I wanted some new Cass icons so I made a bunch:



In other news, guys, according to the latest ten answers by Didio on newsarama Max and Bart will be interacting lots in the upcoming Kid Flash series! This makes me super happy. I missed those two SO much. Impulse flashbacks are always good (even if there's a new Impulse now. pfah.)

Also, Steph's action figure has been solicited. i can't wait to get my hands on it. I want a Spoiler and Robin action figure too!

Alsoalso Lee Garbett updated his blog. Apparently #5 has a new inker, and she really makes Garbett's art look a lot cleaner. I'm psyched!

And reviews:

The Unwritten #6:

Okay, you have to love a book where the main characters reaction to a Frankenstein Monster telling him stuff he doesn't want to here is "Yeah, well you have a defective brain! And that's in the book! That's canonical!" Tom just said canonical, oh Tom, I love you.

Oh and also there is much suspense building and Tom nearly gets killed and the more magical literary characters appear and it's all very exciting.

5/5

Booster Gold #26:

A "meh"issue. I missed the Jaime back up. There was a nice scene with Diana. and I love that Booster wanted to thanks her for killing Max in his feneraly speech. He completely should have, that would have been the best funeral speech EVAR. It should have been like:
"So Di, thanks for killing Max. The rest of y'all suck. Especially YOU Batman! Guy, Ted loved you even though you were a dick. Oh, and Babs Ted loved you even though you were WITH Dick. Ted rocks, peace out, love Booster." But Jurgens seemed to forget Diana DID offer to help Ted.

Anyway, other than that, there were standard Black Lantern shenanigans. At least it was nice to see Rose and Daniel again.

2/5

S'all!

I got to thinking- Steph wasn't using her diary in the first issue of Batgirl! She was using thought boxes like all the other squares! Then I couldn't resist...

---
( The Diary of Stephanie Brown )


---

That was kind of fun. I'm glad I decided to do that instead of homework!

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea...

I might do more of this later, I have a couple more ideas.

Because you demanded it!

No, actually you didn't, but my homework's done, and I must review this Steph-ish peice of comic.

But first, a public service anouncement:

I've been thinking about this for a while...and I'm still very sad about Cassandra. But the truth is, nobody's written her well, and for so many years, that maybe she does deserve a break. I mean, she's going to need some serious TLC after all this Beechen shit, and for whatever reason, DC doesn't seem to be willing to give it to her right now. Anything they do to her now is going to have to build on the seriously crappy mini, but if they give her a break for a few months, a writer will be able to come in and work around that. Honestly, I'd rather her have a break, slowly reintroduce herself in the Batgirl title later on, and get her cowl back or establish her own identity later, than see her get mangled some more.

And her parting may not have been the best ever, but look at it this way: she didn't get killed off horribly. She didn't get tortured with a power drill. She didn't fuck up, get somebody killed and then quit heroing because she's wracked with guilt. She didn't get shot in the spine. She fought the fight, and when she decided it was time to hang up her cowl, she handed it over to her best friend who she trusts. She got the hell out of dodge before the writers could screw her up anymore.

It could be so much worse. And Cass will be back. I guarantee it. Miller's already said she's reappearing eventually, and while he got her voice pretty off, he didn't do too bad with her , considering he was building on a horrible miniseries. It was really nice to see Steph and Cass fighting together and being friends again, at least. But at any rate, Cass will be back someday, and hopefully with someone who knows how to write her, and actually respects the 70+ issue run of her series.

Meanwhile, Steph is also a character who needs some serious TLC. At least in-universe other heroes acknowledge that Cass is mega-competent (even if she hasn't been acting like it lately). Stephanie, meanwhile, had so much shit dumped on her she became the symbol for all that was wrong with comics treatment of females for a while, and she's been considered nothing more than a screw up by the writers AND other heroes in universe for YEARS, and no writer has bothered to take her beyond that. But it looks like Miller is going to give her some respect, training and hero cred, and that is a freaking long time coming, guys.

Cass has been screwed over. But remember, before Cass was screwed over, Steph was. Maybe they need to fix Steph before they fix her best friend. At any rate, if this series doesn't sell well? DC will blame Steph. They won't blame bad writing, or the fact they booted Cass out. No, they will blame the character. They proved that with the Batgirl mini. And Steph might get worse than Cass got if that happens.

I'm not asking you to buy the series if you don't like it. But just think about it. If you don't like the writing (I think it was a little shaky so far, but Miller has got Steph's voice down and seems to have a promising direction going, and I think he'll get better as he goes along. You may disagree), If you think the series selling well won't stop them from screwing with Steph, or you're too angry about Cass you're ready to go "screw Steph!" , then fine. But I don't want to see two good female characters go down the drain. Cass has a good chance at returning and being written well. Steph might not, if this goes wrong. And if you show interest in this series AND Cass, there's a good chance she'll become a part of the title. Just think about it.

Enough of that. Onto the review! 

( Batgirl #1 )

Other comics will be reviewed...eventually. I'm pretty busy! Anyway, good night everyone.

I. am. so. TORN.

( Spoilers )

I wrote a super long tl;dr post on the prospective Batgirl title during my downtime, but of course, it somehow got deleted. So I'll cut it short.

Babs, thank God, is not going to be the new Batgirl, that much is certain. This is completely confirmed by the Batman November solicit:

Will the combined forces of Oracle, Huntress and Catwoman be enough help for Batman?

Babs stays Cyberpunk!

However, she is in the book, so she will probably mentor BG.

In this preview, unless Bryan Miller cannot get character voices right AT ALL, that is way too chatty to be Cass. However, note that in the last panel, a Batarang is thrown at the thugs from an angle the chatty Batgirl could not have possibly thrown it.

Which makes me hope that Cass threw the Batarang and she and Steph are BOTH Batgirl. Possibly Babs is coordinating a Batgirl Corps with Cass, Steph and possibly Charlie switching off in the role. That would make everyone happy. (except for those who wanted Babs!girl) (Meanwhile, my relief it's not Babs!girl almost wipes out all other concerns...almost)

As Scotty points out, the solicits support this idea:

For #2:

As the new Batgirl continues her nightly mission, the mystery of her secret identity intensifies. Now she has become the target of both Gotham City's heroes (who don't take kindly to a new person wearing the cape and the cowl) and its villains (who want to see the entire Bat-family six feet under)!

It's a new look and a new costume for the all-new Batgirl! As crime in Gotham City continues to rise, the newest member of the Bat-family vows to wear the mantle of the Bat and fight alongside Batman and Robin in their war on crime. There's just one problem: She hasn't told Batman and Robin yet!

For #4

It's Batgirl's first night on the job, and as she'll soon learn, it takes a lot more to wear the mantle of the Bat than she originally thought – especially when she has to juggle patrol, the police and a frat party!

I hope very ardently this turns out to be the case, as it seems the only way we'd have Cass still in the cowl.

