Okay, before we get into the comics I bought, let's talk about one I by all rights should have bought, but that I ended up not getting out of sheer disgust (and not wanting to waste money on a comic I wouldn't enjoy...) after reading at work.

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 OVER THAT IN GOTHAM GAZETTE. In fact, they had a perfectly amiable and in character parting where Tim wasn't a complete machismo filled jerk to Steph. I miss Fabian. This conflicts with that! It makes my head hurt.

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.

Just a quick check in amongst all my AP studying fiascos.

After AP's are over, I plan to do a rebuttal post to a few Wonder Woman posts on WFA that I would like the debate...WITH SCIENCE! Or comics canon, whichever you'd choose. But that happy day is not today. I did do a Wonder Woman related post on BSR about the history of Wondy sidekicks.

www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/5278

In the meantime, I am wasting my time between study sessions reading a horrible fanfic I came across on TV Tropes called "Rose Potter" which attempts to make the HP series better by making Harry a girl and a psychopathic omnipowerful naked druidess sexfiend arrogant Mary Sue. And all the other characters sniveling at her feet. Also Weasley bashing! I'm reading sporking from HMS STFU on it, not the thing itself. I think I've reached the end, thank gods above, it's addictive in it's horribleness.

I am also catching up on my HP fandom by continuing to re-read the books and finally reading the series to Dad! We're on the third one.

But enough of that! I bought comics yesterday! And free comics this weekend, hurray!

Legion of 3 Worlds #4:

Let it be know I know hardly anything about the Legion. I know Shane and others who like the Legion are frustrated about this series. I do agree about it being a bit formulaic, and Superboy Prime's random murders never fail to make me roll my eyes. But I can't help but be over the moon about Bart being back. AND ACTING IN CHARACTER! The most in character I've seen him under Johns, actually! And he and XS together made me so happy, it's just like the old days in Impulse. And he mentioned Max! Oh, Bart, I love you.

Also I like Conner being back, but in my opinion he got a pretty nice send off. I mean, I liked him better in YJ, but he didn't get completely screwed over like Bart did characterwise, and he got to die saving the UNIVERSE. It wasn't like how Bart and Steph died. But I'm happy to have him back, and I hope it leads to some good stories.

And Tim has nothing to be emo about now! All his friends are ALIVE! Mwahahaha! No more whining from you, Tim! I guess he could whine about his Dad and Batman...but Bruce will be back in a few months and what hero doesn't have dead parents. So there!

And of course, as always, I love Perez's art. Especially the constant hyperhappy expression he gave Bart. *huggles Bart*

4/5

Wonder Woman #31

Wow. Now that a twist. A very nice one too. I am confused though. How did Ares get a hold of future Diana's corpse? Did he go into the future? As a god, I guess he could do that. And I thought he gave up his World Conquering plans the first time he fought Diana? Huh. Well, it looks to be an awesome showdown. I hope this isn't the last time Cheetah appears. I'm still hoping for her to pull a fast one on Diana, considering the OOC thing with her being afraid of having her tail cut off. Also, I want Chuma to show up, just to see Bluefall squee.

Also, Diana punches a missle to death. Hee.

Is it just me, or was this issue kind of short? Did the animal man preview cut it off?

4/5

Teen Titans #72

Meh. That's all I can say. No, it's not. This crossover is boring. Jericho is stupid and evil and there's no point. Why can't we just have sweet NTT Jericho back and not have to be bored to tears with another Titans traitor? But I prefer Joe Bennet's art to Barrows, so good for that (He still annoys me with things like Donna's stupid low cut top.)

Also, I love how Gar made Vic dying be all about him. Nice one, Gar.

2/5

...and they were all pretty good.

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/4883

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/gailsimone-part1):

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!
 

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

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

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

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

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

Also:

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

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

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

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

That's all for now.

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

Getting really sick of high school. Dear God, let it be over with already! Also, starting to have nerves related to my upcoming AP exams.

I just can't wait 'till summer. I want to sleeeeep forever and hang out....of course, I'll have a job (if I can find one) but it should still be fun.

Going through the wanktastic posts at HMS STFU has me reading the Harry Potter books again. It's been a while, and I forgot how much FUN they were, and how many different, near characters there were and how much I love 'em. Not to mention the snappy dialogue and magical shenannigans.

