Lately at the comic shop Darrin's been teasing me more than usual. About buying Batgirl. (I just spent two minutes trying to describe our argument regarding Batgirl but I really can't. Suffice to say, he teases me about buying it, and it's not like I can really defend the quality as top notch or anything, but I enjoy it, and he's all "You know it's bad but you don't want to admit it" and well, NO, that is not how I feel at all,,, then I got into it with this guy who always hangs around about Stephanie...he doesn't like her because of War Games, and I tried to explain to him it was bad writing, but he seems to have a hard time realizing a character can be written badly and that they don't actually have a mind of their own- if he even brings it up again I have a list of reasons WHY it's was out of character for Stephanie, so there. I will decimate his argument.)
Also, a few regulars seemed to have pegged that I'm a feminist. And 'Darrin has too. Well, he probably pegged it my first visit, probably, when I complained about the fact that the females in Umbrella Academy ended up being broken and mute while the boys were fine, but now he's mentioning it a lot more. So now whenever Darrin tells me to do stuff, some wiseguy will be like "She's going to tie you up and take over the shop like a strong woman should!" And I just ignore it, though now that I think of it, I should have told the guy that he would be lucky if he ever got tied up by a girl.
I don't mind being teased. I have a sense of humor. But the attitude of "look at that strange feminist comics girl!" annoys me a bit. I mean, I don't really think I'm obnoxious about it, I tend to be pretty quiet irl, so I don't see why it's such a big deal. There are other girls who come to the shop, but I guess I just stand out b/c of my opinions and the fact I work there.
What really annoys me is I got myself pulled into the most INANE discussion- a Wonder Woman vs Superman thing. It was like being on CBR. But it wasn't about WW vs. Supes. I just got derailed.but my issue was the "boys club". Basically, for some stupid reason, the guys were discussing what the "next wave of gods" in the DCU would be. Superman, Batman, Flash...they stalled on who next.
I said, semi incredulously "Wonder Woman". Duh.
The guy who started the discussion: "No, I don't think so"
Me: Whhhhy not?
Guy: Because she's not as powerful as Superman.
Now, rather than asking what the hell that has to do with being a god, pointing out that WW is a cultural icon, that she has power over the force of truth, that she has inspired women in REAL LIFE and has her own anti domestic abuse event, that she was an extremely effective and important superhero and force in the DCU, that she has gifts of the gods (actually, I did point that out. I also pointed out she was Goddess of Truth once. My nemesis blathered about some god saying Superman was a cosmological being and Wonder Woman had to be MADE a Goddess or some crap like that) I got sidetracked by WW vs Superman.
I cited how Wondy and Supes had been shown to be equals in various fights, that Wondy has better martial skill and canonically faster reflexes and she had the lasso of truth ("But she doesn't have heat vision"!) He just would. not. accept. it. It was ridiculous. He was so scared of having a girl in his little boys club of gods. Or maybe he just didn't like Wonder Woman. But anyway, I felt really stupid that I got dragged into a "who can beat who" fight like I was 12 when it was really his stupid boys club mentality that ticked me off. The way he just dismissed me, the sole girl in the shop who was sorting comics while he was geeking out with his special guy friends, saying "hey, maybe this chick could be in your special gods club" right off the bat was just...agh. I felt like we were 12 the whole time, to be honest.
The guy who argued with me about Stephanie agreed with me about Wonder Woman though, and last time I went to work, I had two comics somone had bought for me: Wonder Woman #37 and Superman: Secret Origin #1. I thought it had to have been Dad, but when Dad came byand I asked him about it, the guy (I, uh, really should remember his name) said that he had done it. Isn't that sweet? And kind of weird and surprising.
So, let's review those comics:
Wonder Woman #37:
I loved the Zombie Ares scene. It was well wriitten and just wonderfully creepy. I read it to my Mom and I could feel her shivering beside me. Ares must have way more up his sleeve. I'm thinking the whole thing is a massive Xanatos Gambit. I knew he couldn't go down so easily!
I really liked the scene between Donna and Diana too. It's cool to see the depth of their relationship and Diana's utter selflessness and love for her sister. And Artemis returns! Yay! She'll whip everyone into shape.
On the other hand, it seems really out of character for Hippolyta to submit to her island being controlled by crazy Alkyone. She's willing to be chained up to "protect" her island- by leaving it to utterly unstable gods and violent rulers? Wha? I hope there's more to this.
Chang's art didn't do much for me here. His Zombie Ares was good but the other figures seemed sticklike and just not that detailed. It seemed worse than usual, maybe he rushed this issue.
4/5
Superman: Secret Origin #1:
I actually kind of enjoyed this. not enough to get the sequel, I don't care about Superman having another origin story, but I really liked how utterly a kid Clark is, bouncy about using his powers to help people, reluctant about wearing a silly outfit, upset to find out he's so different and has another set of parents to contend with when he just wants to be Ma and Pa's son, worrying that Krypton might be a bad place- and I really liked the moments between him and Pa.
I also liked the art for the most part, especially the scene where Clark is tearing through a cornfield crying and Pa hugs him. Awww. I always enjoy Gary Frank, even if Clark looked like a demented chipmunk in a few panels.
4/5
The Unwritten #6
Back to the story of Tom Taylor! This was another really good issue of the series, and it's really fun to see the story's exploration of how fiction can affect reality. The hysterical parents and captivated little girls are hilariously on point, and it's deep shit for Tommy being in jail and starting to be changed for the worst by his experiences and the stories in his prison walls- and zombies and flying cats aren't going to make him feel better. Both a smart examination of truth and fiction and a really captivating read.
It's fun to compare and contrast "Tommy Taylor" with "Harry Potter". "Sue" seems to be way less cool than Hermione (she doesn't have crazy hair, and the little text experts haven't shown that she has any bossy or kickass tendencies and does anything besides focus on Tommy) but seems to have the worrywart aspect down, Tommy meanwhile, is probably more badass than Harry, since I imagine Harry's reaction to "You will fall for 1000 years'" would be less "At least I'll have some time to myself" and more "OH SHIT!" but I like that Harry's a little squirrely. Oh, and Tommy's school condemns people who run from a fight or steal stuff to dust, so I can't see how they'd toterate Slytherin.
...what? I like to think about these things!
5/5
Detective Comics
Okay, I lied, I can't resist this comic. The art is just amazing, and the story is really picking up. I actually like the twin angle, and the glimpse into Kate's childhood was nice. The military brat thing is fun too, and oh, I just love how JH Williams changes his art for the flashback, and the page where Kate is shut in her cave, slumped but determinedly testing her blood, was great. I'm genuninely looking forward to seeing the origin unfold.
Question was blah again. Hopefully the next arc will be more exciting. Hey, there'll be Huntress at least!
4/5
World's Finest #1
I flip flopped on reading the first two issues of the mini, but decided I might as well.This was a servicable story, nothing special. Tim is still a broody dick, but at least he helped out. I was entertained while I read it, but it was forgettable. Still can't wait for Steph and Kara's team up, though.
3/5
That's all for tonight!
- Mood:
tired
Basically there's a thread about how Greg Potter wanted Diana to get to raped somehow veered off into a discussion of the word "superheroine" and "heroine" in general. I'm pretty sure it was Scotty's fault. He posted a pic of that line from Huntress. Scotty, you troublemaker!Actually, no, it was bluefall. You always know it'll be one of those two! That's why we love 'em!
Honestly, I never really thought of the distinction between heroine and hero. I do suppose English language wise, it's a gender divisive concept like "actor" and "actress" being distinguished, and is therefore kinda sexist. In an ideal world, it would be outmoded. Randomly adding "esses" to the end of things annoys me (like in the old days...millionairess! Doctoress! That's right people, a doctor and a WOMAN ! Shock and awe!) It's like..."This job! Only with lace and frilly things!"
But I've never really thought of it with heroine- firstly, I like the pun "heroine addict" way too much. Because I totally am addicted to heroines. I look for them everywhere, I like to immerse myself in them, etc etc. Puns are great.
Also, in some cases it's useful when discussing gendered issues. Female hero is a mouthful when you're discussing a character/person's heroism and their gender is important to the topic. For example, consider the blog "Occasional Superheroine". Regardless of how you feel about Valerie D'Orazio, the title fits because it's a blog that often focuses on gender issues and comics. The title explicitly lets you know she's female and occasionally super, and this is a big deal. "Occasional superhero" misses the point. "Occasional Female Superhero" just doesn't work.
I never thought of heroine as "less" than a hero. However, I've seen it used in places where "hero" would not be used. Bella Swan is the heroine of Twilight. No, she's not a heroine. She is constantly saved by Edward, she saves no one. If a male character ever existed to get constantly saved and the story focused on him, he would definitely not be called a "hero." Yet Bella is a heroine.
It's like Ivory Madison says!
So there are "lesser" connotations.
Nevertheless, I can't help but like the word. It sounds cool when you say it. It's like "She's a girl and hero and she's SO COOL!" It just...doesn't seem quite as condescending as "doctoress" for some reason. I mean, women doctors, women millionaires are common place. We don't fangirl (well some of us don't) and write comic books and they aren't on a seperate level of awesome because they can save the universe. I don't think until we reach the place where gender is not an issue in society at all that the word will be useless- much like we reached a place in society where actress and doctress became useless.