There is tons of evidence for Steph being either THE Batgirl or ONE of the Batgirls, meanwhile. Looking at the covers, the first one has a background of eggplant, Steph's color. For the third one, Batgirl's EYES are eggplant. The smirk on the first cover is very Steph, and the silhouette on the fourth has something that might be a Spoiler-style legband on Batgirl's leg.

Meanwhile, in the preview, Batgirl is chatty and snarky, makes a Steph-ish style mistake stopping the truck and comments on it, her sound effects are eggplant and she says Boys are STUPID in a way that might allude to recent troubles with Tim.

The final eggplant clue? Check out the cover to The Web. Batgirl's GAUNTLETS are even eggplant.

Like I said, I REALLY want a Batgirl Corps. Because I have mixed feelings on Steph as Batgirl.

I will not pretend I am not absolutely thrilled at the idea of Steph having her own book. She's deserved a mini series for years, and I love the idea I'll be getting a monthly fix of her where she is NOT just "Tim's sidekick/girlfriend/provider of angst." Also, I am all for her finally getting some respect. Her becoming Batgirl might actually get the writers to respect her and let her grow as hero, since it's not a temporary thing like when she was Robin. And she won't merely be an appendage of Tim. She'll be able to be her own character and have adventures that don't involve him, and he can angst off in his own book. She really needs a space of her own.

As much as I love how the Spoiler identity is independent, as long as she is in it, people will probably associate her with Tim and her past screw ups. Maybe she does need to be Batgirl to become a respected part of the Batfamily, instead of just the local whipping girl and screw up. Besides, she can always go back to being Spoiler, or get another identity, once she's done being Batgirl.

Also, she will be in a title where she'll spend lots of time with Cass, Babs and Charlie! It will be like Gotham Girl Power Hour! Instead of being kicked around by Bruce and Tim and told she's not good enough, she's a screw up, etc., she'll (hopefully) be able to cultivate some strong female friendships. Together, they can stick it to the boys club in Gotham (another reason I love the idea of a Batgirl corps. "Screw you guys, we have our own team!" You can't say that dedBruce and Tim don't deserve it at this point.)

And she's going to even GUEST STAR in other books! She's going to team up with Supergirl! SHE IS GOING TO BE WRITTEN BY STERLING GATES! Be still, my heart. I really, really get excited at the thought of Steph and Kara teaming up. It is a dream come true. Sterling Gates make it almost transcend awesome. It's mega awesome.

She was never important enough to team up with Supergirl or meet any cool characters as Spoiler. This is the truth. But as Batgirl, she is, and it makes me squee to think of it.

But, on the other hand, I don't want her to replace Cass. I love Cass, and she's been treated HORRIBLY the past few years. She deserves to still be Batgirl. And there's the very icky implications you get by having the Bat-family's SOLE NON WHITE member booted out of her role by a white, blonde chick (as much as I love said white blonde chick). Also, the white chick apparently gets to show her hair and face off, while the asian chick had to keep it covered. Like I said, unfortunate implications.

BUT, say Steph is Batgirl and Cass isn't. But she's still used respectfully. She's still Steph's best friend and mentor. Maybe she even gets her own heroic identity (I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to be Batgirl anymore). Well, I'd still buy the book then. I just want Cass to be involved. I want her to be written well.

Since it's Steph, I will be buying this book. But if Cass is horribly marginalized, I will have to drop it. And I don't want to. Because I love Steph having her own book.

And, in case I haven't stressed it enough, what I REALLY want is Batgirl Corps. That way, Steph AND Cass can team up with Supergirl! The thought is so happy making. And Kara will just be confused when the switch off! "Hey, weren't you taller and in a different costume five minutes ago?" "...No."  "Whatever."

Don't let me down, DC! Let me have my well written Steph/Cass/possible Charlie team Batgirl! I NEED IT!

(But I won't be able to get to the comic shop 'till Friday. *sigh*

Batgirl Preview

Unless the writer has no grasp on Cass's character at all, that's definitely Steph. A very in-character Steph too. I'd recognize that narration anywhere.

She's wearing Cass's costume...so maybe they're switching off? I still hold out hope for a "Team Batgirl".

Should I put this on the wiki, or would that be jumping the gun? It could be Charlie, after all.

Oh, and the art is nice and non-cheesecakey. I am pleased.

And my parents will be with me, and I will be in a fancy hotel! And I have my new laptop, so I might be able to give nightly updates.

First, we'll start with the people I plan to ambush:


Ed Brubaker (He will be forced to sign my Catwoman trades)

Nick Cardy (I saw him last year too) (This time, however, he will sing my Titans Companion)

Benard Chang (He will be forced to sign random issues of Wonder Woman he did)

Todd Dezago (saw him last year, he was fab. I want to ask him how he feels about Bart coming back) (I made him sign stuff last year)

Cully Hamner (He signed my BB trades last year)

Jamal Igle (He will be forced to sign the first issue of his Supergirl run) (Also: SQUEE!)

Phil Noto (He shall be forced to sign Batgirl: Fists of Fury. And maybe I will casually try to ask him who that mysterious cover Batgirl is supposed to look like...or to be more subtle, what he thinks constitute Asian features...)

Dustin Nguyen (SQUEE! He will sign my issue of Detective comics #850)

Craig Rosseau (SQUEE! Bought Impulses he inked, and I might buy his sketchbook)

Stephane Roux (Will be forced to sign various issues of BoP

Jeff Smith

Ethan Van Schiver (Various issues of Impulse)

And of course, George Perez. My Wondy trades are unfortunately loaned out to John, I'm going to try to get them back tomorrow morning. If that doesn't work, I've got a few odd issues of Wondy he did he can sign.

I'm going to buy tons of stuff too. I might try and wrangle a Steph and Cass commission from someone.

As for panels, lesseee.

There's the DC Universe panel at 2 on Friday
At 4 something about th the "New Power of the Generation of Comics"  with Brubaker that looks interesting. And maybe I'll be able to do something nasty to Bendis when he ain't looking. Kidding! I just don't like what I've heard of the guy in interviews.
And a heroes Initiative signing for Perez at 3:30 that looks neat.

On Saturday:

The Charlton Comics retrospective looks cool. It's at 12
At 1 there's the DC Nation
I might check out the Steve Ditko celebration at 3

On Sunday:

At 11, Perez and Waid do a thing. I'm going there to complete my stalking of George.
At 2 there's the Sunday convo with Ian Sattler. But I might cut out early, because:
At 2:30 TOM LYLE discusses Superhero anatomy. Tom Lyle! He co-created Steph! ZOMG. Must bring Detective Comics for him to sign.


Questions I plan to ask at the DC Nation:

When will you be trading the rest of Perez's Wonder Woman run (and if they answer it's not happening, I'll be sure to make pointed remarks about how badly Wonder Woman is traded, and how if they really want to convince us they support her as much as Batman and Superman...or I might blush and stammer. Who knows. But I will try to be a snotty fangirl, for the sake of Wondy fans)

Will there be a lot of Steph and Cass BFF interaction in Batgirl?