Brings back memories of my childhood internet fandom again. Like I mentioned before, there was a community called ThinkPotter that was a life saver for poor pathetic twelve year old me, because it was full of really mature, thoughtful people who were willing to be my friend (at the time I wasn't acquainted with the Internet enough to realized how truly rare this was.) I dunno if I could've gotten through half my teenage crises without that forum to vent to. I wasn't ALLOWED to talk about my alcoholic daddy in real life, so I vented to them. And they always treated me with kindness and acceptance.

There was Godric, who was really funny (and Irish), Aramantha, who was really, really nice. She always was the first to comfort me and stuff. Belorin was really smart, and we were all convinced he was a secret wizard (jokingly) and Irish J was  the required forum smartass, but he was also nice behind all the razor sharp sarcasm. He was the main guy who put the forum back together when the main administrator, Scott, scampered, and it kind of shut down. (All the forums I join seem to eventually self destruct. Heck, I made FIVE posts on Comic Bloc, and they died and had to rebuild. Then there's Superdickery, and scans_daily...shit, Shane better hope I don't kill Calamity) And there was Banker and Kimdudley and all of them...

Of course, after the reconstruction it was never quite the same and we eventually died out, and I moved on to comics. But reading HP made me remember the fanfics we did back there, there was this guy named CornedBee who was a fellow Hermione fan and was going to do the whole series from Hermione's PoV. He did the first two and they were very good and everyone was in character...then he mysteriously dissappeared. There was a fic similar to that I stumbled upon, that did Hermione's diary in years 1-4 (the author tried to do OotP but got too depressed rereading it. I guess she was a Sirius fan). Oh, and they also did Ginny's diary in Second Year! That was good stuff.

But anyway, I'm reading the books to Dad now. He read the first one when I was...what...ten? twelve? But never got past that. Mom I've read all of them too. I'm determined to read the whole series now while I'm reliving my childhood. (Or more accurately, my tweens)

As for comics, since only Teen Titans stuff came out this week and I was busy on Wednesday, I'm prolly going to get the stuff tomorrow. I will flip through Flash Rebirth at the store, since it looks and sounds terrible and I could care less about Barry, but I want to see the scene with Bart for myself. I will also probably make a Casstoon out of it, since it sounds so very parody-able. Though I'm with Bart, I want Max back too. NOW! I SAY NOW! He's not even actually DEAD, guys, GEEZ. You just need to find Rival and shove him back in the Speed Force so Max can kick his ass and getting his body back. Much more logical than Barry coming back.

There's also this 'zine someone did that is a cultural study on Robins, including STEPH! And she's on the cover and stuff! That makes me very happy, I put it in the wiki and everything.sharpest-rose.livejournal.com/1032810.html I'm buying it when I graduate.

I think that's all. There might be something else, but I can't remember it. My cuz is comin' for the weekend, should be fun.

The Batgirl solicitation is missing for June. I don't know what this means. I hope it means, if they were planning to make Babs Batgirl, they thought better and decided to yank the title back and come up with a new plan (perhaps all because of my letter, while I'm dreaming. Mwahahaha!) Or that they're at least adding a Cass backup (a Cass and Steph backup??) But mostly that it means no Babsgirl.

Also, Sturges will be writing the Blue Beetle back up! And it's ten pages! Hurray!

Come June, I will definitely be getting Streets of Gotham and Detective Comics. Streets of Gotham, because it sounds neat, I like Dini, there will be (hopefully) Cass and Huntress, and I'm eager to learn more about Manhunter. I haven't been able to spare a dime for any of her trades, though I desperately want to, from the good stuff I hear. And because of that, I never got a chance to jump into the ongoing while it was around. Batwoman because it's Rucka, and the art is beautiful looking.

I'll flip through Red Robin and see if it's worth anything at the shop- from the descriptions, it's definitely Tim, and maybe he'll be written decently- I like the idea of him globetrotting to find Batman. And maybe Steph will show.

Judd Winick and Ed Benes on one book sounds like the failiest fail that ever failed, so even if I had been planning on getting that, I'm avoiding it like the plague now. Not interested in Batman and Robin.

I desperately WANTED to get Gotham Sirens, as I like all the characters,  but that cover turned me right off. I know a book with those three is bound to have some cheesecake, but Guilliem March needs to get it through his head those are antiheroines/villianesses, not stars in a very soft core porn shoot. I'm not buying a book with that type of art. No matter how good the writing is, having the titular characters showing me their asses instead of kicking ass, not to mention the barbie doll anatomy, will take me right out of the story.

