I read Battle for the Cowl: Oracle 1 last night and enjoyed it. The art was wonderful. Babs, and everyone else, looked real, and the emotions really came through in the art by Lopez, Pasarin, and Bryant. I liked that for once, someone thought to show how difficult it can be to be disabled, in this case, paralzyed from the waist down. Sure, we've seen how hard it has been for Babs to get around and to defend herself. The Hunt for Oracle did a great job with that. But this showed some more of the everyday sorts of things that have become a challenge. The simple act of taking a shower, for example, was beautifully depicted. Babs has to use her hands to lift her legs in order to pull off and on her jeans and underwear. She needs to sit in the shower and needs something to grab onto to get in and out of the tub. The little things we take for granted are big things for Babs to deal with. Kevin Vanhook showed a real feel for Babs so far.
All of which are why I've never wanted her to regain the use of her legs. It's so important for there to be disabled characters to be role models for disabled readers. Babs, as Oracle, shows you can succeed despite being unable to walk. She had to remake herself after she was shot, from an active costumed crimefighter to a more sedentary hacker to the costumed crimefighting community and as leader of her Birds of Prey. Being disabled is the one minority anyone can join at any time. And without warning.
And much as I see her as confident and don't like her bouts of doubt, I can see that as realistic, too. Things went bad and she took the failure personally. Anyone can doubt themselves and someone with physical limitations might very well suffer occasional blows to her confidence.
The scene with her father rang true, too. After all, I'm a grown daughter of a father still living.
As for the story, Calculator has made himself a major player in the DCU, someone I no longer can dismiss as a lightweight villain.
While I don't want to see Babs walk again (yeah, I know, I sound cruel), I'll accept it if it makes sense in the story and for Babs. What I don't want is for her to be Batgirl again. She's not a girl and that would be a step backward. She can't be Batwoman, because someone else has filled that role. I'd like to see her remain Oracle, but still able to don a costume and go into the field as needed. She'd need another name, though, because she can't compromise Oracle's hidden identity.
I have high hopes for this mini in the midst of the Battle for the Cowl storyline and so far, I'm impressed. I hope I won't be disappointed by the outcome, but as long as the resolution is logical and well done, I probably won't be able to complain. Much. ;)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
One Good, One Bleh
I got two comics read on the way home today. Well, three, actually, but I don't see the point in continuing to review Trinity. I liked it, same as all the other issues. It's one damn, long story, with no real surprises, just nice moments, decent art, and it's nearing its end. Nuff said.
Okay, so that leaves the two comics I actually am reviewing. One was oh so good and one was WTF? One was Wonder Woman 30 and one was Justice League of America 31. Wanna guess which was good and which was decidedly not good?
I'll start with the good, then end with the rant.
Wonder Woman 30 was probably Gail's best WW issue to date. It had emotion, drama, passion, fury, action, joy, love, and intrigue. It had Diana's ire and loyalty to friends. It had Diana's determination to save Etta. It had Steve Trevor (!). A likeable Steve Trevor who is Diana's friend as well as Etta's worried husband. It had Etta's bravery. It also had Cheetah's lunacy and Morrow's cowardice and... well, the man can waffle with the best of 'em. Good, bad, whatever, he sure isn't indifferent. We got Achilles! We saw the return of Amazons and Hippolyta embracing the returning Bana-Mighdall sisters. I was breathless by the end of this installment. I can't remember when I found Wonder Woman this entertaining and emotionally satisfying.
Which makes Justice League of America 31, and pretty much all of McDuffie's run, so perplexing. The book has Wonder Woman in it. It has some of DC's best, strongest characters, and yet, it's being run into the ground, both as a comic and the group in its pages. I really miss writers who get the characters and can show conflict without compromising the principles of those characters, or even their essence. And the annoying thing is, McDuffie is close to getting them right. They're just enough off to serve the story, which makes every bit of character development come across as plot-driven. The needs of the story dictate the characters' actions, rather than the characters moving the story.
The only bit that makes sense is no Batman because he's (currently) dead. When Diana and Kal talk about Bruce, it was the most honest emotion in the book. The second and only other honest emotion was Dinah and Roy, and even that had a false note because I got the sense that Roy was quitting the JLA not because of what happened with Kendra (which now looks like it was planned all along to give Roy a reason to quit, rather than because they really liked each other, only to have her call him by Carter's name during sex, which makes that doubly obvious a plot device), but because McDuffie is breaking up the JLA (for whatever reason) and Roy was an easy character to get rid of.