When will Connor Hawke come back.... and without his amnesia and inexplicable superpowers plz. This one's for Scotty.

Questions for George Perez:

Was it your idea to make Diana a newbie who debuted much later than Batman and Superman, rather than being on equal senoirity with them and having a snazzy new year one? If so, WHY? She's one of the big three, she shouldn't begin a latecomer.

Why were the Amazons perpetually stuck in the Bronze Age, rather than using their thousands of years to develop cool tech?

Did you ever plan a love interest for Di?

How'd ya feel about Nessie and Polly's direction after you left?

Was Hermes death meant to be permanent?

(These will all be asked very nicely, amidst gushing, so he doesn't get the wrong idea)


Which remind me, I still have to read the rest of his Wondy run. I've just been so damn busy lately. Curse you, real life!

Well, I'll catch you on the flipside of the con!
 

comics.ign.com/articles/988/988283p1.html

Well, looks like whoever the new Batgirl is, Cass and Steph will be regulars in the title. As long as the one under the cowl is not Babs, that means that this book is a MUST HAVE. It looks like the idea of Babs co-ordinating a team of Batgirls is more plausible than ever. Wouldn't it be awesome if Charlie, Cass and Steph switched off being Batgirl? Best team evar.

Even if the cowled one is Babs, at least Cass isn't being thrown to the wayside. That's vaguely comforting.

If we're going by how the other stuff is arranged, it would look like Steph is Batgirl. (For instance, Red Robin is at the top of the row for the Red Robin title, Steph is at the top for the Batgirl title). I could live with that, especially is Cass is around.

PLEASE let Bryan Q. Miller be good. Please.

Meanwhile, Streets of Gotham doesn't appear to have anything to do with Cass or Huntress, meaning I don't have to get it. DC, you liars. Sad, I was looking forward to seeing how the Manhunter backup was (don't worry, Scotty, I'm planning on getting the trades for my birthday) but 3.99 is way too much to splurge on title about Dick-Grayson-as-Batman-who-is-currently-in-two-other-titles-BTW!

So my  pull list looks like this:

Batwoman Detective Comics (3.99)
Red Robin until Steph stops appearing
Batgirl (assuming it's not Babs)
Booster Gold/ Blue Beetle (3.99)
Secret Six
Supergirl
Superman: New Krypton
Wonder Woman
Wednesday Comics (3.99) (weekly)
Runaways (apparently 3.99...If the new run's not good, this is dropped)

Still pretty expensive, but Streets of Gotham being gone relieves some of the cost. If all else fails, I can drop New Krypton and Runaways.


I am SO excited for Batwoman and Wednesday comics. The more I see of both of those, the better they look! I want to have the Batwoman art's babies. So badly.

I've finished my re reading of HP. I forgot how many fangasms the seventh book gave me. Dear God, I love Ron and Hermione. I want to cuddle them both to DEATH. I mean, close to death. Anyway, it's made me think about the portrayal of love in fiction, so I might write a long winded essay on that at some point! Also, I'm going back and editing my old HP fanfic and writing some new stuff. It's a dirty job, but I was fourteen when I last wrote some of that stuff, and there's some good ideas in there that makes me desperately want to fix up and polish the stuff. And rereading the series makes me CRAZY about all the missing moments I should write about. Not to mention, I have my own writing to worry about, I STILL haven't figured out the end for the book I'm writing and it's ANNOYING me.

Mom reserved a hotel for us. We're going to the Heroes Con again this summer! My mission is to stalk Jamal Igle. And TRY to stalk George Perez, though I have a feeling that will be difficult. But somehow, some way, he is signing my Wonder Woman trades and getting pelted with questions. Actually, I don't know what I should ask him. Bluefall, any suggestions? At any rate, there will be much stalking going on. And I'm going to try to find out about Batgirl.

So, I saw the movie on Mother's day. (It was Mom's idea! She took us to the Cinnebarre, where you can eat pizza and watch movies!) I actually enjoyed it for the most part. I guess because I was just expecting some entertaining fluff, plus I don't know much about X Men, so it's not like I could be offended over anything.

Well, except Deadpool. I know and love enough about him to be offended. But hey, they're making a spin off movie so...
 

( spoilers )

 

ANYway. Today in Art we just fooled around, but Fuller and I talked comics (remember, Fuller is the fashionable and popular girl who just happens to like superheroes and is good at art. Yet I cannot really be her close friend or anything, because she has a million of them and I do not fit in). She got to do her Senior Exit on Superheroes. I am so jealous. Our teacher demanded we do ours on literature, and apparently comics don't count (I argued that the 80's comics were really wordy. She didn't buy it) I wanted to do it on Wonder Woman and her impact on society! But I had to do it on "The Yellow Wallpaper." Though I did do a comic version of the Yellow Wallpaper for my product! Huh, I should scan that sometime.

But, as I was saying, she had a teacher who was NOT AP so she got to do hers on our four colored friends. And she's dressing like Batgirl for the presentation (She dresses up like Batgirl a lot, actually, I ran into her at Halloween a couple years ago and she was in the costume. It was the same Halloween I dressed up as Steph!Robin. She yelled "Stephanie!" and I yelled "Babs!" and John was like "...huh.")

Actually, we were talking about just that. Here is out conversation:

Fuller: I also saw someone dressed up like Poison Ivy. I gave her a wave and pretended to go into kung fu mode. She gave me a weird look. I was like, seriously? You don't know who I am? How can you be Poison Ivy and not know who I am?

Me: Huh.

Fuller: I should go by the comic store today. The new one.

Me: It's right near my house, I went there yesterday. The guy's nice.

Okay, I actually can't remember how the conversation turned to this, we were discussing sexism in comics for some reason and she all:

Fuller: It was lame. Like the end of Birds of Prey when Huntress was all like "I'm off to teach"

Me: I don't think she...

Fuller: And Black Canary was all "I'm off to raise this kid and get married!" Bleh!

Me: Right, and then that thing with the kid, where Green Arrow made her go away and faked her death and she didn't even get mad at him for that!

Fuller: I know!

Me: Such an ass! Can't believe they made her marry him.

Fuller: And the lady...that lady in red...

Me: Manhunter?

Fuller: Right! She got scared because they planted a fear about her kid in her skull and then she...

Me: She's appearing as a backup in Streets of Gotham.

Fuller: Right, whatever.

Me: But what ticks me off is Babs being all mopey and leaving...they better not make her Batgirl again!

Fuller: Really? I think that would be good. I dunno, that way she could kick ass.

Me: But she's so much cooler as Oracle! And she's like, thirty, she's not a girl! And what about Cassandra, I like Cassandra!

Fuller: I don't like what they've done with Cassandra lately. You know, there was the evil thing...