The funny thing is I complained about it on Superdickery when I first saw the cover on the IGN video, they inundated me with good March art, and called me a crazy feminist and all that, and I was like "No, it's that idiotic cover and his idiotic Oracle covers I don't like" and they didn't seem to get it...until the cover came out in the solicits. Then it's all "Oh, I see your point, that's porn-tastic."

So those are my Bat-plans for June. Also, Sean McKeever is leaving TT. I hope whoever places him is decent. And keeps Cassie acting sane. But changes her costume, plzthnks. Though I'm not sure I'll keep buying TT. Ravager doesn't interest me enough to pay an extra dollar. Though I'll check it out.

Been reading Robin to my Mom lately, and it makes me a weird mix of happy and depressed. I'd forgotten how utterly adorable and likable I found Tim under Dixon. He's such a nerd! And he's always preoccupied with the latest teenage drama, and not angstangstangsting about every fifth person he knows dying. Granted, he's a dick about his secret identity, but that's just one of his lovable flaws almost.

But, onto modern comics.

Last issue of Blue Beetle came out! Much sadness. I did an review of the issue and a very long image packed overview on the awesomeness of the series at BSR: www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/4282

*sigh* It really is depressing that an awesome last issue had to be permeated by a really forced plotline and cliches the series always avoided. Also, ugly art. Barberi was good on Impulse, but he just plain doesn't fit here.

Wonder Woman #29

Now here's a title I can always count on. The only weirdness was Donna blaming Diana for Terry's death under Genocide's influence. How does that work? Genocide makes people think Diana is responsible for car accidents? Really odd.

Etta noooo! She'll be okay, she must! Really awesome scene between Wondy and Cheetah. Deflecting missles with Amazonian bracelets is always for the win. Steve showing up made me fangirl. Hi Steve!

Also, Zeus was well...Zeus. That is, a dick. He killed the hot god! Was probably jealous of his hotness. Diana has her work cut out for her. She has to restore Athena and the godly beefcake (at least, I hope she restores the godly beefcake) as well as defeat Genocide and the Olympian and rescue Etta and seek medical attention.

Love the "Son of Posiedon" splash.

Origins and Omens. Hmm, I wonder what Hippolyta's speech means. Is Diana using Tom? What's it he should beware? And when is it supposed to take place? I can't imagine Hippy going out from the Island and NOT helping her daughter. And isn't she supposed to be waiting for her Amazons or being threatened by Zeus or whatever?

The pregnant Amazon...well, there was a pregnancy also in Teen Titans O&O so I was worried about Cassie...but on second look Preggers Amazon appears to have either very short hair or none at all. So unless Cassie cuts her hair short or decides to wear it in a bun...pregnant silhouette in TT had long hair...

If not Cassie, I'm betting Alkyone due to the lack of hair. Would be interesting, considering how bad she wanted a kid. I HOPE it's that, and not Cassie. Please Gods above, not Cassie.

Anyway, solid issue nevertheless.

4/5

Teen Titans #68

Another decent issue. Cassie is supportive yet stern, Jaime is worried and supportive. I do wonder about Eddie's mental health, with what how quick he was to exchange an eternity of hellish slavery for three years of superheroing. I mean, just completely straightfoward this time! Who in their right mind would even consider the choice presented like that? Like Kid E said, what is WRONG with him?

Some funny lines, my particular fave being the super awkward hug.

For Ed Benes, Origins and Omens was surprisingly non-cheesecakey. One Cassie ass shot though, of course. The main part was again, decent (though I have no idea WHY they would even CONSIDER letting Bombshell on the team) but the last page has the pregnant silhouette that worries me and worse...Cassie kissing Jaime. Or possibly Black Beetle. What. the. hell. If it's Jaime, that's so many levels of wrong. IEven if it's not....I though Cassie was SUPPOSED to be getting better? I thought McKeever said he didn't want her defined by relationships? Is she going to mack EVERY GUY ON THE TEAM?

This had better be misleading! Or I'm dropping again!

3.5/5

S'all for now.

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

But not until after I do this!

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

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

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

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

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

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

And finally, the meme bug bit me!

From milleniumrex :

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

1. Stephanie Brown (Surprise!)

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


2. Ranting about Didio

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

3. Girl Wonder

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

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

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


4. Cartoons

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

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

5. Conventions/panels

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

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

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

So! That thing that I didn't like last post appears to have been miraculously taken care of! Frabulous day!

And comics this week weren't bad!

Reviews!

Wonder Woman #28

Man, this kicked so much ass. Aside from the random Tom stuff, I still don't fully understand it. There's a mystery about it though, and I think we'll get our explanation soon.