Dinah's scene with Ollie and Hal just sucked. Dinah annoyed because Ollie embarrassed her?! Give me a break. The talk she had after with Babs about sexism was fine, and the points made in that conversation were valid, but Dinah was acting like a woman who'd lost control of the group and was looking for scapegoats. Hal and Ollie weren't even in the JLA (John is supposed to be the GL of record). The sniping in the last scene, leading up to Dinah disbanding that 'branch" (WTF? Branch?) of the JLA, felt so wrong. All the cheap shots showed a group in disarray, not worth saving. Is it really possible that without the big 3, there can never be a JLA because no one else can get along?
Dinah is one of the strongest female characters DC has. She doesn't need to punch her husband because she felt embarrassed by him to prove it. She's not only physically capable, she's emotionally tough. The entire scene was unnecessary. A quick page to recap, show her feelings, mention the other group Hal is forming that Ollie's joining would've been enough. Instead, we get 10 pages (!), followed by another page with Dinah talking to Babs about it. That's nearly half the issue. For what? I have no idea why McDuffie dragged this out like this, but whatever his reason, it didn't work.
This was one long talking heads issue. Nothing really happened, other than to break up the team. Given that nothing much has happened of consequence since Brad Meltzer left the book, I'm wondering if there really was a team to break up. If McDuffie has great plans here, I'm not seeing the clues. What I am seeing is that the one reason I've been sticking with this book just walked out on the group. Yup, Roy.
And if he's really off for good, and Titans is the only place I get to see him monthly, I will be one very unhappy Roy Harper fan, because, let's face it, Titans makes Justice League of America look like Shakespeare, and I've been thinking of dropping it. Now I'm thinking of dropping Justice League, too.
I did like the cover. The interior art by Davis and Hope was nice, but some large panels (3 per page in too many instances) made it obvious that there wasn't much substance to this installment.
And I'm hoping the rest of this week's comics make up for this mess.
Okay, so that leaves the two comics I actually am reviewing. One was oh so good and one was WTF? One was Wonder Woman 30 and one was Justice League of America 31. Wanna guess which was good and which was decidedly not good?
I'll start with the good, then end with the rant.
Wonder Woman 30 was probably Gail's best WW issue to date. It had emotion, drama, passion, fury, action, joy, love, and intrigue. It had Diana's ire and loyalty to friends. It had Diana's determination to save Etta. It had Steve Trevor (!). A likeable Steve Trevor who is Diana's friend as well as Etta's worried husband. It had Etta's bravery. It also had Cheetah's lunacy and Morrow's cowardice and... well, the man can waffle with the best of 'em. Good, bad, whatever, he sure isn't indifferent. We got Achilles! We saw the return of Amazons and Hippolyta embracing the returning Bana-Mighdall sisters. I was breathless by the end of this installment. I can't remember when I found Wonder Woman this entertaining and emotionally satisfying.
Which makes Justice League of America 31, and pretty much all of McDuffie's run, so perplexing. The book has Wonder Woman in it. It has some of DC's best, strongest characters, and yet, it's being run into the ground, both as a comic and the group in its pages. I really miss writers who get the characters and can show conflict without compromising the principles of those characters, or even their essence. And the annoying thing is, McDuffie is close to getting them right. They're just enough off to serve the story, which makes every bit of character development come across as plot-driven. The needs of the story dictate the characters' actions, rather than the characters moving the story.
The only bit that makes sense is no Batman because he's (currently) dead. When Diana and Kal talk about Bruce, it was the most honest emotion in the book. The second and only other honest emotion was Dinah and Roy, and even that had a false note because I got the sense that Roy was quitting the JLA not because of what happened with Kendra (which now looks like it was planned all along to give Roy a reason to quit, rather than because they really liked each other, only to have her call him by Carter's name during sex, which makes that doubly obvious a plot device), but because McDuffie is breaking up the JLA (for whatever reason) and Roy was an easy character to get rid of.
Dinah's scene with Ollie and Hal just sucked. Dinah annoyed because Ollie embarrassed her?! Give me a break. The talk she had after with Babs about sexism was fine, and the points made in that conversation were valid, but Dinah was acting like a woman who'd lost control of the group and was looking for scapegoats. Hal and Ollie weren't even in the JLA (John is supposed to be the GL of record). The sniping in the last scene, leading up to Dinah disbanding that 'branch" (WTF? Branch?) of the JLA, felt so wrong. All the cheap shots showed a group in disarray, not worth saving. Is it really possible that without the big 3, there can never be a JLA because no one else can get along?