Me: ...Yeah. *tries to pretend she hasn't been complaining about it on the Internet for the last two years*

Fuller: And then it was like, her Dad pumped her full of evil serum, that made no sense. I was like, what?

Kate (sitting near us): Wow. He's a sucky dad. Whoever you're talking about.

Me: Just a little. Anyway, I know. But, Babs! Cooler as Oracle! Not a girl!

Fuller: I dunno...it's like, she's stuck at the desk job she always hated. You know like in her origin [she means BG: Y1] how the FBI was like "You can't do this because you're short, and a girl, and you should do desk work?" and she was like "screw you, I can kick ass?" Now she's stuck being like behind a desk. Which she never wanted to be.

Me:... huh. *gets distracted by picture I'm drawing*

Fuller [to Kate]: And also, what ticks me off? This new writer who came on and made She Hulk switch jobs! She was this cool and funny lawyer before, and now she's like a bounty hunter, and it's BORING, with some kind of Skrull, who she has some sort of lesbian thing with, well, not really, but you know, actually really. It's really boring. And now it's CANCELLED.

Kate: I have no idea what you're talking about it.

Me: *thinks to myself* Congrats, PAD. You have earned Fuller's ire.

Anyway, that was my wacky comics related conversation with a girl who is not only one of the most popular in school, but likes comics! Take that, stereotypes!

(I don't agree with her about Babs though. At all.)

Okay, time to review my comics!

Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures of the Eighth Grade #6

Pure win as usual. Here's my non spoiler-y review of it, which got link referenced on Landry Walker's own blog!

www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/5588

But since on this blog I feel free to bring the spoilers, I have to say I lovelovelove the Lena and Supergirl moments. I love how when Lena, psycho mad scientist that she is, when she was confronted with the truth (thanks to Mxy of all people) that Lina/Kara did NOT engineer her brother's defeat, that she was NOT laughing at Lena and was in fact an optimistic kid who was struggling (and how much do I love Mxy's complaint that Supergirl wasn't good for the emotion collector because despite all she went through she always looked on the bright side. Hell YES. Like I said earlier, Supergirl is all about hope. And Landry Walker gets that!) and not only that, but her friend was going to risk everything to save the world- she was able to put aside her prejudice and worry about Linda/Kara and tell her to be careful.

And Supergirl's fight with Mxy was truly awesome. I love how she broke the Kryptonite chains and yelled "And I'm Supergirl, defender of earth!" and how she got the space sidekicks from her fantasies to beat him up.

But another great moment was when Lex and Superman were doing their usual "Let's finish this! "I wouldn't have it any other way!" and about to go at each other- that they both stopped DEAD when they saw Supergirl cradling Lena and crying. It was a great moment for both of them- always at odds with each other, but they both would put that aside for their girls.

And it was a really great moment for Lex too- "Lena is my SISTER, alien. I'm going to SAVE her." Despite all his evil, he cares for his little sister. And his casual "So, I tried to reinforce her hatred and rage, but her mind fought me and she would have died, so I was FORCED to let her forgive the Kryptonians." Oh, Lex. You and your hatred and rage. But once again, he wasn't willing to let Lena die, even if it meant she'd be BFF's with Superman's sidekick. And how he blamed Superman for the whole thing! "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" So wonderfully Lex. I wish we could get this kind of nuanced characterization of him tn the regular universe.

I'm so glad Lena's on Linda's side now, because I really like her as a character. In conclusion, this rocks, Landry's Supergirl rocks, and I WILL CRY if we don't get a sequel.

A BAZILLION OUT OF FIVE!

Power Girl #1

I love Amanda Conner's art! So cartoony and detailed and kinetic and expressive! I love it so. I also love Power Girl's cat.

This was decent writing, nothing special. Good enough to keep me buying the comic, because I like Power Girl and I love the art.

The boob window's been bought up on the WFA circuit lately. I think it's stupid, of course, but I guess I'm used to it so it doesn't really bother me as much anymore. I like Power Girl because she's generally gutsy and fun, and if some guys love her boobies, I suppose that's their right. She's Kryptonian, so it's not like it matters that it's impractical (now I'm imagining someone sticking Kryptonite in her cleavage. Bad brain. Bad brain.) If she's proud of her huge gazonkas, that's fine. We all know the REAL reason the boob window is there is for guys (and girls who like girls) to get their jollies, though, so I wish they wouldn't try to justify it with "Oh, it's the HOLE in my HEART" and the like.

I DON'T think the window is integral to her character, and I hate how much focus it gets, in art and writing. Palmiotti and Gray hopefully won't focus on it much.  There was a couple of lines about a guy staring at her chest, but it was while she was out of costume, and sort of like how she just gently tilted his head up with one finger.

When I saw the Adam Hughes cover in the store, I actively flipped through the stack to find the Amanda Conner cover. I thought about why I did this. I decided it was down to two things. One, in the Hughes cover Power Girl has this huge goofy empty headed expression on her face like "duuuuh, I'm teh power girl", while in the Conner cover she's confidently smiling. Also, the Hughes cover seems to have the focus on the boob window as the center of everything, what with her ripping her shirt open, while Conner's cover doesn't seem to focus on it (as huge as it is)

Um, right so. There was also this guy who was obviously set up to be a villian (He also randomly mentioned he thinks women should stick to making babies...I guess so we hate him more and Karen could reel on him for sexism? It seemed kind of forced. Though it amused me to imagine this was actually Dave Sims Karen was talking to) and wacky Ultra Humanite holding Manhattan hostage so he could put his brain in the body of Power Girl! I guess he really likes that boob window! Will his dastardly plot work? I dunno!

By the way, speaking of Power Girl, check out this Youtube video! The actress really does look like her, and though it's kind of long, it seems to get Power Girl's character and it made me giggle in some parts: www.youtube.com/watch

3.5/5


Superman: New Krypton #3

Man,last week was  very Supergirl-ish! I say this because Supergirl got to ROCK in this issue.

Kal does his diplomacy thing to calm down the labor guild but when they're coming out, a rogue soldier shoots at the head of the labor guild! But BAM, out of nowhere Kara flies in and catches the bullet, because Kal told her to keep her eyes open. She has the absolute best pose and expression afterwards too (I love you, Pete Woods!) and Kal compliments her and she glows and it's all very cute. I love how Kara's not only getting to be awesome in her own book, but in others. She really is such a joy to read now.

Anyway, then Kal shows off his mad ninja skillz and GL's come. This book continues to be great. I've really been enjoying it.

5/5

Battle for the Cowl: The Network.

Oy. Mixed feelings.

Cass, for once, got to be competent. And Fabian writes a good Oracle, she seemed in character for the first time in quite a while. The Misfit and Manhunter parts were decent too.

But. Helena. Poor Helena. Her recent leaps and bounds in character development in Gail's BoP were ignored, and she got to be all stupid and "I am here to be a strawman argument for killing the criminals, only so someone else can lecture me about what a bad person I am!" again. She was a jerk to Cass for no given reason, too. And it isn't like Helena, of all people, wouldn't know how flawed the justice system is and wouldn't realize the death-row guy could be innocent. And she and Babs have been working together for so long, she'd surely take Babs advice on the situation.