Heroine is hard put to go out of style culturally because a female hero is still a big deal and a concept that's often well, twisted and put down. To find a pure embodiment of female heroism- it gets it's own word because it's special. To be a hero isn't a job- it's a state of being, a title. We've mostly moved past distinctions of gender in jobs, but not titles-(and in some cases, we shouldn't, as it would just be confusing to drop the concept of woman altogether. But not with heroism- the gender of the person doing the heroic action shouldn't matter objectively)
Another thing I learned from the thread is "women" is actually "wife-man." What is that crap? I dream idly of a utopia where gender doesn't matter, and there's no such thing as a wife-man
It's all very confusing. Maybe I should stop thinking.
You know, I do think heroine is used in a protagonist sense...rather than heroic sense...more often and do think it's easier if they're all heroes- so you know what? Stephanie Brown is my hero, not my heroine. I'll only use the word heroine in specialized cases.
But! I have another tl;dr rant to go on. Mary Sues! I've ranted about this before, but I'm going to do so again.
You know, I was re reading Up Up and Away last night, and sometimes what people think of as Mary Sue qualities are good. Like Superman. He basically made me feel all warm and fuzzy with how hard he tried and all the genuinely good things he did. It's just nice to think someone could be THAT good and care SO much and try SO hard. It's nice to think all the good things about us can be embodied in one person and have that person to work for and smile at when he tries so hard. And not be all GRIM and GRITTY and ANGST about it. He can have flaws, he can screw up, but he always keeps a pure heart and tries to make it right. Is that so bad? As long as it's written well and doesn't go to barf level, I don't think it is. And Wonder Woman is the female version of that- she's everything women strive for, she embodies the best of us as well, we love to see her be good and try hard and just be FREE as a woman- can't women havew their wish fufillment too? And Wonder Woman actually has way more flaws than Superman- I actually like how Gail's introducing a flaw in the bad-at-romance thing (and it makes sense to me, since due to bad writing she's had very little in long term relationships) and I like seeing her struggle- but I also like seeing her be good and triumph and be the best superheroi- female super- person there is. Is that so wrong? Does that make a Mary Sue, especially when that's what her character is FOR and it's well written? I don't think so.
On the whole, the term Mary Sue is overused. Especially when it comes to superheroes, who are CREATED for the purpose of wish fufillment and are naturally supposed to be hypercompetent and the best of us. And don't think that's it's escaped me this accusation is always leveled at female characters. WW is called a Sue way more than Supes in fandom- and objectively, she has more flaws than he does. Like with the Hooded Utilitarian Blog- I asked him why he accused Wonder Woman (Gail Simone's Wonder Woman too! You know, the one who spent an arc grappling with her anger and messes up at romance!) of being a Sue and not Superman. He said he criticized All Star Superman. In comparison, he's done an entire never ending post series on how modern Wonder Woman sucks and how in his manly opinion she isn't a good enough role model for women or something.
It's all fandoms too- every female character who's competent or god forbid a love interest is a Mary Sue. In HP fandom? Every female character is accused of Suedom by the wankers. Ginny gets it heaped on her the most (she's competent! She's snarky! She has the audacity to be Harry's girlfriend! Must be a Sue!) but seriously. Everyone. And while Harry is accused of Suedom by non-fans (who clearly never read OotP), within the fandom, it's the girls who get the label. Guys can be competent, girls can't.
I saw Alanna the Lioness be accused of Suedom in the comments of f_w of all places. The reasoning? She can fight, she's the hero, she has a magic sword, a special pet, unusual eyes and she's magic. A fan responded Alanna had a lot of flaws, citing her bad temper and various struggles. The response? Sues can have flaws.
Um. No. No they can't. The definition of a Mary Sue is that they have no flaws, everyone loves them except tehhh evilll and the world bends to their will. No one ever points out their not-so-great qualities, they never fail, even the villians like them.
Alanna? Is competent. She's a natural fighter, which is good since she wants to be a knight and all. Yet she sucks at wrestling, fails completely and utterly at swordplay until she works her ass off training for months early in the morning, has to get lessons from a theif to beat the bully (and feels she didn't play fair because of this) after he pretty much beats her into paste several times, not everyone likes her, people point out her flaws and mistakes and the world most certainly does not bend to her real.
But she has some special eyes and magic and animals! IN A FANTASY SETTING. HOW MANY FREAKING GUY HEROES GET MAGIC WEAPONS AND FAMILIARS SINCE TH
The term Mary Sue should be restricted to fanfic or in really cut and dry egregrious cases in lit where all the requirements fit to a T- like Vampire!Bella, who apparently doesn't have to struggle with the limitations every other vamp has for one SECOND because she's just so damn perfect- and who everyone loves and does everything for her. I enjoy making fun of sues in fanfic. I go to
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pottersues , and even sometimes they accuse fanfic characters of being Sues who...aren't really. They're just (mostly female) OCs. So even in fanfic, there's that trap.I also hate how calling a character a Mary Sue dismisses any worth they have. That character you like? They're a void, they have no personality and you're stupid for liking them is basically the message. The fact it's used so often to dismiss strong female characters makes it extra icky.
So, summing up the rant- most characters probably wouldn't pass the Sue litmus test, especially superheroes which means it's stupid and female characters don't get to be dismissed because they're competent so STFU fandom.
Whew! Your fandom feminist rant for the day is over.
- Mood:
frustrated
But real quick- I feel better now, thanks guys. I guess my crying yesterday was a combo of stress over going to college next friday, exhaustion, confusion and
I was actually laughing through the first act, because our local actors are so good and over the top. But the second act, exhaustion and stress kicked in, and I guess a speech on how much women suck isn't the best thing to hear when you're feeling blue. Man, I'm so glad I wasn't born back then.
Also, my b-day is this Wednesday! 18! Woot!
But onto comics:
Secret Six #12
A joy as always. I love Artemis so much. And it was really nice to see Jeanette's powers demonstrated like that.
Between Wonder Woman thinking Artemis is dead when she's not, the Six fighting, and the threats of castration, I'm thinking this island may have some seriously wonky evil influence mind control type thing going on. Interesting.
Nicola Scott is amazing, and so are Scandal's boxers. That is all.
5/5
World of New Krypton #6:
Man, I'm so sad I may have to drop this, it's been so consistantly good. Pete Woods is fanstastic as always, I especially love how he does Kara and Alura. Alura shows herself to be multifaceted and a good leader, and Kara is proud of her mama. Zod is not quite dead yet, and his assassin remains mysterious and escaped- so it's time for Kal and Kara to follow the little criminal to earth and if Kal is going to earth...
this is a job for SUPERMAN!
That ending made me unreasonably happy. Just a good book.
5/5
Wednesday comics:
Batman: continues to be boring and make no sense. Alfred is snarky as always, tho.
Kamandi: Oh, so pretty. Kamandi ain't the brightest though. I like how his girlfriend appeared to be throwing rocks in the background. Go little human girl!
Superman: Oh my god, Superman, NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR ANGST! Or your retelling your origins for the millionth time!
Deadman: Oh noes! He will die again!
Green Lantern: HAL HATES READING!
Metamorph0: Element Girl is super cool and smart and saves everyone: Unfortunately she is not able to save her speech bubble from being misplaced, which was really jarring, particularly as it was the speech bubble that was supposed to show how super cool and smart she was. Sapphire remains a useless ditz, but I guess Rex likes 'em that way.
Teen Titans: Random strawgirl medic, no one cares about your tragic origin, especially since it makes no sense that you blame superheroes for a) not being there to save your father. Why should they have been? Not everyone's a psychic. You just want someone to blame. Maybe you should blame faulty wiring. b) getting powers they didn't earn or merit. I hate to tell you this, but Robin? He's right beside you. He doesn't have any powers. He's a superhero. LOGIC! Also, did Jaime blow up the boat to save four people, when there are about seven wounded people on that boat? How does that make sense? I'm sad this comic sucks so much. The Titans franchise really needs a decent comic.
Strange Adventures: I'd be okay if this whole comic switched to being about Alanna, honestly.
Supergirl: Kara saves a plane all on her own! Krypto is silly! Streaky is silly! Supergirl decides they must both go to the Super-vet! Adorable and fun as always.
Metal Men: That guy hates Dr. whatsisname for a contrived reason! And has a bomb!
Wonder Woman: Ooh, I really liked this one. Wondy meets up with Priscilla Rich, who has a really nice design and villianous personality. I like how she's superfast and strong without needing to go all catlike, that's an interesting take on it. Lot's of cool action, a bomb and Diana gets the tiara anyway. And she FINALLY realizes this isn't a dream.
Sgt Rock: Boring.
Flash: And Iris is back to being sort of selfish. "Screw all those people you save, you belong to me?" But I'm guessing she'll have a change of heart now that Barry's all "I QUIT! FOR YOU!" Meanwhile, Barry thinks of Iris and this gives him the strength to vibrate...into space? Whatever, the strips a joy most of the time, and I love the art.
Demon/Catwoman: Etrigan is so boring. I want Selina back!
Hawkman: Does stuff. Saves the plane- but Supergirl did it better!
Another nice issue, and most of the plotlines are moving along nicely.
5/5
I'll have another post tonight, as promised, about HP fic shenanigans and whatnot.