Dinah is one of the strongest female characters DC has. She doesn't need to punch her husband because she felt embarrassed by him to prove it. She's not only physically capable, she's emotionally tough. The entire scene was unnecessary. A quick page to recap, show her feelings, mention the other group Hal is forming that Ollie's joining would've been enough. Instead, we get 10 pages (!), followed by another page with Dinah talking to Babs about it. That's nearly half the issue. For what? I have no idea why McDuffie dragged this out like this, but whatever his reason, it didn't work.
This was one long talking heads issue. Nothing really happened, other than to break up the team. Given that nothing much has happened of consequence since Brad Meltzer left the book, I'm wondering if there really was a team to break up. If McDuffie has great plans here, I'm not seeing the clues. What I am seeing is that the one reason I've been sticking with this book just walked out on the group. Yup, Roy.
And if he's really off for good, and Titans is the only place I get to see him monthly, I will be one very unhappy Roy Harper fan, because, let's face it, Titans makes Justice League of America look like Shakespeare, and I've been thinking of dropping it. Now I'm thinking of dropping Justice League, too.
I did like the cover. The interior art by Davis and Hope was nice, but some large panels (3 per page in too many instances) made it obvious that there wasn't much substance to this installment.
And I'm hoping the rest of this week's comics make up for this mess.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Reviews Weekly
Well, it seems as if I'm doing this by the week, not the day, anymore. I've had a nasty cold this week, but it's starting to get better. Anyway, here's what I read the last week or two. And I'm going to stop commenting on Trinity unless something super great or something I don't like happens, because it's been a nice, steady little weekly book and I rarely have anything interesting to say about it.
Titans 11
This has gotten rather tiresome. I buy it because Roy is in it. The whole day in the lives of the Titans seemed rather old, even as written by McKeever. And I didn't like the bickering between Roy and Donna. I don't like when she's written as meddling, even with people she cares about, and I don't like Roy sniping at her. If I thought this was going to build into something solid, like maybe them getting back together, fine, but I get no such sense. All it feels like is a hit-and-run bit among other hit-and-run bits of supposed character development. Sure, Donna can be a Mother Hen with her closest friends, but she's also been shown in the past resenting when they keep coming to her with their problems, which leaves her as a rather wishy-washy character and she isn't. Actually, this felt like a "let's mention Lian instead of actually showing her" kind of scene. Maybe a scene with Donna joining Roy and Lian at the park and having the discussion about leadership on the team might've been more interesting. Ah, well, we did get a glimpse of Lian in bed, so that's something. Meanwhile, the whole Raven/Gar relationship or non-relationship has me both confused and bored.
Secret Six 7
Wow. Gail really delivers with this story and this book. While I've found her run so far on Wonder Woman uneven, ranging from incredible to merely good, her work with this team has always been topnotch. This quirky band of villains and sometimes villains who may or may not give a shit about each other makes for entertaining reading and real emotion in her hands. And I think Tarantula nailed it when she theorizes that Lawton betrayed the team to save them, no matter his protestations otherwise. Lawton is definitely not a hero, but he's no villain, either. Like Catman, he's a complicated character who skirts the law for his own reasons. The climatic battle did not disappoint, nor did Scandal, at the end. And Scott and Hazlewood make for a super art team.
Green Arrow and Black Canary 18
I'd probably enjoy this more -- and the story is intriguing -- if Ollie wasn't acting more like a jerk than usual. Dinah's look of fear/horror on the cover didn't help, either, giving her the image of the "helpless female." Horror, fine. But anger and determination would've been better than fear. Actually, the whole pose of her and Ollie embracing with the body there made for a bizarre image that didn't fit the characters. I'd really hoped for more from this book. At least Judd got the banter right.
Booster Gold 18
This book continues to deliver the goods. Booster and Booster made for a potent team and the matter of having saved Michelle by pulling her out of the timestream is about to have its repercussions because there always are repercussions and I'm glad that hasn't been forgotten. Michelle now knows she was supposed to die and how. If ever a creative team knows how to keep readers wanting more, this is the team. Jurgens packs in the emotion without overdoing it, and his cliffhangers are neither melodrama nor stunts. They're simply compelling. And we get Blue Beetle as a back-up feature in an extended version of this book soon. I can't wait!