Also, Cassandra got to say things like "Your perspective is too small". Which I don't care what Adam Beechen says, Cassandra does NOT use words like "perspective!"  Even if she can read and all now, her deal is that she gets her point across with the the least amount of words possible.

Look, if Cass was in character the conversation would go like this.

Cass: Stupid to think I can't cheat. Almost as stupid as your costume.

Helena: Rargh I'm OOC this town may not be big enough for the two of us Oh god who talks like that!

Cass: .... (or, if she absolutely has to speak "Only you think it's so small")

There was lots of mocking of Helena's Jim Lee costume, which I appreciated. I would have appreciated it more if Nicieza didn't seem to have something against Helena, or Helena had tossed out an off hand explanation for the temporary change like "My other costume's in the wash/ battle damaged." The mocking just makes Helena look stupid, when it's Tony Daniel who's the stupid one.

2.5/5

Annnnd this week:

Secret Six #8

This...this was better than Battle for the Cowl and all it's tie ins COMBINED. Bane, Catman and Ragdoll...were so...awesome. Especially Catman and Bane's argument over which of them wanted to be Batman and Ragdoll being Robin "The Boy/Girl Wonder" and his comment that he would be a good Robin because "he likes the costume and doesn't mind an occasional crowbar to the cranium." Also him making everything sound dirty! I love Ragdoll so much.

Just awesome. And gorgeous art from Nicola Scott as always.

5/5

That's all, chums! Except I flipped to the back of the last Oracle issue in store and ( spoilers )

Well, off to watch Kim Possible.

I did today's Cybernev Sunday on my Free Comic Book Day experiences and reviews:

www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/5512

Also I saw these adorable Renee!Question and Batwoman mini mates there. And Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, and Raven ones! Awesome.

Got caught in the rain when I walked with Dad today. That was fun.

Btw, Network preview:

uk.comics.ign.com/articles/979/979013p1.html

Oh god, Helena's wearing the Jim Lee costume in this too. The cover even changed! Why won't that thing just DIE? And she's being a complete jerk to Cass. I'd say it was because she's cold in that costume, but it's probably going to be some stupid reason like "OMG Bruce gave you my Batgirl costume three years ago!" Even though Helena would not be childish enough to dwell on that YEARS LATER.

Also, the art. Cass does not have white eyepeices. Though I do wonder if that picture of Steph  means she'll be in the issue?

Judging from DC's Titans preview on their blog, Donna's going to be leading the Titans. And Cassie's leading the Teen Titans. Now we just need Diana to lead the JLA and the Wonder Family can TAKE OVER THE DC UNIVERSE! How awesome would that be?

Which reminds me I forgot to go to the comic store. Will it still be open, I wonder?

Another thing I found on the blog (besides Superman being a sweetheart on New Krypton...I'm liking that series

Computer’s on, the day begins… 45 emails overnight, argh. Start with the easy ones first. No, wait—Executive Editor Dan DiDio is pulling the Bat Group down into his office for an urgent meeting. Topic: BATGIRL.

So I guess the series is still going...on the other hand, the delay, along with an urgent meeting? Maybe this means they changed their minds and put someone besides Babs in the cowl. At least, that is my naive hope.

Also:

plot discussions, more plot discussions, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Misfit…

I fangasmed at those three being mentioned in the same sentence. Can you imagine if they formed their own team? No, you can't, because it's so awesome it BLEW YOUR MIND!!! *crosses fingers for good things for those three*

Here's the link to the entry by Bat-editor Mike Marts: dcublog.dccomics.com/2009/04/03/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-batman-group-editor/ Other stuff in the blogs worth checking out as well, like a badass picture of Ravager by the artist of her backup which almost makes me think I might actually enjoy it, price increase and all.

What I forgot to talk about yesterday was the Black Canary being relegated to a backup in her own title. As demeaning as that seems, it might mean Ollie and her break up, which would please me. Also, she's basically a secondary character in the book now anyway, so there's really no difference. If a writer who really GETS her is assigned to the backup? I will be estactic (GAILPLEASE) and actually have to buy Green Arrow.

That's all for now.

Edit: Also, Mom randomly bought me the Watchmen motion comic DVD. Yay!  I wonder if it will be good.

Today has been rather depressed thanks to the situation with scans_daily. I did do a hard hitting expose for BSR on the subject: www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4310

I also went to Book a Million and finished up Watchmen! As well as several art books and "Watching the Watchmen" and "Philosophy of Watchmen" and what not. I liked it. A bit depressing at parts (well, duh) but overall good. A lot of really nice lines, and concepts, and just all dark and enjoyable. I thought it would be funny if it turned out Silk Spectre I was behind it all. The thought occured to me when she was talking to Nite Owl I on the phone. If it was all a convoluted plan to get Laurie back in costume. Now what a twist that would have been! But the twist they actually used was good enough, I didn't see it coming.

But the most important news of the day is I got a response from Jann Jones! And it was a CARD!

An Astro-boy card, I believe!

( My card )
Isn't that sweet? A card and everything! I feel so listened too, even if the note was vague. I really like Jann. She's good people in my book. I'm setting the card on my shelf.

Anyway, it cheered me up, and I hope it cheered a few of you. Cass is confirmed to be in Streets of Gotham, and that's by Paul Dini, so she'll be in good hands. Looks bad for Babs though. : (

Oh well. They'll realize what a stupid decision it is eventually. As long as Cass doesn't suffer because of the stupidity, I'll stick with it.

Maybe I'll post this at the new noscans_daily place?

Must...do...scholarship...paper...

But not until after I do this!

First of all,I found  another lovingly detailed series of anti Wonder Woman posts on WFA. I wonder what the deal is. I can understand not liking a character but I've seen must have seen a bazillion people post on why Wonder Woman isn't a good female icon or character in their eyes RARGH!

Nearly all of they people happen to be guys. Just saying.

Are people really just that afraid of her? Because simply not liking a character shouldn't be enough to reel out a detailed post. I mean, I don't go out of my way to post about characters I don't like and why they AREN'T GOOD WOMEN in my MALE enlightened opinion (Well, obviously I don't, not being male, but you know what I mean)

So it really does strike me as either a reaction to an IDEA they don't like, or fear of that idea. Fear of Wonder Woman. So did Grant Morrison's comment about her, the whole "melange of girl power and disturbed sexuality." That really struck me as Ohgodohgod she's a woman and she's powerful and there's BONDAGE ohgod MOMMY  DADDY I AM SCARED! The way these guys try to come off as the reason they hate Wonder Woman is because they are feminist and they are scared don't like her so clearly the problem is her...makes it even more funny (also their attempts to say the reason Wondy isn't promoted is there's something wrong with HER not the media or DC. Doing a tiny bit of research shows on which side the problem lies)

If this is truly the case,Wondy is certainly doing her job. More than sixty years later and she still makes guys antsy. Maybe she was created by a guy, but her ability to inspire terror and hatred in men by her mere existence proves, yes, she is doing her job right. .Take it or leave it.

