgrown Batgirl, and sticking her in that role again is as ridiculous as sticking Dick Grayson the scaly panties again. It would be demeaning and silly. But Babs is a woman, so she doesn't get the respect Dick does. Women can be regressed, they can have their accomplishments erased. The fact is Babs is no longer a distaff counterpart, she no longer answers to Batman and is his equal in experience. But that doesn't matter.
And what of Cass and Steph? Well, DC doesn't consider them important enough to even say anything about. A slew of titles has been released, and the Batboys all have their own stuff and are nearly all accounted for, but Cass and Steph get zip. Of course, these two girls are used to being shafted. Steph was fridged, forgotten and demeaned in every way possible, her female fans treated like shit and she finally gets barely more than two years of respect and spotlight- only to have that tossed away without a second thought despite the fact her title sold well and her trade made the best graphic novels list. She did great in trades. But Bryan Q. Miller hasn't been approached to write any new DC titles, which doesn't look good for Steph. And don't even get me started on Cass. Dragon ladied, dragged through the mud and forgotten, she JUST reentered comics in an independent role and had a hope of finally getting decent treatment- only to have it snatched away. To possibly be erased.
See, one of the things Babs is losing is a legacy. She taught and nurtured Cass and Steph, passed on the mantle like all true heroes do and passed her knowledge on, and Cass and Steph carried on her good work. Batgirl was one of the few female legacies in comics and one of the best. That's lost now too. The mantle doesn't get passed on, great relationships and mentorships don't get forged, instead, we regress and lose all of them.
DC cannot just put pants on some women and call it a day and then say they are diversifying and trying to attract a female audience. Not when in one fell motion, they trashed the disable woman, the asian woman and the poor woman. Even trusted professionals like Gail Simone are burbling about how now when Gotham looks up they'll see Batgirl- implying Babs is the only "real" Batgirl, completely erasing Cass and Steph's accomplisments, as well as devaluing Oracle's in forging a legacy.
The fact is that I have a blogroll of mostly women bloggers and not a single one of them is happy with this decision. As one pointed out, women are more likely to be the "new fans" who weren't around for the Silver Age and thus attached to Cass, Steph and Oracle. It's the straight white aging male who wants to regress to Babsgirl and the Silver Age. DC never saw fit to put Cass and Steph in outside media, because, as has been clearly established, they don't give a damn about them. So Babsgirl is more recognizable- but the average Joe doesn't know who Barbara Gordon is. They won't care if Batgirl is a redhead, Asian or blonde, just as long as she's in a recognizable costume and easy to understand. In fact, Dick Grayson as Robin is a far more recognizable property than Babsgirl, but again, I don't see DC regressing him to Robin "because they're a business".
I will get Steph's series until it ends, and Gates of Gotham, What's the point of getting anything else? After that, nothing. There's no point in reading a universe where my three favorite characters are erased and devalued without a second thought. Sure, I like Batwoman, but she'll probably be erased next. Why should I wait around for Jaime Reyes to get his head shot open for real this time? DC doesn't care about diversity. Not really.
I'm down to the Unwritten, Thor and whatever indies catch my fancy. I'll try out Heroes for Hire, get into Marvel a little more. I'm glad I have anime and manga now. I'm relieved, really. I don't have to get slapped in the face anymore. I will write a letter to DC telling why I'm leaving. Mostly, I'm just going to enjoy these characters in fandom and the wonderful friends I've met through fandom. It's better that way, anyway. I'm glad this news didn't come out earlier and sour HeroesCon. I got too amazing posters of Steph!Batgirl and comished a piece of Steph and Cass as (Black)Batman and Robin, and I'll treasure them forever.
The only significant panel I attended today was the Project Rooftop one (I also stopped by Nick Cardy for a while, which was okay. The poor guy kept forgetting what he was talking about though). I really enjoyed it obvs, seeing all those pieces again made my heart stoooop. Kinda disapproved of Maris Wicks calling Black Canary and Vampirella’s dress “slutty” though whatevs. THERE ARE OTHER ADJECTIVES. EXPLOITATIVE IS A GOOD ONE. But omg Ming Doyle Dean Trippe and Carrol and Quinones I love all of them they were all fab I’m going to get a commission from one though today they all seemed expensive (expensive for me is over twenty dollahs for the record)- I definitely recall Trippe being cheaper last year, do the rates go down as the weekend goes on or is the economy going to stand in the way of my commissions? I want a Robin!Steph and a Blackbat or Batgirl Cass. And maybe and Oracle? SO TORN.
There are no official DC question and answer panels at this con, which sucks but at least means I probably won’t have another rage attack or get told by professionals they wanted to me and my Stephanie lovin Sistahs in the face!
I GOT SAILOR MOON PLUSHIES I NEARLY DIED WHEN I SAW THEM SAILOR MOON AND SAILOR MARS OH GOOOOD
Then I realized they were clearly bootleg. Usagi doesn’t even have gloves she has awkward wrist things how do you make that mistake? Also her crystal is a star and her belt is wrong and no tiara. SLOPPY. The only problem with Mars is that she doesn’t have a bow in the back though.
but who cares STILL ADORABLE. I’ll just get the legit UFO catchers for me birthday BECAUSE I NEED A SAILOR JUPITER AND URANUS AND PROBABLY NEPTUNE SO URANUS WON’T GET LONELY AND MAYBE A LEGIT SAILOR MOON AND MARS MAYBE and okay maybe I should just say all of them. Despite my realization I am still tempted to get bootleg!Sailor Mercury (there were three of her so I decided I could wait to see if she was marked down)
Aaaaand I got totally bootleg anime too except for the Sprited Away movie that looks legit. But I got Trigun and Cardcaptor Sakura (yes the whole series for only 30 dollars omg) There was also PGSM omg. Mom was like “but you already downloaded that” and I was like WHO CARES THAT DOES NOT MATTER. So I’ll eventually convince her to let me get them. It’s my money geez.
I got more Buffy comics. They were actually NOT bootleg.
Tomorrow I’ma goin to the Wednesday Comics and From Fabletown with Love and Comics Alliance panels. And we’ll see if I can find some cheap commissions. And maybe some posters? My manga search was a bust too so hopefully tomorrow will yield better.
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