- Mood:
content
I am all over that. ALL OVER. If Gates does half as good a job with Bart as he's done with Kara, I'll be incredibly happy. I hope Max is back for it! It would be great to see those two together again. Oh, happy days. I hope it has a good artist too.
Now I have to get this AND Adventure comics is slowly luring me into it's clutches. Dammit, comics, stop making me spend so much money! Not to mention the super crossovers next month AND the months after that (Supergirl and Action crossing over). I don't WANT to get Action or Superman. Maybe I'll be able to figure out what's going on just from Supergirl and WoNK? (Heh, it spells "wonk") Or read the others in the shop? I might have to drop WoNK soon anyway, to save money, sad as that is.
I went to the sale (I don't think I made myself clear, but it's not a storewide sale but a ton of random comics in a bin that are a dollar each) and didn't get as good a haul as I would have liked (I accidentally picked up a YJ issue I ALREADY HAVE. Dammit) but I do now finally own a copy of that Detective Comics Steph!Robin issue, so it was was all worth it. Especially since it had a backup story with CASS! Meeting Onyx for the first time! Best issue of Detective Comics ever. No, you cannot convince me otherwise.
- Mood:
contemplative
In the meantime, my roommate has emailed me back and she seems really nice! She was all enthused about college and getting to know me, and she says she's not a big party-er and she's a book nerd, so we should get along! Yay!
And then there's comics. I have tons to review:
I got last weeks Wednesday Comics and this weeks two days ago, so I'll review them both at the same time:
Batman: Definitely very pretty art, and definitely keeping some interest. I'm enjoying it so far.
Kamandi: Nice and old school, and the art is beautiful.
Superman: Cry moar, Big Blue. I rarely say this, but I agree with Batman. Get over it, stupid people are everywhere and earth is your adopted home, no one cares about your angst. Though I do appreciate the Ma Kent hugz. The art is definitely not my cup of tea.
Deadman: Oh, Boston. What more can I say? I'm enjoying it so far.
Green Lantern: Art continues to be very nice, story is okay.
Metamorpho: Two splash pages. The old comics at the bottom are amusing, (though the kids souless eyes creep me out) but I'd rather we get on with the story.
Teen Titans: Wow, well balanced and faintly self-deprecating Tim! It's been a long time. I actually like the art more as we go along. As for the story...we've got a cliched "hates-superheroes-because-their-fig
Adam Strange: Um, Zeta Beam. Right, that's good. Warrior girl in distress. Got it. I guess I should read Adam Strange or something, because I don't mesh with this.
Supergirl: Continues to be fun and adorable.
Metal Men: Okay. I have no idea why that security guard wanted to shoot at them though. Nice art, decent story.
Wonder Woman: Okay, sure it's very dense and complicated. But if you pay attention and reread, you can pretty much understand it, and it's very nice and mythic and faintly cracky. Garbage spirits? Who knows where that came from! And I appreciate Caldwell taking advantage of the size of the page to tell huge stories. Also how he takes advantage of the "wacky crazy myths abound" setting Diana does so well in. Though the "she wakes up, it's just a dream, back to sleep, OH WAIT NOT REALLY A DREAM GUYZ" is getting old, so I hope we get something different soon.
Sgt. Rock: Continues to get beat up. NO ONE CARES.
The Flash: Geez, Iris, when you married a superhero you should have realized he'd be off, you know, SAVING PEOPLE a lot and weird crap would happen. Don't be a whiner about it. Meanwhile, cute art, good taking advantage of space with the split format, and time travel ahoy!
The Demon and Catwoman: So wait, did this witch lady hire Selina for the job? Since when is Selina hired help? Or did she hypnotize her somehow? And now Catwoman is a cat, literally. 'Kay. Art's pretty.
Hawkman: Okay, Hawkman giving the thumbs up to that little girl was ADORABLE. But he killed more birds and apparently wants to take over the world, but this other guy wants to as well. So now they fight. DICK. Why did those birds think he was compassionate?
So far, this continues to be pretty cool.
5/5
Supergirl #43
Another quiet issue, with lots of nice moments. So looks like Lucy really was Superwoman, though I think Lois is jumping the gun with the funeral arranging. Kara writes to her father and tries to understand her mother, ending up joining the Science Guild to do just that. Like I said, lots of nice moments, especially between Alura and Kara, when Alura explains how she's trying to show Kara the different sides of all the Guilds, not punishing her, and Kara is all "and you didn't TELL me this why?" And I like how Kara clearly has an artistic interest. She's like me! I feel sorry for her, that she's not following her talent to it's fullest in her desperation to figure out Alura. And great Jamal Igle art as usual, with a very pretty Kryptonian gown.
5/5
Runaways #
Chase, you either killed someone or you made it up because your dad hit you. MAKE UP YOUR MIND. Lots of Runaways complaining in this issue, but it didn't bother me too much, and I'm interested to see where it goes.
3/5
Legion of 3 Worlds #5
I KNEW DC BOARDS WAS EVIL. I KNEW IT. IT IS SUCH A PIT OF SUCK IT HAS ATTRACTE
The Legion fights, Prime is mocked, Bart makes sure to mention Max again (I KNOW, Bart, I want him back too. NOW.) Bart and Kon get reunited with Titans! Cassie is like : D and Tim is like 0_o when this happens. By the way, this makes Tim's attitude even more inexcusable in Red Robin. His friends and ex-girlfriend are back. At this point he's lost no more than Dick has (parents, Bruce) so he can't complain "I'VE LOST EVERYTHHHHIIING!" And judging by recent events, he should just chillax and wait for Bruce to come walking through the door. Sure, Dick replaced him as Robin (which was OOC) but if he hadn't reacted with flaily rage he may have been able to salvage the situation. And the fact he complains he has no one to talk tooooo when he has an entire network of friends and support and his two BFF's recently back from the dead....WELL. I have no sympathy.
Oh yes, this issue. It was good. George Perez art and some decent jokes.
4/5
The Unwritten:
I just got this series, and it's fantastic. All metatextual and on the nature of stories and I just love that stuff. Lots of lit geek stuff and the HP references make me happy and eye- roll-y at the same time. I rec it. I'll talk a little more about it later.
5/5
I also bought from my comic shop Gail Simone's run on Action comics, which was entertaining and everyone from Superman to Lois and Jimmy was funny and awesome. Also a couple of 90's Superman issues Lois was awesome in. (One was right before the wedding where she went on a QUEST TO FIND HERSELF and bust up a drug racket and one during the honeymoon where she saves Clarks depowered ass from evil foriegn people with explosives, sleuthing and kung fu) Also a few 80's Teen Titan issues, which were good, of course.
Anyway, that's all my comic-y news! There's a sale at my lcs tomorrow that I'm going to, maybe I'll bring John. In the meantime, catcha later.
- Mood:
awake
Yes. Red Robin.
Okay, so I just skimmed the parts that weren't Steph-related. But the part I did read gave me a pretty good idea of the books tone, and it's one I'm very much not interested in. I'll just list my problems so we can all get on with our lives.
Tim is a complete ass. I mean, he kicks Steph in the stomach when she comes up to talk to him (and I'm really unclear to whether she was walking through the door to say hi and couldn't help but do it stealthily, because hey, Gotham vigilante- or if, as the art indicates, she was lurking in the corner. If the latter is it, what the hell? Did she get there before Tim did? Did she actively walk over to a corner so she lurk in the shadows for no reason and Tim just didn't notice this somehow? Did she borrow the JLA transporter and beam into that corner? What? WHAT? My head hurts)
And it's hard enough to make her want to barf, and he doesn't say "oops my bad" or even HELP HER UP when she asks. I don't care how upset Tim is, that is just rude.
But what really irks me is the continuity thing- Tim gets ragey ranty all over again about how he can't trust her to wear that costume and they already AGREED HE DIDN'T HAVE A RIGHT TO BE MAD O
But no, we're ignoring that and back to RAGEYTRUSTISSUES because THAT'S not getting old. And Tim continues to add to the creepy abusive trend by grabbing Steph's wrist when she tries to pat him on the shoulder, roughly enough that she winces and he doesn't let go for like, five lines of dialogue. Under Fabian, he just swatted her hand away, at least, no "look at me I can crush your wrist I so dominant".
And apparently another reason Steph can't be trusted is because...she said eveyone was worried about Tim and Tim guesses Dick asked her to track him down...and this makes her a lying bitch who can't be trusted. Because Dick was worried and so was she and they collaborated. Yeah! How dare you, Stephanie!
And despite the fact Steph is begging him to talk, he wishes he could talk to her, but he can't, because she's such a bitch! And he leaves. So emo.
Seriously, between Fabian and Yost, I guess the Bat Writers have a pact to dump abuse of Steph- whether physical or just lecturing her over what a lying hor she is. At least Fabian had the decency to give Steph a decent make-up with Tim- only to have Yost undo it. Brutally.
But I'm not really sad about Steph. It doesn't really affect her, though I consider it OOC she didn't yell at Tim to snap out of it- the whole scene made her look like some sort of whimpering pushover (I exaggerate, but allow me my rage)
Nah, it's Tim. He's been through a lot yes. (Though as Bart, Steph and Kon are now ALL back, he really hasn't lost any more than the rest of the Bat Family at this point) But I am really sick and tired of Tim being a grimdark raging mini-Batman. They've been doing it for OVER A YEAR and this was really it's apex- and I'm not interested in it anymore. It's made him unlikable, it's obscured all the qualities I enjoyed about the character. He's just gotten progressively darker and angrier and there's no sign of him stopping, and I am just BORED with it at this point. He's another generic angry "badass" character...and now he's treating his friends and family like crap. It's not Tim. It's not entertaining to me.