Brave and bold 22
Aside from Ollie's screwing up, he made up for it, and Hal and the Stranger did their part, and the ending was moving. I really cared about Cora and the resolution was a good one.
Green Lantern 38
Still setting up Blackest Night, but the exploration of Carol's character was much appreciated. Meanwhile, Hal's not himself. heh Anyway, I'm ready for the big event to begin. More than ready.
Supergirl 39
Real emotion in this title. Finally. The new direction has been great and really tying Kara in with the Superman characters and books, as she should be, given she's Kal's cousin. When she tells Lana that she wished her mother had been the one to die instead of her father, I felt that emotion. Well done. It's a helluva admission for a daughter to make, but one that, given the circumstances, rang true. And Lana, in providing support and comfort, finally gives this version of Supergirl a strong supporting cast, or at least, the start of one. Along with Jamal Igle, the regular penciller on the book, Talent Caldwell is also credited for that chore as well as sharing the inking with Jon Sibal, which might explain the wide variation in Kara's face, especially in 3-4 pages near the end with her mouth and eyes looking like an entirely different character, or one being drawn by a different artist in the middle of the story. In one panel, her lips seemed to be twice the thickness as the rest of the panels on that page, and in another panel on the following page, when she's looking at a picture of Superwoman, she looks like she was drawn by someone else entirely. It's rather disconcerting, but if Igle needed help to get the book out on time, I'm okay with it.
Jack of Fables 30-31
Such lovable lunacy with a point in a story where reading for your life is an imperative. Truly, comics don't get better than this.
Titans 11
This has gotten rather tiresome. I buy it because Roy is in it. The whole day in the lives of the Titans seemed rather old, even as written by McKeever. And I didn't like the bickering between Roy and Donna. I don't like when she's written as meddling, even with people she cares about, and I don't like Roy sniping at her. If I thought this was going to build into something solid, like maybe them getting back together, fine, but I get no such sense. All it feels like is a hit-and-run bit among other hit-and-run bits of supposed character development. Sure, Donna can be a Mother Hen with her closest friends, but she's also been shown in the past resenting when they keep coming to her with their problems, which leaves her as a rather wishy-washy character and she isn't. Actually, this felt like a "let's mention Lian instead of actually showing her" kind of scene. Maybe a scene with Donna joining Roy and Lian at the park and having the discussion about leadership on the team might've been more interesting. Ah, well, we did get a glimpse of Lian in bed, so that's something. Meanwhile, the whole Raven/Gar relationship or non-relationship has me both confused and bored.
Secret Six 7
Wow. Gail really delivers with this story and this book. While I've found her run so far on Wonder Woman uneven, ranging from incredible to merely good, her work with this team has always been topnotch. This quirky band of villains and sometimes villains who may or may not give a shit about each other makes for entertaining reading and real emotion in her hands. And I think Tarantula nailed it when she theorizes that Lawton betrayed the team to save them, no matter his protestations otherwise. Lawton is definitely not a hero, but he's no villain, either. Like Catman, he's a complicated character who skirts the law for his own reasons. The climatic battle did not disappoint, nor did Scandal, at the end. And Scott and Hazlewood make for a super art team.
Green Arrow and Black Canary 18
I'd probably enjoy this more -- and the story is intriguing -- if Ollie wasn't acting more like a jerk than usual. Dinah's look of fear/horror on the cover didn't help, either, giving her the image of the "helpless female." Horror, fine. But anger and determination would've been better than fear. Actually, the whole pose of her and Ollie embracing with the body there made for a bizarre image that didn't fit the characters. I'd really hoped for more from this book. At least Judd got the banter right.
Booster Gold 18
This book continues to deliver the goods. Booster and Booster made for a potent team and the matter of having saved Michelle by pulling her out of the timestream is about to have its repercussions because there always are repercussions and I'm glad that hasn't been forgotten. Michelle now knows she was supposed to die and how. If ever a creative team knows how to keep readers wanting more, this is the team. Jurgens packs in the emotion without overdoing it, and his cliffhangers are neither melodrama nor stunts. They're simply compelling. And we get Blue Beetle as a back-up feature in an extended version of this book soon. I can't wait!
Brave and bold 22
Aside from Ollie's screwing up, he made up for it, and Hal and the Stranger did their part, and the ending was moving. I really cared about Cora and the resolution was a good one.