Oh, by the way, did a post on Teen Titans for BSR: www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4193 It contains my thrilling origin story!

And finally, the meme bug bit me!

From milleniumrex :

Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given, if you want.

1. Stephanie Brown (Surprise!)

Heh. My name is probably associated with Stephanie Brown's more than any other interent user to anyone who meets me. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how I got to feel such a connection with the character. I mean, I know all the reasons and I know she's a lot like me, but in my more despairing moments I wonder why War Games or what's happened in the last Robin arc didn't dent my love for her at all. Because I know writers are stupid sometimes, that's why, and I'm in love with her potential. So writers, you can try to break me, but I will always like Stephanie. Nothing you can do will change that! And when I get depressed, I always have stephsvoice youtube videos to cheer me up! Stephanie may never get in a movie, or even a cartoon, but I'll always have those vids!


2. Ranting about Didio

I don't think I actually ever rant about DiDio personally really. I've seen him in real life, so it's too weird. I tend to keep my rants directed at DC like it's some kind of giant entity of stupid decision making. But I like to hope I don't spew too much hate. But godammit DC, you scew up Cass and Barbara Gordon I'll...*shakes fist*

3. Girl Wonder

Woo, Girl Wonder! An intelligent, fun place to hang out. I lurked there for a while before I posted, oddly, my first post was about Raven's Hypnoass in Teen Titans #something or other, in the Titans East arc. Someone had said Raven was rarely sexualized until recently, I pointed out how high the splits on her skirt had ALWAYS been, with illustrative pictures.

I also remember all the fun things they do on April Fools Day (like when they made the whole forum pink and devoted to PRO sexualization in comics and we all either talked like valley girls or drunken fanboys. I made an icon of Cass's boobs for the ocassion. And then last year they changed the mission statement to championing the rights of fruits and vegatable for the day. Those are good times.

I hate the amount of flak the site gets. Even on TV Tropes, ffs! (They put it in the Unpleasable Fanbase section). Everyone there is intelligent, funny and a moderate feminist. We love comics, we just want them to get better and more inclusive! Also, GW champions DIVERSITY in comics, and comics in EDUCATION- anyone who calls it a place for rabid feminists who hate comics are so fucking ignorant words cannot EXPRESS IT RAR.


4. Cartoons

Not sure if this means my little Casstoons or television cartoons. I'll go with television cartoons? The first cartoon I remember watching is Rescue Rangers. I liked Gadget! And Chip! To this day, when I hear Chippendale, my mind jumps to Rescue Rangers. Disney has corrupted me. Then there was Rugrats, then Spongebob (don't make fun of me! It was FUNNY! Me and Dad bonded over it!), Kim Possible (SO FREAKIN AWESOME) and Teen Titans, which of course, got me into comics. Oh yeah! Then the DCAU. I love cartoons. I always will.

As for Casstoons, I drew my first one about Bart dying. It was bad. My drawing skills may not be as good as I like, but I really like doing Casstoons to vent my frustration and mock the DCU! I also do my own original comics.

5. Conventions/panels

They are tons of fun. I love the Heroes Con so much. I hope I can go back next year and talk to Jann again, and score more Steph commissions, and ask questions. Seriously, I'm looking forward to that (I hope Cass doesn't die so Babs can regress so I have to quit comics and can't go, or I will be ANGRY!) I have a superhero T shirt for every day I'm there now, too! And I'll try to score more trades and comics! And take pictures and NOT get my camera stolen this time! (I got our camera stolen in Italy, not the convention if you remember. But it had the convention pics on it) Annnd talk to writers! That was fun too!

---
Well, better do a little of that scholarship paper.

(If you want to comment and NOT be meme'd, just say so in your reply)

Woo! I just went to see Coraline. It was really good, just a good as the book. It stayed true to the spirit of the book but does it's own thing and it's spectacular. Like a kickass modern-day fairy tale.

I found a graphic novel of Coraline at Books a Million, and the art is super pretty so I wanted to get it, but I left it there and they moved it. I shall find it though!

In other news, I've been co-anchoring the school news and some random teacher cornered me in the hallway and told me my expressions on the news "look rude". Our school news is kind of crazy. The teleprompter will malfunction, I'm under hot lights and the co anchor who filled in for the day was Oliver, who is super annoying. He's constantly freaking out over everything not being perfect, and always plays music or Youtube videos really loud when we're working on the computers and has NO SOCIAL SKILLS AT ALL. I don't think he's malicious, but I cannot stand him. Anyway, he stole my line, and the camera stayed on me too long, so I looked all confused at him. Sometimes I look incredulous when my other co anchor (who is Jackie, she's nice) says something weird.

Apparently I'm not supposed to show any emotion at all. The teacher was all "I just wanted you to be aware of your expressions, one of my homeroom students thought you were rude." I think his homeroom students need to get a life, and clearly have been super sheltered. "Rude?" Are they cynical high school students or ARE THEY? I bet it was a freshman. This damn "Freshmen Experience" has ruined the Freshmen. They get this special "experience" or whatever so they think they're special and aren't ready for the real world. I'm glad I came a year before that started, otherwise I'd be ruined too. (Well, the Freshmen when I was a Sophomore were cool, because they knew the Experience thing was new and stupid. Freshmen year in high school is aBOUT being horribly confused and hating yourself. It toughens you up! You shouldn't have your hand held! It nearly drove me to suicide but I came out a better person! Now these kids will just have problems later in life, like being whiny little bitches who get offended at "rude people")

Where was I? Well, it was weird, since the teacher just cornered me. He was really nice about it (or pretending to be) saying he just thought I should know and I did a good job otherwise. But I think he was lying because he would NOT stop talking to me until I was like "Okay, I understand" (which led to us talking a long time, since I kept trying to defend myself and convey to him subtly his students were stupid little whiners). It was just WEIRD because I'd never MET him before and he just cornered me.

Anyway, we're switching off anchors on Monday, so it does not matter.

By the way, John did call me back the day after Valentines and was all "I can't have the stress of a girlfriend now and I just want to be friends, can we still be friends?" So that's that. He wants to hang out this weekend, so I'll call him tomorrow.

Anyway on to comic reviews

Robin #183

Meh. Shiva jobs to Tim. Somehow she doesn't check her food for poison despite being a master assassin. I'm surprised she managed to live past twenty. Also, I don't see her as a chocolate type, being super devoted to martial arts and all. I'd think she wouldn't eat sweets that much. Didn't she send Black Canary a special diet when she was training her? That forbade sweets? I imagine she's adhere to that diet herself as well, wouldn't you?