So I hope Steph and Tim don't get together again soon, until Tim snaps out of it (If that ever happens). All that happens when they get together these days is Tim yelling at her about what a untrustworthy screwup she is and Steph cringing and crying. Away from Tim is the best place for Steph to be right now. Hopefully Steph will have a fun role over in Batgirl and get to be her sunny self, along with being friends with Cass plzthx. Meanwhile, Angry!Tim can do whatever the hell he wants. I hope he gets better and likable again, but for now, I'm done with him.
Whew! Now that's over, I can talk about good comics! You know, other than Tim I'm pretty happy with DC these days. Assuming they don't mess the Batgirl thing up, I'm perfectly content to let Red Robin suck and enjoy all the other cool titles including...
Wednesday Comics #1:
This was pretty good, just like I expected. I enjoyed most of the features:
Batman: Big panels, nice art. I liked the dialogue between Batman and Gordon about how Gordon feels like he's failed when he turned on the Batsignal. And Batman's replying quip "I don't know how I should take that." Oh Bats! And I feel for Gordon, but seriously? You waited till 11:59 to call Batman and the guy is going to be murdered at MIDNIGHT? I don't think wounded pride is an excuse for that kind of crap. But nice cliffhanger!
Kamandi: is adorable. I'd date him if he were the last boy on earth! See what I did there? Very pretty art, old fashioned monologue, I've always like the scenario and setting behind Kamandi, so this is cool with me.
Superman: Thought this art was a little to dark for Superman, but that alien sure is wacky. Looks like Superman's going to bond with it over how allllooone he feels.
Deadman: I really like this one. Boston Brand is so kitschy and the art was pleasantly kitschy as well. Dead people solving murders are always fun.
Green Lantern: VERY pretty art, set in the late 50's, which is probably the area where Hal best works (New Frontier proved that) not much happening so far.
Metamorpho: Kitschy, 60's style, looks wacky and promising.
Teen Titans: Never been a huge fan of Cheeks art, but TT needs a dose of fun. Not much happening here, we'll see where it goes.
Strange Adventures: Okay. I found it pretty boring.
Supergirl: Adorable Amanda Conner art! Matrix costume! Super pets! Hopefully it won't all be one note gags about Krypto and Streaky destroying stuff, but lead to an interesting plot line. But it was certainly cute and awesome.
Metal Men: Not bad.
Wonder Woman: I actually found this one the most intriguing. A bit confusing, but Caldwell certainly took advantage of the space to put in lots of action and dialogue, and I dig the talking pigeons and Oracles. Definitely the most interesting start to a plotline, and Diana is very much an innocent about to go on an incredible journey.
Sgt Rock: He gets beat up a lot. Boooring. And the art ain't my cup of tea.
Flash: Barry and Iris are MARRIED and he STILL hasn't told her he's the Flash? Isn't that an important thing to tell someone before you take the vows? What a dick. And what a dimwit Iris must be if she doesn't know. Much as that annoys me, I like the gimmick of Iris having her own comic, and the art is cute. (Of course it is, it's Kershl)
The Demon and Catwoman: Oooh, this was cool. I loved the art. Yay Selina!
Hawkman: Somone should led Baker know "flap" is not a very dramatic word. In fact "And so we flap" being repeated so many times, so dramatically, made me giggle a whole lot. And Hawkman is making the hawks fly after them when the weaker ones are falling unconcious and SPLATTING on the EARTH? What a DICK. Filled with compassion, my ass.
5/5, very enjoyable.
Booster Gold/Blue Beetle:
The Booster Gold story was merely decent. How the hell did Starfire and Donna get killed by a grenade? Must have been a hell of a grenade. Nice to see the old school Titans though. Cyborg yelling his typical thing about his "decibels of white sound" and Booster actually being IMPRESSED made me giggle.
The BB backup however, was great. Norton's are really complements the title, I love Milagro's action figures and the quips are on as usual, and the plot has taken an intriguing turn.J aime forever!
Booster Gold 2.5/5, Blue Beetle: 4/5
New Krypton #5
This title is just consistently good. I loved the depth added to Zod, and I actually didn't see the ending coming. Also, more depth to one of the supporting characters, and Supeman being cuddly. And Pete Woods! Such a good title.
5/5
That be it for today! Hope you weren't to whiplashed by the NERDY FANGRRRL RAGE suddenly switching into NERDY FANGIRL LOOOOVE.
- Mood:
bouncy
I also met Amanda and Keith and Andrew. Amanda's really cool, also into creative writing and she had awesome hippie rainbow jeans. We all had an epic geek discussion ranging from politics to anime to LotR to Harry Potter...it was great. I think college will be cool.
I've rewatched Dr. Horrible a couple more times, and found myself becoming oddly more okay with the ending. Mostly because the acting and song was so good. Or maybe it's because I found Commentary the Musical on Youtube and it was hilarious enough to make up for the ending. Or maybe rewatching it makes the ending seem less random and mood whiplash, because I know what's coming.
Either way all the songs are still stuck in my head and I am in love with Neil Patrick Harris. And the songs.
Before orientation I hung out with my cousin a bit, which was great. I love her so. I got kind of mopey the last night she was here for no apparent reason, I feel bad about it now. I also saw Star Trek, and we managed to get into a heated argument about whether Uhura was useless or not. I maintain she was, especially since Jo's counterargument was "She pushed buttons! She did her role of pushing buttons very well!" All I know is, knowing nothing else about Star Trek (I saw a few episodes of the one with Janeway in it once. My cousin is obsessed with her), I now love Spock and the guy who played Kirk was hawt.
I also saw ads for HP6. It looks like Ron's going to have his Quidditch subplot from book 5 in the sixth movie. Hurray! I wonder how that's going to work. Weasley is our king!
I'm either getting a job at the comic shop or Ingles. Probably not the comic shop, because my comic book guy said he could only afford a few hours and he hasn't called me. Too bad. I'll fill out the application for Ingles. Dad gave me this random speech about how I shouldn't give a job yet because I'm anti-social and can't follow directions, which means I'll be a failure in life apparently. So now, you know, I'm definitely getting one.
In comics news, I still haven't gotten mine for today, but last week got Booster Gold/Blue Beetle and New Krypton.
BG/BB
The Booster one I give a 2. It was pretty much meh. Booster breaks into the cave to get pics of Babs, he and Dick argue then Black Beetle shows up and ZOMGvanishes Dick. Because Hector has a thing against Batman since when? Maybe Jaime mentioned he liked Batman to Hector once. AND SO BATMAN MUST BE DESTROYED. Fits in with the stupidity that is the Black Beetle's origin. I did like Skeets little jab at Booster. Oh, Skeets.
The Blue Beetle one gets a 4. I love Mike Norton's art, especially how he did Brenda's hair. It's so flippy! It was a decent start, I have a feeling Sturges is still getting his feet with the new format.
The henchmen conversation wasn't terribly funny (though I did think "Well, heroes have sidekicks". And then I was all: But wait, villians have sidekicks and henchmen! Like Dr. Drakken! No hero has an army of sidekicks. Except for Batman sort of, but he doesn't use them that way enough. Then I realized that's what the Holiday Girls basically were for Wonder Woman. Another reason why they should be bought back. And the more salient point is that Jaime could probably get henchmen for free, he's so awesome. I'd work for him for free!)
But then the plot thickens with a 1940's robot that Jaime cannot defeat! Oddly, it takes three hours for Brenda and Paco to decide to research it. I'd have done that after the first half hour, guys. And Paco rather awkwardly randomly reminds Brenda he's in a mysterious fight with her. Man, Jaime is screwed without Hector and Nadia.
Anyway, there are problems with the scarab and sad Jaime and more robots and Paco being mysterious, so the issue ends on an interesting note. As long as there is Jaime, I will continue to get this book.
New Krypton #4
I love Pete Woods. I'd just like to reiterate this. The series continues to be solid, Superman continues to be adorable and Hal is a douche. That is all.
4/5
Heading to the Heroes Con thisw eekend! I cannot wait!
- Mood:
mellow
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/5
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.
- Mood:
relieved
( In which bits of cardboard give me geekgasms! )
- Mood:
morose
Thanks to not getting any last week, it was six comics I got today, although I forgot to glance at Flash: Rebirth or get Battle of the Cowl (though judging from the scans at scans_daily and the confirmation of no Steph, Cass or Babs appearing, that was a good thing)
But I did get:
Superman World of New Krypton #2
It was very good. Supes is such a sweetheart here, and I like him best that way. Here's my review for BSR: www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4
5/5
Booster Gold #19
Tho I loved Younger!Boosters silly antics, I have no idea what the hell is up with Michelle. How could she NOT know she was dead and missed a huge chunk of Micheal's life? It should have been really obvious as soon as she popped back. At any rate, she MAJORLY overreacted. I wouldn't like being lied to either, but smacking Skeets around, shutting him down, acting hysterical and psycho and running off in a huff to some random time period was borderline crazy. I can only hope she's being influenced by something, because seriously, it's really, really random. I would be dropping this book if it weren't for the promise of Jaime.