But who cares about Diana and Tom macking? What I care about is Diana, Donna and Cassie being a GLORIOUS TEAM OF AWESOME that LOVE EACH OTHER also. Hells yeah! It's about freaking time! Donna and Diana haven't been depicted as being close in...have they ever been? Not from what I've read. But in here, Donna is there for Diana and is all "Get the hell off of my sister!" when Diana is threatened. I LOVE it. And Cassie is a member of the team again, who is confident and wants to help.

Also they have matching armor. Sort of. Impractical wings aside (Gails said on s_d she doesn't like them either, but she came up with a use for them. I can't wait to see it) it looked really cool, especially on the splash page where it was revealed. Especially Donna's, which is all starry and pretty. And I really like the differentation. Diana is gold, Donna is silver, and Cassie is bronze. Not only does that go in order of their age and poweset (Diana's the first "age", Donna's the second "age" and Cassie's the third "age") Diana does tend to favor gold in her costume, while Donna does silver, and Cassie wears bronze. Also, Diana's the eagle, Donna's the hawk and Cassie's the dove. I wouldn't have known this if Gail hadn't told me, but at second look, the beaks of the birds are different. Oh, and Cassie's randomly bares her navel. Like bluefall said, I can only imagine she breaths through it, and that's why she always keeps it exposed.

I got distracted by the armor...there was also the creepy reveal of Genocide's eyes (making her silly spikey thing worth it) and Gorilla action. Also axe action. Diana/axe may be my OTP. And Cheetah was a badass.

Also, Zombie Jason and the Argonauts! What more do you need?

Can't wait for the next installment!

4.7/5

Teen Titans #67

A decent issue, if not a particularly exciting one. However, I wasn't scared off my renewed buying of the series, and Cassie is still a decent and confident person. I did a review on BSR fully exploring this: www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3801

3/5

Blue Beetle #35

A step down from last issue in terms of quality (last issue being made of awesome). I can only imagine because Sturges is being forced to wrap up the series in a short time. Also, no Raf on art. Nooooo....

We did see Ted's notes on various villians, which were in his usual sarcastic manner. And apparently when dispensing advice of how sometimes your own personal needs can get in the way of your mission, he then apparently gave examples of all the times he'd had to bail Booster out, which Jaime believes are exaggerated. I can only imagine how hilarious these tales would be.

The weirdest thing about this issue is Jaime wondering if he'd be willing to purposefully march to his own death the protect people (he believes he would) when...he's kind of already put himself in that posistion. When he plugged himself in to the sattelite to keep the Reach from hurting anybody, he was willing to go foward with it even though he knew he would die. And not only that, when Booster came to the rescue, he actively tried to stay back to save the most horrible person he'd ever met. So why are you even wondering about this, Jaime, of course the answer is YES, you already DID it. Also he randomly wondered a few other things randomly, but nothing that didn't make sense as much as that little question.

Also, Jaime's secret identity was almost revealed (He tried to cover it up by doing the "Oops, I'm leaving...and two seconds later Blue Beetle arrives!" but no one bought it) until people saw him while he was still fighting the guys as Blue Beetle...so I can only assume that is some trick by Peacemaker or Hector or someone. Who knows.

Also, Nadia runs to fight people! I have a bad feeling she might be the one who "dies" next issue. Seriously, people, why does someone have to die? This is BLUE BEETLE, where senseless death does not happen. I'm only hoping the "die" thing is a metaphor or some random villian bites it.

3.5/5

In other news, I got my final Perez Wonder Woman trade in the mail and Robin: Violent Tendencies (the trade of Steph's return. I couldn't find it anywhere, of course, until I broke down and ordered it, then is magically appeared at my local Barnes and Noble).

What I learned from Wonder Woman is Hermes is a huge diva (All camera's trained on me! I'll give you money if you believe in me! Hey, don't turn that news off, they're talking about me!) and it is HILARIOUS. Oh, Greek Gods. 

Also, Julia has menopause. It's an issue not often tackled in comics (and by not often, I mean, I can think of no other instance EVER where it was reference seriously) so I applaud them for mentioning it, but I had to laugh when Diana said "Julia, I am sorry if I and Hermes made you angry" and Julia's all "No, it wasn't you. In a way it wasn't even Hermes. It was something that excacerbated an already tense situation. I suppose Amazons don't have to be worry about menopause." It was just not what I expected her to say at all. She led up to it really dramatically and everything. "The truth is, Diana, it was....menopause!"