I'm really annoyed at Fabian for what he did to Steph because now she has like a dozen more haters on scans_daily and I have to defend her honor, but it's so HARD because what she did WAS stupid and horrible. (though no one seems to realize this is ALL BATMAN'S FAULT since he PUT her in that position she clearly wasn't suited for) I think Fabian's trying to win our war by making me stop loving Steph. Well IT WON'T WORK FABIAN OKAY I WILL ALWAYS LOVE STEPH YOU CANNOT CHANGE THAT YOU WILL NOT BREAK ME!

She better kick so much ass in Gotham Gazette, I swear to GOD. It had better be worth it!

Anyway, the moment with Jason was okay, and I like that Dick was nice enough to tell Tim they're gonna be okay. Awww. And I like that Steph snubbed Tim and kept her Spoiler costume out. She is clearly not going to listen to him. Fight the emo, Steph!

TotallyhardcoreminiBruce!Tim reaaaallly isn't doing it for me though.

I liked the backup though. Tim's mother being acknowledged! The Obea man bought to justice! Super excellent colors too! It was a neat little back up, and I like that Fabian chose Tim finally capturing his mothers killer as the cap to the series.

RIP Robin. Miss ya.

3/5

Birds of Prey #127

There is no meh "meh" enough to cover this issue. Just boring and contrived. Way to dump your charge on Huntress, Oracle! Super responsible! I don't blame Tony Bedard though. After all, there is no NON contrived way for Oracle to abandon the BoP.

The backup was worse and does not engender high hopes for the mini. As bluefall eloquently pointed out on s_d, NO version of Babs became Batgirl because she idolized Batman. She was always self made. And the emo about her wheelchair- GA! Stop beating us over the head with your inane plan to make Babs Batgirl again! It will never happen! *buries head deep in sand*

Also, Cass was supposed to be in this. Laaaaame.

Oh well, at least no one died.

1.5/5

Supergirl #38

Damn, this title is so awesome. We now know Superwoman is not a Kryptonian and the mystery deepens! Also, the Origins and Omens actually furthered the arc! Lana is sick! Intriguing! And awesome hints to the future. Only Origin and Omens look to the future that's really excited me. I wonder who Kara's kissing? And the dialogue and characterization were spot on as always with Sterling Gates.

And the art is great on the regular story AND backup! I will never stop adoring the fact Kara's wearing shorts.

5/5

Well, must run! But first, a Casstoon. Inspired by this little statue from the ami-comi line-

img24.imageshack.us/img24/5528/batgirlstatueyf8.jpg

Yeeeeahhh. As far as I can see, the purpose of the ami-comi line is to make superheroines look even more fetishy. I started thinking of what they would do to Spoiler. Her costume is just entirely practical and non fetishy (One of the reasons I love her), they wouldn't have anything to grab on to, not even like Cass's stitches! But I was sure they would find a way. And I doodled a bit and the idea took hold and turned into this little Casstoon making fun of stuff:

( C'mon Cass, they wouldn't do that to us! )

So, I asked John out yesterday. Seemed the day, and I had had it up to here with waiting around.

He said he "needed time to think about it" and sounded kind of freaked out. I've seen enough movies and read enough books to know that means "no." Se la vie. Hope it doesn't affect the friendship and we can get over it.

I'm just glad I took the risk. It's what Steph or Diana or Hermione would have done right? Geekery's always a comfort in times like this.

In other news, I did a five part Top five Comic Book Couples thing for BSR and got WAY too in to it. I just started looking for scans and BAM! I got sucked in. I am pathetic. So I ended up staying up all night fighting with the software (which is infuriating when it comes to pictures. Damn you, Wordpress!" , and got the five seperate articles done just before midnight. Way, way to into it. Never going that crazy again, I swear to God.

So you are going to READ IT. I poured my SOUL into this, dammit! Also, it has pictures, and is SO much better than Newsarama's top ten. VICTORY.

Lois and Clark (this is my favorite one, since I love the couple so much I made sure it was the best. Those two are my OTP!)
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4013

Batman and Catwoman (Had MAJOR problems with this one, but Swank came to the rescue eventually, so yay! Not as in depth as it was originally, who cares, this is my SECOND OTP)
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4110

Spiderman and Mary Jane
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4038

Babs and Dick (As I mentioned in the article, I don't like this one long term, but they are high profile and were cute sometimes, and I like how they're good friends now. I even mentioned how Babs is better off with Dinah, which bluefall should appreciate! I was running out of non-tragic relationships at this point. Which is really sad.)
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4114

Karolina and Xavin (My "out there" pick! I love those two!)
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4122

NOW READ THEM OR ELSE DIE.

Also, the 'Rama twenty questions thing makes it look like Cass might be in the Streets of Gotham thing as Batgirl while Babs is...in Batgirl as Batgirl. I suppose I wouldn't totally give up all my comics if that happened. But I'm still sending my letter, putting it in the mail tonight.

At k9feline 's urging (and a few others, including my Mom) I have written a letter to DC. I would like to see what you guys think before I send it. It's a little long,  but everything seems too important to cut.

The letter is dual addressed to Jann and Dan, since Jann is apparently Dan's mail reader or something, as I found out campaigning for TTG!

I'll also do one to Levitz, cutting out the paragraph that addresses Jann (I'm pretty sure Paul hates me because of how I pestered him over TTG, and never wants to get another letter from me, but oh well)

So, hereeee we go!

Dear Dan/Jann Jones,

 

Hi! It's me, Caitlin Donovan from the Heroes Con.

 

I'm very sorry to bother you, but I have been really distressed concerning DC comics and considering dropping them, and I thought I should tell you why, because perhaps you'd like to know, and at least I'll have a sense that my voice has been heard.

 

I especially hate to rail on you, Jann. You didn't respond to my thank you letter, and though I would consider this normal for any busy executive, you always responded to my letters in the past quite courteously. So I suspect the letter either got lost in the mail, or you decided to stop answering letters due to being busy or I offended you by including my doubts about the Batgirl miniseries in the note. If the latter is the case, I'm very sorry, but I hope you know I respect you and am grateful for the kindness you have shown me in the past. I also hope you'll hear me out.

 

A few weeks ago, I was very happy with my comics. I had my problems of course, especially since a lot of the titles I bought had been canceled, but that didn't dampen my enthusiasm and I was excited for the new direction.

 

Then, I became aware of the mounting pile of evidence that Barbara Gordon would regress to Batgirl. I want you to understand I have no problem with Babs changing, and developing. It's regression I have a problem with. Babs underwent incredible character development in the past twenty years, and it's been an amazing story of her overcoming incredible hardship and becoming independent. Ignoring all that and sticking her in the Batgirl suit again would be as disrespectful to the character as Dick Grayson becoming Robin again, and just plain demeaning. She's also in her late twenties/early thirties, so she wouldn't be calling herself “Girl”, especially since there's a Batwoman running around that has less experience than her. Deaging her would also me really degrading to the character in my opinion.