2/5
Secret Six #8
What a date! And Little Secret Six, I remember seeing that on the Internet! Oh, RAGDOLL. I really admire Gail Simone for being so involved with the fans she'd spot gems like this that most writers would never get to behold.
The issue itself was a little like filler, but fun. Scandal has a new beau is pretty much the end result. I was hoping to learn more about Knockout's recent body snatching appearances, but ah well.
4.5/5
Speaking of Gail, I found this interview where she gave these thoughts on the WW movie in an interview (www.afterellen.com/people/2009/4/gailsim
All right, here's how I see it. I did the first two drafts of this film's screenplay and the basic plot and characters still reflect that. But as I've said, I don't write Wonder Woman as Man Vs. Woman. I just feel that Wonder Woman would have settled that debate in her mind long ago with the universal truth: that there's good and bad in every group.
Seeing a woman as powerful as Wonder Woman debating things like guys opening doors for women seems a little like it's lowering her, that she's stooping.
In short, the gender issue stuff in my drafts was more subtle and a little more about miscommunication than outright hostility.
So when I finally saw the finished product, which I enjoyed tremendously, the one sour note for me was the insertion of all this gender politics stuff. At this point, I don't feel it's right or fair or even interesting for Diana to mistrust men as a gender, in toto.
The feminist discussions they're having felt very early 70's to me, very first wave. I think for most of America, that discussion is past. So I was a bit taken aback by that.
I'm friends with and a huge fan of animation genius Bruce Timm, and the writer who did the final draft, Michael Jelenic, is just this extremely talented, sincere, humble guy. I hadn't met the director, Lauren Montgomery, but she seems pretty wonderful, too.
They really wanted to do right by Wonder Woman and I think they succeeded beautifully. It's a cracking good action story. But the man vs. woman stuff really baffled me on first showing.
Hell YES! I knew Gail wasn't responsible for that gender war bullshit. Nail, meet head.She also makes some good points about the GOOD side of the gender war stuff, which is interesting.
Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures of the 8th Grade
Another great issue, but I think I need a reread, some of the stuff was a tad confusing. Which makes me worry it will be confusing especially for the kids. Liked the Legion references thrown in, and Comet! Also Lena. She's awesome. Especially with her pessimism about graduating 8th grade. The stuff's really hit the fan for Linda, should be interesting. Overall, this book has been so charming and funny, I'm sad it's ending soon.
4.5/5
Teen Titans #69
I thought Barrows was bad, but an artist trying to imitate Barrows is even worse. As for the writing, Static was pretty bitchy to Eddie and Jaime, but I suppose he's traumatized. It was nice to see Aquagirl kick the Face's ass, and I didn't mind at all that he died. I'm liking Aquagirl so far, and I'm really liking having M'gann back. "Which button is for hugging," hee. Solid issue, nothing special, but noting too bad.
3.5/5
Teen Titans Annual 2009
Going to repeat about the bad art. However, characterization remained solid, Static got to me a badass, Bombshell became marginally more likable, and Eddie got to wear his old costume which was hilariously cool. Also, Dead!Marvin pretty much told Kid Eternity joining the Teen Titans is a death sentence, which is true, and funny to see acknowledged in text. Another very solid issue, though I have no idea how Cyborg managed to hack the Scarab.
4/5
Well, thassall! Gotta go take a shower and reread my comics!
- Mood:
peaceful
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-t
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.
- Mood:
hyper
Anyway, I'm completely stoked for both things. I'd been hearing mixed reviews of Wondy, there was an epic argument on Comic Bloc between this gay guy and one of the authoritarian moderators over whether it was good or not, and of course authrotarian!mod pulled out all the hostilities- it was 'Bloc, so of course they were rude to him for expressing an opinion that may be vaguely negative. He mentioned he dislikes Steve's piggishness and him apparently teaching Wondy a lesson and what not, and the "hot amazons bathing" fanservice. Authoritarian!mod mentioned the panel didn't want Steve to be a "nice guy" or "damsel in distress".
I'm going to give the creators benefit of the doubt and assume...okay, his name is Titansfan... was mistranslating, since I already stated I didn't like the guy in the first place, I can't imagine his comprehension skills are that great (he's not an idiot, just seems rather arrogant at times to me). But it brings an interesting point. Why CAN'T Steve be a damsel in distress? Isn't Wondy about turning gender roles on their head? Lois is often a DiD and still manages to be quite awesome. Steve can do the same. Heck, that's what Marston did with him. Wonder Woman was always having to save him.
As for "nice guy"...unless we're talking "Nice Guy TM", I don't see the problem here. According to TitansFan's tenuous translations, the panel says a air force guys likely to be tough and piggish. Okay, that's a stereotype. I'm sure there's plenty of nice, polite airforce guys. Why not go against the grain?
This is not a critisism of the movie, which I haven't seen yet, and am sure I will very much enjoy (I've heard some things that really excite me, and if
bluefall liked it...well, I consider that the highest Wondy fan approval there is!) or the creators, just some general questions and observations.Another is: I don't think Wonder Woman should be about men and woman "needing" each other. She comes from an island of all women who were just fine for thousands of years. She doesn't need men. That doesn't mean she doesn't want, or like them, just that they are not essential. It isn't prejudice. After all, would men need women if they were immortal? No. Of course, they'd WANT them around (even gay men would probably like having women as friends. Am I right? I mean, we're not just for the sexing).
What Wonder Woman is about to me is: "Look, here's a woman, she's awesome, she's independent, she kicks ass. Women ARE awesome. They are just as good as men. And they aren't an extension of men." That's as deep as it needs to go. It's not "men are superfluous". Maybe some guys felt insecure about that creating the movie, but get over it. Wonder Woman isn't a lesson on gender relations, other than that her lesson is "Woman and men are EQUAL." She's a lesson on being kickass and strong. That's what Marston intended, that's what Perez, Rucka and Simone put forward, the end.
Once again, not a critisism. Women and men need each other is a fine message, and I can deal with that, but I think the concept of WW is a little different.
So, off the Wonder Woman rant (I'm sure you'll get a lovely review when I ACTUALLY see the movie!) and on to comics this week.
Gotham Gazette: Already covered my feelings on the Steph part in the last post, so lets check out the other parts. I should mention the art was really good all around in this one shot, even Gulliem March's stuff, though not entirely pleasing in some parts, was surprisingly non porny considering his Oracle covers.
Vicki Vale: This was the story that most intrigued me (besides Steph's, but that was simply because it's Steph). I don't know much about Vicki besides 1. She was decent in the 1940's, and cared more about news than slobbering after Bruce. 2. "I have a date with Bruce Wayne! Cool!" and 3. She was in the 1980's Batman movie. But she seemed okay here. The cliffhanger intrigued me. HOW is Bruce going to take Vicki to the Robinson Ball? He's in a cave! Will it be Alfred disguised as Bruce????
Leslie Thompkins: Art is stiff, but clear, nice and neat. Not much is revealed about Leslie that we don't already know, 'cept I never thought her the type to walk around in high heeled boots. Clearly she has forgiven Bruce (I guess him "dying" softened her feelings.) Anyway, now she must perform surgery at the edge of the Cavelier's makeshift rapier! I'm disappointed she didn't mention Steph.
Harvey Bullock: Harvey must solve a murder! He has Officer Harper as his partner, and she is very whiny! Once again, nice art, not much happening. Apparently the murderer was already revealed in the Azreal mini (Spoiler: It's Azreal). I wonder who Harvey thinks it is though.
Decent one shot, probably wouldn't be getting the sequel if there weren't Steph though.
3.5/5
Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade #4:
Streaky the Supercat! With superintelligence! I love the twist ending and Streaky thinking of Linda as his "pet". Belinda was surprisingly nice this issue, knocking out Lena for Linda, and hardly making any insulting comments at all (except one to Lena). Maybe Linda's rubbing off on her?
And it's sad to see Lena would turn on Linda if she knew she was Supergirl. She was very Lex like in her ranting about Superpeople defying the natural order. And of course saved the day with her Mad Science! Maybe Linda can convince Lena to stop with the crazy if she shows what a bad person Lex is and snaps Lena to reality. I hope so, I like Lena.
Also, loved the poke of the Silver Age, when Belinda said there was a Kryptonian technique that let you get rid of memories, and Linda was like "Not there isn't" and Belinda said "true enough". Total smack down of the "KryptonianSCIENCE answers everything!"
As usual, 5/5.
Superman New Krypton #1,
Pete Woods seems to be back on his game a bit. This was pretty good, I likes seeing Superman trying to solve stuff on New Krypton and being nice and teaching that kid to fly. Also his protest of the guilds, and conflict with Zod. I'm pretty intrigued with the Super Books right now. I'll prolly get the next of this series.
4/5
Secret Six #7
Now this was fantastic. Deadshot, I knew you wouldn't let me down! The fights! The zany dialogue! Bane badassery! The gory deaths!
My favorite moment would have to be Ragdoll tossing Hatter's hat off the bridge. Oh, Ragdoll. You're AWFUL.
Also the ending! Very intriguing!
And Nicola Scott knocks it out of the park as always.
5/5
A good week, really. I should mention I think I can finally post on the insane journal. It did the validation thing when I tried my yahoo email, for some reason.