And then Diana going "I've read about that!" Way to rub your everlasting youth in, Diana. And then Julia's response "So have I. But it really sucks having it. By the way, I think Hermes totally has a crush on you."

Diana: "Oh, he wouldn't do that."

Julia: "We are talking about the Greek Gods here, right?"

I addition, we got a nice little mini stories about the Amazons when Julia and Vanessa visited Themyscria. All of them were really neat, though they were all done by different artists considerably less skilled that Perez. (It was very odd, to go from Perez's extreme detail and generally believable anatomy to just...your average artist.)

I also liked Myndi better POST death, because her funeral revealed her backstory- she'd grown up in a very sexist and stifling family, who hated her for being more carefree and independent. Her mother worked herself to death cooking and cleaning, and her sister became 2.0 after she died as her father's favorite. She ratted out Myndi to her father about her wild sexual exploits, and Myndi was kicked out of the family. Myndi responded by becoming a successful and respected (if ruthless and tactless, as well as eventually drug addicted) PR Manager. She was close to her little brother, who was also kicked out of the family for being gay. Myndi was the only one who didn't care, and she encouraged her brother to come out. When he did and his bosses attempted to fire him, she sicced her lawyers on them and he was able to keep his job. She also used her influence to make her sister invite him to her wedding.

That alone makes her kinda awesome. I'm pleased and impressed at the title for commenting on the issue of gay rights. Considering people are still stupid about it today, they must have been even more stupid twenty years ago, so it took some gumption to include it.

Anyway, good trade.

I know Perez's work goes beyond these four books. Is there no trade collecting the stuff after this? Because I haven't seen one. I don't want to go scrounging in back issues...oh well.

I also reread the "Return of Steph" arc too. I forgot how...at home Dixon writing Tim felt. He was not grim and gritty! I miss Chuck. Say what you will, but he wouldn't have had Tim bitch at Steph and then release Jason. And he would have had Steph kick ten kinds of ass.

*sigh*

Oh well. S'all for now.

www.newsarama.com/comics/090119-dc-april-2009-soliciations.html

So, that's probably not Bart in the hoodie with the Flash symbol on the Titans covers. That would be a nice thing and we can't have nice things can we? Then, again, they said that about Steph, too....

Bah. I will not get my hopes up. Chances are it's a new Kid Flash or human Red Devil.

In other news, Miss Martian, Ravager, and Aquagirl are on the new team. It looks, dare I say...FUN. I mean, Kid Devil, MaybeKidFlash, possibly Misfit, Static, Jaime and Miss Martian? That a recipe for whatever the opposite of angst is. SHENANIGANS!

Maybe there's hope for Teen Titans yet! Who knew?

Anyway, I'm interested, which is quite amazing.

Even more important is the fact the cover to Battle for the Cowl #2....

comics.ign.com/articles/946/946039p1.html

...has Steph on it! And Cass! And they're like, both flying through the air and sort of mirroring each other in their poses! It makes me hopeful they might actually talk or something! A foolish hope perhaps, but a hope NONETHELESS.

Another cover with Steph on it always makes me happy, because I get to add it to the wiki's cover section and that makes me feel empowered.

Strange things make me feel empowered.

Also I found inks on Tony Daniel's blog. I appreciate his decision to redraw Nightwing's head so he doesn't have that constipated yell thing going.

tonydaniel.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html#1229966787179075179

In other new, watched my Mask of Phantasm DVD. It's just as good the third time.

Also, I must remember to do my column for BSR today. Must...

From: www.newsarama.com/comics/010912-McKeever-Titans.html

NRAMA: In the last issue of Teen Titans we saw the departure of Tim Drake. Is it true that Robin has left the team?

SM: Yeah, it's sad but it had to happen. With all the uncertainty going on in Gotham, Tim's priorities have had to shift dramatically. That said, I have to say I'm pretty happy with the send-off we gave him, and I feel people will really enjoy Wonder Girl being in charge.

NRAMA: Wonder Girl's character has grown quite a bit since you took over, hasn't she?

SM: The main thing I wanted to do with Wonder Girl was that when I came onto the book, she was in mourning, understandably. And she was in a relationship with Robin. What I really wanted for her was to be independent; I wanted her to not be defined by who she's dating. I wanted her to be her own person.

And so now we're at that point where she had independence. She's not defined by a relationship. She also has her own power. She's no longer powered by Ares or Zeus, but powered by herself. And, more than anything, that's where I wanted her to be. I think we all, unless we get married right out of high school, we have that period of self-discovery, where you're becoming an adult and are coming of age. And that's what I wanted to have her experience. So that's what she's going to be experiencing now as she takes on that leadership role.

