Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Quite the Haul

On Talk Like a Pirate Day, Y'arrrr! I usually forget to do the pirate thing, not that I'm any good at it. But I did pick up lots of comics today. And got 3 read so far. Spoilers ahead, probably.

Countdown 32
Along with the GA/BC Wedding Special, which I'll review next, this contributes another batch of scenes to the extravaganza known as the DCU Wedding of the Year, not that there were any others really in contention. This one seems to fit better with the JLA Wedding Special, with a disruption of the bachelorette party that didn't seem to derail it much. Not much else happened here, other than Mary Marvel being reeled in by Eclipso. But there were fun scenes, mostly at the party, and any time Piper and Trickster are on screen, so to speak, they're good for a few laughs.

Green Arrow and Black Canary Wedding Special 1
Why these one-shots are getting numbered is beyond me. Anyway, I suspect I'm not supposed to like this if I want to keep my feminist cred or something, but since I never worry about things like that, I'll come right out and say it. I liked this a lot. Didn't love it, but I really enjoyed it.

This is pure camp, farce, something not to be taken completely seriously. The outrageous cover tells us that. I really wish Dinah had worn one of the lovely dresses from the Wedding Planner, but to be honest, this reworking of her costume better fits the tone of the book and worked well for the battle scene.

At this point, I should go on record that I'm a big fan of Amanda Conner's work. One, because she's got a style I pretty much always recognize before I see the credits, and two, because her art is pure fun. I first encountered it Codename: Knockout, a nice cheesecake/beefcake, lighthearted, zany look at spies and intrigue and that whole GOOD vs EVIL thing. And yet, the art on the first few pages here, which were flashback scenes, really evoked the original art. To me, it looked like the style changed subtly from panel to panel. Nice stuff.

The book was pretty funny, too. I hadn't realized Winick could be this funny. Dinah getting a hot and bothered Ollie to wait til they're married for sexual relations to resume was priceless. The reactions of folks getting the invitation was fun, too. Then we have more bachelorette party panels, and finally, the wedding. Which is where I got a bit confused trying to keep all the wedding-related stories straight. Didn't all hell break loose during the parties, which led to injuries, in the JLA Wedding Special?

So there's a big battle with the baddies, Dinah freaking as Roy loses her ring and it goes flying, Deathstroke claiming he just wants to kiss the bride, Batman showing up for the fight, Deathstroke escaping, and the assumption that the vows were exchanged, because we next see Dinah and Ollie in bed. I guess this is the spoiler part. Ollie goes glassy-eyed and tries to kill Dinah, and in desperation, she grabs an arrow and, well, who is that lying atop her with an arrow through his neck? And if someone was subbed for Ollie, did it occur before or after Ollie and Dinah exchanged vows? And if before, who did she end up marrying? Enquiring minds want to know! Oh, and what about those pics that Ollie was looking at? The ones that looked like they were from the wedding but included one of Wonder Woman breaking Max Lord's neck from the look of it. The new series promises to start with a bang.

Catwoman 71
A not unpredictable fake her and Helena's death for Selina (guess that's another spoiler), not unlike the recent faked death of Sin in the Black Canary mini, but here, Selina instigated it and there Dinah was kept in the dark. But if anyone hadn't guessed before the reveal that the nutjob with the bomb was Batman acting on Selina's request, I think you might be working with a more befuddled brain than I do most times. Because it was obvious to me. And almost as obvious, I fear and hope I'm wrong, is that Selina is going to give up Helena. BTW, while the art is nice, as usual, just how many teeth do David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez think toddlers have, anyway? On the next to last page, Helena seems to have almost a full set.

4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the Catwoman issue this week though I'm afraid they might be lining Selina to take Helena away from her for what happened with Black Mask. I thought this arc was supposed to lead into her bad guy joining up with Outsiders, but I still see no reason for the way she was portrayed in Outsiders 50.

    The wedding issue was a lot of fun too. Enjoyed it as much as you.

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  2. Hi, Kirk,
    I'm not reading The Outsiders, but I was surprised to read that Catwoman on the team. I'm not interested in reading about Batman and the Outsiders. That train left the station ages ago, and when I want edgy, there's Checkmate.

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  3. I must admit that I loved the Wedding Special...right up to the last page. It was so much fun up until then. And her solutions seems a bit...drastic under the circumstances.

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  4. That last page sure got people talking, Sally. I think Dinah's strong enough to throw him off her, but if he was stronger than expected for some reason.... I can't wait for the followup!

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