- Mood:
pleased
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/4
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/4
Spiderman and Mary Jane
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4
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/4
Karolina and Xavin (My "out there" pick! I love those two!)
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4
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.
- Mood:
blah
But first, tell me...Grant Morrison sez...
NRAMA: What is Superman's song? What does it sound like?
GM: ‘Born In The USA’? ‘Crazy In Love’? ‘Man, I Feel Like A Woman’? ‘My Way’? ‘A Milli’? ‘Come Into The Garden, Maude’? Whatever your favourite song is, that’s what he’s singing. For me today, it’s ‘Granite’ by Pendulum.
What do YOU think Superman sang!
I posted on Superdickery:
For me it's either
"If I go crazy, will you still call me Superman..." (Kryptonite, 3 Doors down)
Or "I can't stand to fly...I'm not that naive..." (Superman, Five for Fighting)
My dad and I listen to those when I ride with him to school, because he loves them, so I now love them and they are imprinted in my brain forever.
It would be really funny is it was the second one, because it means he smote Darkseid with the sheer power of his emo.
Oh, and if you want my thoughts on Final Crisis, I didn't read it, only the scans on scans_daily. It seems really weird and convoluted and pretentious with some very awesome moments thrown in. However, I really don't know, and I won't until I read the trade at Books A Million whenever it comes out. All I do know, is I have been in comics four years, and I am already sick of how many stories seem to revolve around Superman being the GREATEST EVAH. Okay, we GET it, he was first, he was the seed and he's Jesus, MOVE ON.
But, it looks kinda cool and helluva lot more interesting than Secret Invasion sounded like.
But I may never forgive Morrison for his comment on Wonder Woman. Because I am vindictive and hate when people express their opinions!
Right, right, comics reviews...spoilers as always...
Supergirl Cosmic Adventures #3
Can I just reiterate how AWESOME this series is? BECAUSE. It IS.
I love little Lena Luthor. She is so insane...ly cute! Cute in her insanity. I like how she just casually freaks out at people, and invents these weird contraptions to save the day, and how bitter and melodramatic she is. She's like a little redheaded tornado of MAD SCIENCE! I hope she learns to escape her brother's influence and stay friends with Linda even after she inevitable finds out she's Supergirl. Because she is great as Linda's friend.
And Linda got to do some actual really nice superheroing this issue! In her own special way. She risked her life to save the school! Go Linda!
My favorite scene had to be this:
(Linda fakes being taken away in order to save a falling boy)
Linda: AIEE! I'm being carried away to my MYSTERIOUS DOOM!
Lena: I WILL AVENGE YOU! *shakes fist*
I also like the little easter eggs they drop in for geeks without taking away from the story, like Linda coming back from her time traveling with a Legion Flight Ring on, and a picture of her in the headband!
In conclusion, this book remains great. DUNDUNDUN, evil principal. Streaky's apparently next, I can't wait!
5/5
Secret Six #6
DAMN. That was a shock ending there! Floyd, how could you? HOW?
Though he obviously didn't actually kill anybody. It takes more than a head-bullet to put Scandal down, and Ragdoll gets his bones broken all the time, so being run over doesn't bother him. Catman's more iffy, but I imagine he's okay, and there's Jeannette...well, it's interesting he went for a gut shot, which can be survivable, rather than a heart or brain shot.
Seeing as how Floyd is still in the book, I imagine there's something more to this..or there isn't. You never know with Gail!
Anyway, Ragdoll is such a woobie. I want to cuddle him. His sadness over Alex is adorable.
I like Jeannette. Her origin was cool, though I'm not totally clear on her powers. Countess Bathory for the win! And I love the panel where she said "I'm a Banshee". Nicola and the colorist ROCKED that.
And the Mad Hatter is behind it all! Yay Jervis! I even liked the Origins and Omens back up, with art by Pete Woods. It was good but not as orgasmically awesome as his usual fare. What is with Pete lately? Does he have a hand injury or something?
5/5
Legion of 3 Worlds #3
I got this for the Bart. Suprisingly, I was able to understand it somewhat. I love how scared SB Prime is of Bart, and Bart's lines coming back. And XS! Yay! And good George Perez art. Though for some reason Bart's reveal looked really bad.
4/5
A good week, overall!
- Mood:
satisfied
Despite this hardship, I've gotten back into the swing of things with my BSR! column, this time devoted to everyone's fave star spangled superheroine!
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3
I'm giving my enlightened thoughts on Batman next, then Superman. Then...who knows?
All I have for homework is my Psych chart. But I should also look at scholarships.
Life, why you do this to me?
Edit: I changed my blog theme, too. I considered doing it in Bookworm Blue or whatever, but I like red better.
- Mood:
sick
Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures of the Eighth Grade #2
Oh my God, could this title get anymore awesome? Seriously, it's a dream come true. Aimed towards children, yet I have a big smile every time I've finished reading it. I love Jr. Supergirl. She's so geeky and dorky and that makes her cool. And I think that's a great message to send young girls, that geeky is cool. I liked Supergirl's line "She's geeky (in a good way). Supergirl is a geeky outcast like me, but she recongizes that there's not anything neccesarily bad about being smart and nerdy! She's really a fantastic hero for little girls, because she's so flawed, funny and relatable.
And the dialogue, Supergirl's little thought bubbles, the awkwardness of her trying to fit in, the making fun of superhero tropes...it's all so great! And I think, much easier for kids to follow that Tiny Titans, which has too many "in" jokes. And little Lena Luthor becoming Supergirls best friend! I love it, especially the foreshadowing of her name being an anagram and her red hair (also, her causual "Nobody teases my friends, off to the mind control ray to wreak vengeance!) She is awesome. I can't wait for the next issue!
This must be an ongoing! I hope it sells well. The younger generation needs a nifty Supergirl.
5/5
Action Comics #873
I pretty much summed up my thoughts in my Big Shiny Robot review: www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3
I'm really interested in how it will affect Kara, anyway.
3.5/5
Booster Gold #16
Another stellar, fun issue from Jurgens. The twist about Cyrus...I did not see it coming! Nice one. Also, Michelle continues to be cool. It was just a fun read. Time traveling hijinx!
4.5/5
So, it's been a very Wonder Womany week. I did my Amazon presentation today, wearing a toga made of an old shirt, my paper tiara, sandals, a wooden beady-belt with a plastic sword, and black stretch pants since it was cold. And when I got home, my third George Perez trade ("Beauty and the Beasts") had arrived! I sat down and read it.
I'm not a fan of Supes/Wondy romance flirtamathing, but I thought the ending to the little tryst in this trade was handled well. Superman thinks Wondy's too goddess-like for him, because he's really "just a boy from Kansas", but Wonder Woman's rebuttal is she just thinks they have different philosophies and are from different worlds, so can never really be lovers, but she wants them to be friends. At which point Clark reveals his secret identity to her despite having only known her for a while. I thought this was cool and in character- Diana does radiate truthiness (*cough*) after all, you can't help but trust her. And I think Clark realizes he's found an equal and true friend here almost immediately.
Later, Wondy thinks "I thought we would have more in common than our unique powers. While my desire is to teach and inspire humanity to embrace peace...he seems to relish his role as enforcer and guard for society. "
She's being a little hard on him here (she admits she's dissapointed immediately after this thought) but she's new 'round the world, so she doesn't really get his world veiw.
However, I think this speech is a perfect example of how Wonder Woman differs from Superman. She has a mission that's entirely different from his, and a point of veiw almost alien to him. Take that, haters!
In the trade, Wondy also fights the Silver Swan, not the Vanessa version obviously, but a abused girl being manipulated by her lover- very low self esteem, and incredibly insecure about her looks. I'm not sure I quite get her origin...she was mutated due to her parents being exposed to "early nuclear tests" and all gross looking...Armbuster International wanted to use it...I suppose they made her beautiful? And then she killed the scientist and, um, something happened? I guess Armtrong just took her in, proud of her for her skill in killing the guy, and manipulated her to love him, and hate Wonder Woman (who she was jealous of for her looks...despite being stunning herself now)
All in all, a good foe for Diana. While Diana's completely independent, Valerie is controlled by a man. Where Diana's confident and despite being beautiful focuses on inner beauty, Valerie is incredibly insecure and obsessed with appearance. Diana is the epitome of the independent woman, while Val is the epitome of the opressed.
(She has a skimpy costume too, but it makes sense since Armstrong McJerk probably designed it to be teh sexy.)
Also, Diana gets to travel to Greece (which is neat) and meet Circe and all that.
I really like Julia and Vanessa. Julia is a badass and a scholar, so she's instantly cool, and Vanessa is a flawed teenage girl, jerkish at times, but truly loves and respects Diana. She looks up to her, but it also jealous of her a lot, showcasing both reactions people have to Diana.
Another conversation I like is Diana and Julia's about taking on your husbands name. Diana doesn't understand a woman giving up her identity to be absorbed by her husband's, and Julia admit she and her husband agreed to keep her maiden name but her family insisted on tradition- but after her husband died, she decided not to go back to her old name, not because of tradition, but because she wanted to pay a loving tribute to her husband.
Also, Julia's parents are hilarious. I hope she and Vanessa return as characters soon, I like them. And I'd like to see how Nessie's getting through her trauma from when SHE was Silver Swan in Rucka and Jiminez's run...poor girl.