...I...that sounds so...cool. I mean, he's echoing my thoughts about how Cassie's been defined by her boyfriends since Johns got a hold of her and she needs independence and I'm looking foward to her being in charge and I want her to be cool again...

Now, if it weren't for the crappy costume with no bracers, I'd be almost hopeful. As it is, I'm definitely picking  up the title for the time being. Must...not...get...too...optimistic.

I hope whoever the new artist is knows how to draw better than Barrows.

I realize in my best and worse Mcthing I forgot to include all the wonderful stuff that happened to me as a comic book fan! With links to pertinent posts!

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#cutid1)

*And a less lovely, but okay one. And a cute chibi Tim sticker. nevermore999.livejournal.com/17760.html#cutid  

* 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+fangirls+attack )

*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_(comics) )

* 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/3308

A few avs I made from the latest robin issue, in 100x100 and extra sized, available in santa hats! (the craze bit me):
 
      



 

 



.....



Happy holidays everyone!

'bout time I got to reviews. Reviews, reviews, what the news!

The beginning of Christmas break may have made me unneccesarily hyper.

Since this is bound to be the longest, we'll start with...

DCU Holiday special!

After seeing the Huntress storyline on scans_daily, I knew I had to get this. And Oh my God, it was so worth it. It reminded me of why I love comics (something I desperately need these days) all the awesome characters.

The Huntress storyline was about Helena being socially aware and a good teacher and was drawn by Rafeal Albequerque, so naturally it was made of win. Sometimes it seemed a little after school special-y, but it was too well done to give it that overwhelming feeling it could have. I especially like that Hel pointed out how damaging the use of the word "retarded" is as an insult. I haven't used the word that way for years, and I reprimand people who use it that way. Same for "gay" as an insult, which generally means I'm reprimanding my fellow high school students ten times a day, but they'll thank me someday. Or not. Who cares?

A really cute Karl Kershel pin up with Kara playing Santa, then two stories featuring Aquaman and...super...Santa? That I found pretty "meh" so I won't comment on them. Then there was a rather beautifully illustrated short by Paul Dini to the tune of "Good King Wincelas". It was neat, because I played the song in my head while I looked at the art.

There was a story about no crime in Gotham during Xmas that was really sweet, even if it all turned out to be Oracle manipulating stuff.

And then there was Captain Boomerang and Tim both breaking into the balcony of "It's a Wonderful Life" (Apparently they can't bring themselves to watch the movie in civvies) cuz there dads like the movie and Nightwing delivering Tim a present. I totally love irony, and I totally love Nightwing and Robin's brotherly relationship. so I liked this, even if Owen didn't know his dad so it's innacurate. Maybe he's talking about his stepdad.

I liked the Blue Beetle one because it has Jaime being cute and nice (KAPOW!) and Ted saying "one punch!" even if the art made Jaime look fugly. I like heroic legacies.

Then there was the Teen Titans one, which I really REALLY liked, to my surprise. No, LOVED. First of all, the art was gorgeous (though it made Tim look hilariously emo) It reminded me of why I liked all these characters once (Well, I still like Jaime and Tim- despite the fact he's pretty batshit in his own book even right now...and of course Traci) Despite Tim's appearance (mostly in one panel he looked emo. Like, the style of clothes even) this story was like the anti emo.

Two characters started acting a little emo- Kid Devil (Jaime left him! All alone! How could you Jaime!) but in a funny way, then M'gann shows up to cheer him up (and it was completely adorable) and it turns out Jaime and Traci just abandoned him so they could buy him a ridiculous amount of video games for Christmas. (<3 Jaime and Traci. So much) Then Tim's all "The holdays remind me of all the people I've lost! Bart! (yay, he mentioned Bart. Bart is the new Steph in the DCU as far as being ignored by the ones supposedly mourning him) Conner! Dad! Ste-no, wait..."  Okay, he didn't say that last bit. But it wouldn't it have been hilarious if he did? Where was I...right, Tim just has to make the holidays depressing, and he's telling this to Cassie, who was just as close the Bart and Conner as he was, THANKS FOR REMINDING HER TIM. But then Tim's all like "Actually I'm grateful I'm still alive and able to do good, so I can like, honor their memories. That's really how the holidays make me feel."

Which IS SO ADORABLE. Cassie then hugs him, like I totally would.