 

Of course, another big concern is what happens to Cassandra Cain. I really love the character, and I relayed in my previous letter, I predicted her series wouldn't sell well because it was entrusted to Adam Beechen, who is reviled by Batgirl fans. It didn't sell well, and I still believe that was the reason. If Cassandra is killed in order for Babs to regress, well, I think I would have to stop reading DC.

 

This is not a revenge thing. It's not a fit because I didn't get my way. It's just I know I can't invest money in comics that destroy the characters I love to return to the Silver Age. I like to see characters move forward,tell new stories, and putting Babs back into the Batgirl costume would be moving backward, retreading old stories, and disrespecting the character. And it would seem to reflect a larger trend in the DCU, one I am unwilling to buy into, because it isn't a comic aimed for me, a fan today. It's aimed for those who grew up in the sixties and seventies.

This, along with several comments at convention panels that made me uncomfortable (as a female fan), really saddened me, because I love your comics. I don't want to give them up. But I don't want to buy something that doesn't respect me as a customer. So, I am just writing you to say, if my worst fears happen, (Cassandra dies, Babs regresses) I will be giving up DC. I thought you'd like to know why. I hope I don't have to, and this will not come to pass. But thank you for listening to me.

 

Yours sincerely,

etc


So, whatcha think?

You know, if they kill Cass and make Babs the new Batgirl, I will drop everything, because that clearly means DC's lost all pretense of wanting people like me to buy and will probably go on their merry way destroying other character I enjoy and I might as well not care about anything (even Steph) anymore.

I might pick up Wonder Woman occasionally, that's it.

It's not bitchiness, it would be a good decision for me. I'd have more time and money, all that. It would be freeing. Looks good about now.

I mean, I have wondered if I'm going to be able to buy comics in college. BAM! Decision made.

So I got done with the little Casstoon arc I did in response to Robin  #182.

( Behold! )

I'ma gonna post it on Scans_daily too, figure they'd appreciate it. Well, most of them.

Many things have happened. I've (and by "I've" I mean Mom) figured out a shortcut to AB Tech. I have put off a monumental amount of homework. I've gotten a haircut, so my gold red locks are back to brushing my shoulders.

My rage over Robin #182 has abated to some degree. I still think it was a pretty bad issue. I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters other than wanting to punch Tim in the face and punch Steph for not going after Tim and punching him in the face for me and also punch GeneralAnarky because he is really annoying. And the plot...well seemed to revolve around Tim being super...grim. Darn any logic that stood in the way, too! Which is not something I like for the character. Especially for his second to last issue, it should have really showcased all the awesome things about who Tim is and who Steph is, since when she's alive she's as much an integral part of the title as he is. Instead we got unbridled bitchiness and hypocrisy from Tim and tears and failure from Steph and kids getting blown up.

It's a matter of taste, I suppose. I didn't like it, because it's not the type of comic I enjoy historically. It's not the Tim I enjoy, or the Steph I enjoy. I don't care for the direction DC's taking Tim in, because the DCU has enough messed up dark characters. Tim started out being a unique Robin, a level headed yet positive little geek that was kind of full of himself. And he had a family, and a different persepective than everyone else. But they take away that family, make him all crazy and brooding, and all into manipulating people. Suddenly he's Batman 2.0. A retread.

And the main drama from this storyline depends on Steph and Bats doing something I consider OOC for both of them, as well as Nightwing and Alfred  randomly not noticing/ignoring how stressed and crazed Tim is getting (they comment on it and then...don't do anything about it. Especially Nightwing's "Hey Tim, you are real loopy, huh? Well gotsta motor, trouble in New York and hot babes to pick up!") and Cass is for some reason not in Gotham to help out. Everything is forced in to make the plot work. I don't enjoy drama I consider forced.

Also, Freddie Williams randomly changed Steph's sash and made it all white as well as her belt midcomic. Decide what you want the costume to look like, Freddie.

Nevertheless, I'm willing to see where Fabian takes Steph. Perhaps his direction for her will make her better somehow. I don't quite see how, but. Tim I can't see being really redeemed...but the poor boy's been screwed for years now.

Anyway, I'll give the issue a 2.7 or something. Oddly enough, I'm thinking of this dude who randomly posted on DC boards about fan reviews being so negative and the "ratings" they give only reinforce it.

Keep reading, man, you'll be as bitter as them all in a year. Of course, he was prolly just trying to suck up to Fabian.

I'm so cynical. Speaking of Fabian, here's his response to one of the questions I asked at the end of my charming rant:

>>So why did you think this direction for Steph WOULD please both her fans and detractors?


What do you mean by "THIS" direction? There is no direction yet. There is only the kick in the butt that gets her going there.

The status quo I am hoping to set up for Steph in Gazette is a little unlike anything she's had before and IMO far more in keeping with the kind of character she has been shown to be (pro and con, of which I think there's fair argument for both sides).

And if you think wrapping up a character arc that also sets her up with a new status quo is easy to do with a character who:
- got into the game to spoil her father's crimes
- fell in love with a boy wonder
-got pregnant
- had a kid,
-became a crimefighter
-then became Batman's partner
- got fired
- started a gang war in Gotham
- got tortured and killed
- lived in Africa for a year plus
-came home to have a slightly crazed Batman ask her to push Robin to the brink
- right before Batman died

AND to do it in 2 5-page chapters...

... well, I'd have to tell you you're wrong... but it sure is fun trying...

-- fabian

I have been SERVED. Okay, I get it, Fabian. Sorry I did not recognize your burden. (I find it funny that he's complaining about having to wrap up the last two items, when he's the one who wrote them) (Also, "slightly crazed", eh? He'd have have to been.) (And now I'm imagining a news headline "STEPHANIE BROWN KILLED! THEN LIVES IN AFRICA FOR A YEAR PLUS!")

Nah, I really did feel bad, but michealdark randomly apologized for me (he does that sometimes. I'd be annoyed, but I've known him too long, and Fabe responded)

As for taking offense to what Nev said, not in the slightest. Pro or con, I never take offense to someone's opinions about the material when its passionate and well-considered. I'm far too confident in my work in general, and with Robin in particular, to feel threatened by a contrary point of view.

Hear that? My material is passionate and well considered! Not at all like those nasty interview reviewers! *cough*

Aw, Fabe. I like you, even if your work does depress and infuriate me on occasion.

Where was I? Oh yes, nasty internet reviews!

Birds of Prey #126

Meh. Nothing special. Calculator does stuff, gets evil machine. Oracle's randomly in bandages again, even though she wasn't last issue. Well, there's Cass next ish! Hurray!

Oh wait, it's the last one. BOO!

2/5

Supergirl #37

Who would have thought Supergirl would be my best read of the week? Another solid issue, in art and writing. I especially loved Kara going up to the sun to greive and be in quiet. The Superwoman plot thickens!

4/5

Shit, I gotta do SOME homework today. I shall jet. Bye!