I don't like Etta dieting and being all jealous. Boooring. I'm glad she's sassy again now.
So, that's my third (fourth?) Diana rant of the week out of the way.
Oh, and Batman's dead, didja hear? Or not, he's actually living a bunch of crappy lives, actually. Omega SANCTION, not effect. THERE'S A SUBTLE DIFFERENCE. Anyway, Batman's used to living crappy lives so he should get out of it fine. He used a gun too, which has some people angry, but it seems like one of the few sensible things he's done, to me. Darkseid, y'know. Though I have no idea how the gun was faster than Darkseid's eyebeams. Anyway, THE STORY IS NOT OVER! According to Morrison:www.wizarduniverse.com/011409batmandead.h
Meh, should be a ride. I don't plan to buy any of it, except for Battle of the Cowl because of Spoiler and Cass, and Gotham Gazette of course, but the Internet reading should fill me in.
Also, Mary's back to normal until JSA. But all traumatized and NEVER SAYING THE WORD AGAIN. Because, you know, that's how Mary Marvel rolls. And by that, I mean, it's not how she rolls, and I'm tired of all this trauma. But at least she isn't posessed by a perv anymore!
- Mood:
okay
Best
*I went to the Heroes Con, where I met Jann Jones, Dan Didio, Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner, Todd Dezago, Matthew Sturges annnnd Michell Poust, who did my lovely Steph commission.
* I got a lovely Steph commission.
(nevermore999.livejournal.com/17353.html#c
*And a less lovely, but okay one. And a cute chibi Tim sticker. nevermore999.livejournal.com/17760.html#c
* Jann complimented me in her DC Nation column. (nevermore999.livejournal.com/22551.html )
*This blog took off, and I made a bunch of nifty internet friends. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/14085.html )
*Looking at that post, I remember Gail Simone commented on a couple posts! That was so AWESOME.
*Also I got tagged several times on WFA. ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/tag/when+fa
*My Steph wiki expanded and is now ridiculously comprehensive, despite the fact I had to do 99% of it all by my lonesome. That's the power of obsession, folks. And someone even added it as a source on Steph's actual wikipedia page! Without any prompting from me! So I did wikipedia a favor and kindly linked them back. (stephaniebrown.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page ) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Brown_(c
* I got hired for Big Shiny Robot! ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/29332.html )
*I scored an interview with Fabian Nicieza! (nevermore999.livejournal.com/39539.html ) ( nevermore999.livejournal.com/43386.html )
Worst
Hardly any worsts, my comic fan existence has been super cool. But here's two, minor, minor things.
*Jann Jones never answered my letter. I'm worried she's mad at me for slying saying Adam Beechen sucks in my thank you note.
*Various internet arguments, whether at Comic Bloc, Superdickery or Scans_daily, have annoyed me. Oh, Internet.
Now that the year is totally in review...Reviews!
Teen Titans #66
It's a flipping miracle.
I enjoyed this issue of Teen Titans.
OH EM GEE.
Forced to pick it up because Spoiler is in it, I was pleased to see not only did nothing horrible happen to her, she got to be kind of cool. First, of all, she sparred with Traci 13 and they became friends. Steph is awesome, and Traci is awesome and together they are almost too awesome for the world to handle. Which is why I want them to team up more. Now they have a precedent!
And the scene was neat in general, characterwise. Steph was nice enough to hold back on Traci, but once Traci says "Show me what you can do" she roundly kicks her ass...or bruises it, rather. A nice display of skill (and of course, as always, Steph goes for the face kick) even though, as said, Traci isn't an expert, relying more on magic and awesome than martial arts.
And Traci laughs and says nice one! And Steph helps her up all nice! Clearly, they like each other. This makes me happy. Steph must guest star in Blue- crap, I forgot...curse you cancellations! *sigh* My heart would stop if that happened anyway, from sheer joy, so maybe it's just as well.
And then Bombshell comes in and is all jerkish. She really annoys me, just another example of Teen Titans thinking DRAMA and CONFLICT is someone on the team being a jackass and others inexplicably putting up with it.
But I kinda loved Steph tensing up for the fight, ready to take on a girl with quantum skin. (She could win if she convinced Amy to depower, by calling her chicken a lot. And then, two seconds later, fight over) And then Misfit teleports in. Oh Misfit. I'm disappointed a little she didn't go all "Hey, saw your autopsy photos!" to Steph.
And I liked Wonder Girl being nice to Steph. Some read it as passive agressiveness, but I didn't see it. It was awkward, all right, but how could it not be? She seemes to really be trying.
In fact, I liked Wonder Girl in this issue a lot. It seems McKeever's sticking to this whole "the lasso made her a horrible person, now she's nice again" business. And she's going to get to be leader! Oh, YJ flashbacks.
Tim bringing Steph along for "moral support" for when he quits is weird. What KIND of moral support? This was partly why, when I looked back on Steph coming out of Tim's room and realized he was in his undies when Cassie came in, I was all "Wait. Did they have sex or something?"
But I doubt it. Tim is an eternal virgin. He just seems to like talking to his ex girlfriends in his underwear.
....
Okay, moving on. Jaime was cool this ish, despite his inexplicable not wanting Traci to join the team (probably he doesn't want her to die. I know, Jaime, I know). So was Kid Devil. And it is HILARIOUS no one wants to join the Titans. Because why would you? It's a death sentence!
Oh, and also hilarity in how Tim's quitting speech was essentially "This team sucks. A lot. So I'm quitting. Because...um, Batman's missing? You can handle it Cassie kthnxbye."
So....*drumroll*...I think I'll actually pick up this title again. Mostly to see how NewandImproved!Cassie does as leader. I'll drop it like a hot potato when/if it gets bad again tho.
Complaints though: Cassie's new costume is ludicrous. She's an Amazon without bracelets. Why? And how does she expect to deflect bullets and lasers and whathaveyou? And HOW does she move her arms with that metal thing? Come ON. Change costume now please.
The art in general sucked actually. Eddy Barrows cannot leave soon enough. His spines are made of silly putty, his anatomy is off, the girls lips look like they've been pumped with collagen and had glue like lipstick applied, and his boobs are all the same-perfectly round and moving as a seperate organism from the body. Also, the girls have a weird square pelvis thing going, especially apparent on Cassie in the old Titans picture. Oh, and all his clothes are impossibly tight. Not just the spandex, Cassie's outfit and Misfit's and Traci's too. AND, finally, the abdomens are impossibly concave and painful looking.
Yeah. Well.
4/5
Blue Beetle #34
AWESOME. As usual. I absolutely LOVE it. The Scarab's "Oops" and subsequent resuscitation, Jaime's one liners: ("Don't you guys ever stay dead?" "Not traditionally!"), attack of the immigrants, Brenda and Paco being awesome, Brenda being snarky, Jaime's family tackle hugging him and finally, an surprisingly nice resolution to the immigration issue, where Jaime finally gets to speak up and says he's not being dragged into the Border Patrol because he's supposed to be a hero for everyone, but he will follow the laws. And then, the most awesome afterthought "And all this? Caused by a rich white guy. Just sayin'." Oh, Jaime. MARRY ME.
Matt Sturges really has gotten his groove. I knew he would, he was nice to me at a comic convention!
They can't cancel this title. Whhhhyyy.
*cries*
5/5
Wonder Woman #27
A really enjoyable issue. Donna was awesomesauce, Genocide gets more threatening, Cassie was caring, and I LIKED Tom. Whoa.
Pretty art too. Excited for the next, as always.
4.5/5
Superman #683
Hi, Zatanna! Pretty art, but not much happening. Poor Kara, though. The punching page was pretty powerful. And nice fragment monologues from supporting heroes. (I could've done with one from Wondy, though).
3.5/5
Whew! Ending this post with a picture I did of Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Girl!
( I kinda like it, too. )
Also, did a review for a Marvel mini I really like, NYX, on BSR! It's written by a woman too! Yay, more women in comics!
www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3
- Mood: tired
A pretty good week over all.
Secret Six #4
Jeez, Catman needs to chill. Stabbing Scandal in the hand is NOT cool. I don't care if she can heal quick! And she was trying to help him and everything!
On the other hand, Bane's fatherliness towards Scandal contiues to be adorable in a completely disturbing sort of way. Like most of this book.
Scandal (a lot of stuff happening with her in this issue, huh?) hallucinates Knockout again, but this time she's not drunk, which makes me wonder if there might me something behind it. Especially since Waitress!Knockout said something Scandal couldn't possibly have known. And she kept talking even when Scandal was distracted and she'd reverted back to waitress.
The scene with Junior and the Priest was great. "Back up plan not workable". Heh.
And Cheshire! Yay!
Once again, another quality issue.
5/5
Booster Gold #15
Booster and Shel's sibling like bickering is hilarious. A very fun issue, even though the stuff with Ralph was sad at times. I noticed Skeets is back to calling Booster "Booster" and not "sir" like he's done lately. I guess Dan Jurgens felt Skeet should talk to Booster like he did when Dan Jurgens first wrote him. Anyway, good issue.