Cassie is awesome in this by the way. She's all comforting to Tim, she digs apple sider, and she backhands a crook casually, going "Oh, SORRY, did that HURT?" I'm hoping this is a good sign, that her redemption will stick.

And the funny part is how Tim and Cass are all "Our team really sucks right now, doesn't it? "Yes it sure does." "Well, we seem to be sucking less right now." The story ends on a happy note, with Cassie and Tim more convinced the team will evolve into something better.

Teen Titans should be like this! This guy, Rex Cole, he should write Teen Titans.

Then we have a super cute and funny JLA story penciled by Kevin Maguire. It's great.

Then a Dr, Light (Kimiyo) story, which is really cool, with more amazingly beautiful art. I've always liked Kimiyo and she did a good show in this story. I especially like her explanation with taking on Dr. Light's name, that she wants to redeem it and show people that light can be beautiful.

Lovely, lovely special. So many warm fuzzies.

6/5!

Robin #181:

A good issue. Spoiler had a pretty good show, so I am pleased.

A couple things I'm annoyed with: Dick just leaving Tim all alone to handle a beserk Gotham WHILE HE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED. Way to go, Dick. I know there's like, Two Face in New York, but this is your little brother, who is clearly going batshit insane with stress (WE HAVE TO MANIPULATE THEM DICK ZOMG!!!) and has the WHOLE BACK OF HIS HEAD BURNT UP (seriously, Tim needs surgery or something. How will his hair grow back? At least the sideburns are gone. I'm no doctor, but burns like that don't magically heal on their own. Skin grafts, Tim. Lots of them.) IRRESPONSIBLE.

Of course, there's the logical argument Cass should be able to help, but she's busy getting harrassed by Dick. Maybe that's where he sped off to in such a hurry. "Look, I'd really love to help, Tim, but I have to go harrass Cassandra."

"Oh, okay. Tell her Steph said hi!"

Anyway, it feels like Steph's somewhat redeemed from the whole deception thing by this issue, since she further enforces it's Batman's crazy idea, and says she'll make it right. And then kicks people in the face. Steph kicking people always make me a happy clam.

And The General annoys the heck out of me. He's imitating Anarky AND Red Robin! Get a life! Fortunately, I think he's supposed to sort of suck. Still, I wanna kill him SLOWLY.

And now Tim get's his dramatic batlike showdown...wearing the Red Robin cowl. Fortunately, Fabian says the fashion choice is temporary. I HOPE it is.

4/5

Supergirl #36

Another good issue. I absolutely adore the cover. And Ingle's art in the interior.

Alura is a horrible person, but that's probably Kryptonite poisoning, and it's good conflict. Kara is a good person, and makes friends with the new Superwoman. What a twist! A good one, too.

4.5/5

Birds of Prey #125

No, Babs. Noooonoononononono...do not de-wheelchair and be Batgirl again. Do not! Bad Babs! Also, you didn't defeat the Joker because you forgot to turn on the security system, not because you're in a wheelchair.

Some nice Dinah and Babs interaction, and McDaniel's art is an improvement over O' Hares. The story was neat.

And I like the acknowledgement of how Babs has gotten sloppy lately, and at least some starting attempt to explain it.

3.5/5

Terra #4

<3 Amanda Conner. Lovely, cute art. The story...well, I kind of like the blood of the Astrogod myth. It's neat. The WIRness only gets worse, though it appears they are going to try to bring whatsername back to life...if cloning counts as back to life. But are they seriously going to erase Geoforce's memory of his time underground? WHY? I'll just pretend the panel never happened.

And I thought the interaction between PG and Terra was cute, if somewhat forced at times.


And I think it's always great to have a postive new heroine with a cool look, so glad I got the mini.

3.5/5

*Whew!* That's all!

Comic reviews, Oh comic reviews!

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
 

Read scans of TT by the way, and they were interesting. Hopefully Cassie not being emo anymore is for real. Her new costume...I agree with scans_daily about the lack of bracers and awkward armoring. Someone on Comic Bloc came up with a better alternative. (Eliseu Gouveia was the name given.)

( 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.

So, thinking about Teen Titans.

It's unlikely Steph will join. Skill wise, she doesn't have much to bring to the team Tim doesn't.

Now if I were writing Titans I would point out the things she does have to bring to the team...she knows Tim better than anyone, so is the best equipped to see the holes in his reasoning in times of stress. She understand crime better than any of the others. Crime may have affected their lives but Steph grew up with criminals coming in and out, so she knows better than anyone how they work. That could come in handy.  Her medical skills must be very good now considering the time she spent with Leslie, and if the team ever needed to do a mission in Africa...

Not to mention she's not the type to angst, which the team so needs. Combat the despair of Cassie and Tim!'

So if I were writing the Titans, I wouldn't put Steph on the team. Not right away anyway. I would have her as a reserve member, popping in and out every few issues, until I figured out how to make her useful when the team already has Tim. She would be a huge help if Tim ever went missing, for example, so that could be one reason for Steph to come in temporarily.

Now this is my point of view. From DC's point of view, they clearly don't mind having redundant members on the team. I mean, Supergirl, Wonder Girl and Miss Martian were all on the team at one point. Three super strong flyers, that's not redundant at all. And consider Kara and Cassie were both pretty much interchangable powerful snippy blonde girls the way they were written. So saying DC wouldn't let Spoiler on the team because she's redundant has some truth to it, but it isn't like DC cares about that TOO much. Also, having Spoiler would lead to Tim n Cassie angst and we know DC loves that.

But right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Sean, or DC sees Steph as some plucky little screwup who's not actually useful, so I wouldn't hold my breath for her joining.

As for Traci 13, I think she would be extremely handy in a well written Titans, so she'd totally be in right away if I wrote it. Just seeing her and Jaime working together within the team would be  entertaining. She's ALSO not angsty, which is good. For real life, I see a 50/50 chance of her joining.

Misfit is already in BoP, but McKeever kind of has a mad on for her, so she might join.

Supergirl, well, Sean was making a big deal of her return over in his q & a thread at Comic Bloc, so maybe. She's in Robinson's Justice League or whatever, so I doubt it.

Speedy's a big possibility. She already was a Titan once, and nobody's doing anything with her, so I see her joining. I dread the clunky references to her HIV Sean will inevitably make. I would put her on the team because I really like her.

The Ray is also a possibility. He was on YJ, and nobody's doing anything with him either. I might put him on if I was a writer.

The rest, I have no idea. The New/Old Bombshell is a mystery and I never read Seven Soldiers. I just know that no way is Klarion joining. He's NOT a superhero!

All  I know is if Steph joins, they'll force me to pick up the book, whether she sucks in it or not. If that happens, well played, DC, well played.

For your entertainment:

( A toon )

- Drake Everman, Superdickery

having Spoiler on there too would be cool. Increasing her exposure and having her interact with more characters could make her more relevant now, beyond being a supporting character for Robin.

-parsimonia 

Okay, so you're both right. I'll stop complaining. Maybe a miracle will happen and McKeever will write Steph well.

...stranger things have happened.

Maybe.

And I was just discussing covers!

( Dubya Tee Eff )

My computer has been broken pretty much all week, which is why I haven't been posting and commenting hyperactively.

But now it's back, and I am pleased.

I finally got some frames for my Steph comissions, so I am doubly pleased.

Instead of focusing on my studies, like a good little girl, I have used my free time to draw up a few pages of a Spoiler mini and come up with an entire plot.

Yeah, I have a problem. But I'm kind of addicted to drawing like I am to the computer, so I needed something to draw.

Plus, it helps quell my anxiety over how Steph DESERVES a mini, dammit, fangirl!discontent.

I'll scan 'em later, I guess. I'm rather proud of some of the ideas. They probably suck, but I'm proud anyway.

I'm actually getting Discreet Math so far! Sure, we're on Chapter One but still.

Our teacher, Mr. Ross, is the most boring person alive though.

Reviews later, but I saw the scans for Teen Titans and WOW. First of all, I can't believe Current!Cassie was kind and mature and not bitchy at the thought of Tim's girlfriend being back, but HAPPY for him, and asking him why the hell he's not thrilled. In addition to being concerned about her team, and offering to help Tim out with his stress and WHAT?

Cassie just got points from me. My God.

Then the other thing (as well as Tim's never ending angst and the horrible art) totally ruined that.

This is getting so overdone, it's pathetic. The Titans should just disband, and I GOT INTO COMICS watching animated Titans, so I heart the Teen Titans.

These are not the Teen Titans. I don't know what they are, but it's badly written.

( Spoilz )
So, writing a Steph mini makes me feel better about things like that too.

Well, off to surf the net and see what I've missed.

Wow! Lots of people are friending me lately. And a comment from one of my idols, Gail Simone! It's a glorious day. Tomorrow Robin #173 comes out and hopefully more Steph is contained there, as well as BaTo and Gotham Underground (which also might contain Stephness. And Leslieness)

Aaaand solicits are out!