4/5
Action Comics #872
Another decent issue (<3 Pete Woods as always) though Reactron's new Gold Kryptonite Heart felt like an old idea recycled. In fact, it even ADMITTED to being an old idea recycled. Booorrring. Though "Some might say it's useless because it only takes away powers for fifteen seconds. Well, I say that's more than enough time." is kinda badass. But just kinda.
More HUGE clues that Krypton!Nightwing is Kon. Either they aren't trying to keep it a secret, or they are torturing the fans again with red herrings. I'm inclined to believe the latter, unfortunately. Which is sad, because I think Linda as Flamebird would be an AWESOME way to bring her back. I miss Linda.
I'm interested to see how Alura's willingness to kill (probably a result of her being hit by Kryptonite Poisoning in Supergirl, which is too bad, because it would be nice to see Supergirl's Mom have a VIABLE different mindset from Superman) compounded with Zor El's apparent death will affect Kara. I imagine it will be bad.
4/5
In other news, I bought the first trade of Darwyn Cooke's The Spirit and it is AWESOME. And I thought Silk Satin couldn't get anymore cool. She can! And I love Ebony and Denny. Also, the Batman crossover was great. Darwyn Cooke is a great writer AND artist as always.
- Mood:
melancholy
BoP #124
As kickass as the cover is (excepting the handles) the fight inside left me slightly dissapointed.
I sort of summed it up on Superdickery:
That's what disappointed me about the fight. Wouldn't it have been awesome if Oracle had used her mad skillz to set all these security traps, and the Joker has to go through all of them to get to her, and though he does what pretty much anyone else would fail at getting through them, but by the time he gets to her he's beat the fuck up and she kicks his ass? But he manages to get some shots in because of his special Jokah powahs?
That would have shown respect for both the characters, and we wouldn't have had to see the Joker throw the person he made paraplegic down the stairs, which, I'm sorry, I don't need to see.
I dunno, it's just Oracle's not just a martial artist anymore. It would have been nice to see her use all of her skills against the guy who shot her. And use weapons besides the escrima sticks, ranged ones.
I feel a fight between Babs and the Joker could have been pretty epic and pulled up a lot of good emotional stuff, but Tony Bedard was not the right writer to handle it. For one thing, he doesn't write a very good Joker. It would have needed to last a bit longer too.
And I do think Oracle should have had time to set up her security system. How would the Joker fight a ton of lasers? It would have been interesting. And when he gets there, then the physichal fighting starts. Just the Joker escaping would have dented the victory for Babs, she didn't need to be thrown down some stairs too.
However, I do think it was cool when she totally decimated his mouth. Stealing his smile and all. Sure, he's had many teeth knocked out over the years, but she bashed in ALL of them. That's definitely a cause for the Joker to freak out.
All I know is it's a good (or bad) thing Misfit found the Joker and not Dinah, because you know what she said she'd said she'd do to the Joker if she was ever in a room alone with him (Gail's run)
( BoP reaction comic by me )
( Little BoP reaction toon. )
I'm looking forward to next issue though. I'm cravin' some Dinah and Babs bonding time!
My Dad actually picked the comic up and read it while cleaning my room (I don't ASK him to do it, he's neurotic) because the cover was so cool. He thinks the fight between the Joker and Babs was the coolest thing ever.
Dad: "She smashed in his face and stole his SMILE! I loved her Arnis sticks!"
Me: "She calls them escrima sticks".
Dad: "It's the same thing, it depends which part of the Philipines you are from."
I am constantly boggled by how much he knows about every conceivable form of martial arts ever. He should be in the Batfamily.
Which leaves me to wonder if the Internet has lead me to be cynical and course. Why can't I enjoy the comic for the awesome parts like Dad does?
3.5/5
Wonder Woman # 26
A good issue. I'm not sure it was spectacular enough that fans jumping on because of the event will stay, which worries me. Genocide is monstrous, and her design doesn't bother me as much as it seems to others. I'm very curious about what's up with the gods. And Diana's lasso got stolen! Whoa. I wonder if Dr. Minerva still has the jones for that thing, or Genocide just took it for laffs.
I'm very interested in getting more into Genocide's powers and...personality? Dunno. Right now, I'm not quite convinced she's the worst threat evar, but I'm sure I will be.
And Tom fought hard to keep the nectarine pit, which was endearing. I'm still not sure he's good enough for Diana.
Looking forward to more.
4.5/5
Blue Beetle #33
I feel like crying, because this was great issue. Sturges best yet. The Teen Titans were funny and likable (and the world stopped spinning...) and Tim was cracking jokes like a cutie! Oh, Timmy. I missed your sense of humor. And Peacemaker's eternal search for a drinking buddy...Brenda and Paco smackdown complete with Paco's Twu Confessions...
WHY MUST THE GOODNESS END?
The only thing I'm confused on is why the Scarab isn't exhibiting a personality. Maybe there will be a reason for this.
I now demand Matt Sturges write Teen Titans. I WILL PAY DC TO DO IT. And Rafeal Albequerque draw it. He draws Cassie like a human being! I love her wavy hair. And adorable Tiny Tim.
Oh dreams. You make me sad.
5/5
Superman #66oh like I keep track
I want to have Renato Guede's art's babies.
Oh, there was writing too. An okay story, though apparently Kara has fucked up again. Understandably, because these are her parents long thought dead she's listening to, so I'll let it go. And the Kryptonian madness comes home to roost...Mon El being surrounded by villians made me giggle. It prolly shouldn't have, but there ya go.
4/5
( Cassie with bracelets. )
Comic Bloc is growin' on me, btw. The intelligence level seems to have gotten higher of late, and they're all so nice. I may even consider rejoining.
I'm glad Cassie is unemo in time for next ish, which I will be forced to pick up because Spoiler. Here's hoping it sticks, unlike her Wonder Girl mini un-emoness.
- Mood:
thirsty
shanealt 'S FAULT.New Krypton Special #1
This was actually pretty good. I liked all the art. I mean, Pete Woods, Gary Frank and Renato Guedes! That's practically an orgasm of great comic book art.
Yes, you will never be able to let go of that mental image.
The reasons I picked this up is because shane pestered me to (in the nicest way possible), it's going to tie into Supergirl, which I am reading and actually, it seems like a good hook for a story. 100, 000 Kryptonians! Wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting world. It's...a good idea. New! Different! It'll change back eventually, but it will be an interesting idea until it does. The ramifications of Kara having her parents back alone is rife with possibilities.
Anyway, it was a good story. Tension between Lois and Lucy (I demand a Lois Lane special now! If Jimmy Olsen gets one, Lois definitely should! And Gail Simone should write it, because she said she would! I hold her to this!), Jimmy's...rambling about something that happened in his special, I'm going to ignore that because I didn't read the damn thing.... random whale killing tells us all that earth is so fucked...
Oh, and Clark is sad because his dad died. I am not impressed with this death. I know having 100, 000 Kryptonians would make Clark too happy, so something horrible must happen tp him simultaneously because THAT IS HOW COMICS ARE! But, you know, in the end it's another death in comics, and I fail to be impressed by those anymore. They elicit a yawn. Jonathan, I will miss you until you get ressurected in five years. Hang in there!
But the writing surrounding it...well, it's sweet. I love Clark's little flashbacks, the
"My father taught me to be awesome" (I am paraphrasing)
"Oh yes, Jor El's crystals?"
"..."
and Ma telling Clark to do his job, she'll be fine...the "I so wish I could beat the shit out of Braniac" fantasy....Lois trying to comfort him...
Yeah, it's sweet. Well done, comics. There were a lot of "silent" pages in this comic, and they worked incredibly well. Really gave it a feeling of "mood".
Kara's dad seems like a total douchebag though. "Oh, we can't really tell them what to do, you know...ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE US LESS KRYPTONIAN?" No, Kara'sDad, he's trying to get you to not totally clash with the inhabitants of the planet you crash landed in.
Speaking of which, hoping for Kara's reaction to Jonathan's death in Supergirl, since it wasn't in here.
OH AND LOIS'S DAD IS BACK OH NOES!
In conclusion, I give this...4.5/5! Well done.
Superman #I am not looking to see what number. A really high one.
Wasn't as good as the special, but eee, Renato Geudes! Ahem. Apparently the Justice League likes to interrogate Superman while standing intimidatingly on the Fortress of Solitude. Though I can see why they're concerned, what with the whale killing Kryptonians an' all.
Also, Krypto coming to comfort Ma Kent is just the CUTEST THING EVER. My heart melted. Good boy, Krypto. (I love dogs)
Could people stop referencing Amazons Attack? I am trying to pretend it never existed over here. And I fail to care about random Liberty guy. I do wonder what's up with Kara and her best friend who sort of snaps at her. Guess we'll find out later...
And...WTF is that Doomsday crashing down there? Why...Doomsday bores me, but the sheer WTFckery of him appearing out of nowhere...well, interesting.
4/5
Blue Beetle #32
While I fail to be impressed by Polaris, I cannot fault Mr. Reyes badassery with a cane. And Traci 13's badassery and carrot conjuring (why is the magic flooey, though? Is this some crossover I'm not aware of?).
So, um, yeah.
3.5/5
Birds of Prey #123
So! This was okay. O 'Hare, it is commendable you are trying to be Nicola Scott, but you're really not cutting it. The Joker/Babs confrontation led to nothing, but looks like there will be another one. I dunno, I'm interested, yet bored...
3.5/5
S'all folks
- Mood: okay
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