Green Lantern 38
Still setting up Blackest Night, but the exploration of Carol's character was much appreciated. Meanwhile, Hal's not himself. heh Anyway, I'm ready for the big event to begin. More than ready.
Supergirl 39
Real emotion in this title. Finally. The new direction has been great and really tying Kara in with the Superman characters and books, as she should be, given she's Kal's cousin. When she tells Lana that she wished her mother had been the one to die instead of her father, I felt that emotion. Well done. It's a helluva admission for a daughter to make, but one that, given the circumstances, rang true. And Lana, in providing support and comfort, finally gives this version of Supergirl a strong supporting cast, or at least, the start of one. Along with Jamal Igle, the regular penciller on the book, Talent Caldwell is also credited for that chore as well as sharing the inking with Jon Sibal, which might explain the wide variation in Kara's face, especially in 3-4 pages near the end with her mouth and eyes looking like an entirely different character, or one being drawn by a different artist in the middle of the story. In one panel, her lips seemed to be twice the thickness as the rest of the panels on that page, and in another panel on the following page, when she's looking at a picture of Superwoman, she looks like she was drawn by someone else entirely. It's rather disconcerting, but if Igle needed help to get the book out on time, I'm okay with it.
Jack of Fables 30-31
Such lovable lunacy with a point in a story where reading for your life is an imperative. Truly, comics don't get better than this.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Crafty
You Would Be a Crafty Superhero |
 You are naturally curious and even a bit of a snoop. You like to have dirt on everyone - both enemies and friends. You need a lot of freedom in your life. You like to do your own thing, and you don't fit into any normal mold. Through lots of life experience, you understand the world well. You can often predict what people will do before they even think of doing it. You tend to feel apart from the rest of the world. You don't really fit in, and you don't try to! You are a true intellectual. You are thirsty for knowledge, and you are curious about the world. |
I couldn't resist doing this one, or posting it here instead of my main blog.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Upon Review
I really need to stop falling behind on posting these.
Justice Society of America 23-24
Nice Marvel Family action here -- and where is Freddie, anyway? And a decent Origins and Omens backup story in 24.
Blue Beetle 36
Damn, I'm gonna miss this. Jaime and the scarab find a good way out of the mess they're in. This has been one of DC's best, most consistent books. Of course, that was the kiss of death for it.
Trinity 39
Still enjoyable, though it's getting hard to find interesting things to say about it.
Wonder Woman 29
The action is ratcheted up as the book explores some serious issues, continuing with the meaning and power of Diana's lasso. The Olympians storyline promises to be good. I have faith that Gail can deliver. She seems to have hit her stride on this book. The Origins and Omens backup story is one of my fav O&O stories. "No, Sir Thomas of Cleveland, it is just the Queen." I chortled. Anyway, it was nice seeing Queen Hippolyte and Tom. Theirs is an interesting relationship.
Supergirl 38
The mystery of Superwoman has been well-played so far and I'm really curious. I'm not up on all the Superman books of the past decade, so I have no guesses as to her identity, but I am enjoying Kara's frustration. It was nice seeing her back at Lana's.
Birds of Prey 127
I know people haven't liked this last issue. The book didn't go out with a bang, but more a whimper, but I think that is really setup for the Oracle mini-series and what the future holds for Babs. She's a confident character and she's faced and beaten failure before, so to get her to the point where she needs to rediscover or redefine herself, or whatever the mini will lead to, she needed to be brought back to the brink of despair, or at least, confusion, a strong blow to her confidence, something that will get her to disband the Birds, at least for now (I hope it's not permanent), so she can take some time. Sure, they could've ended on a more upbeat note, with that bang people want and which Blue Beetle gave us, but I thought this worked. It didn't feel like an ending, just a break with the promise of more to come.
Justice League of America 30
The integration of these Shadow Cabinet characters into the DCU was the purpose of the story, which while good, felt forced. The byplay between Roy and Kendra in the Origins and Omens story was well done.
Wildcats 7
I'm starting to adjust to Neil Googe's art on this book, but it still doesn't feel right. Fortunately, the story's been enjoyable and it's good having this group of characters back.
Justice Society of America 23-24
Nice Marvel Family action here -- and where is Freddie, anyway? And a decent Origins and Omens backup story in 24.
Blue Beetle 36
Damn, I'm gonna miss this. Jaime and the scarab find a good way out of the mess they're in. This has been one of DC's best, most consistent books. Of course, that was the kiss of death for it.
Trinity 39
Still enjoyable, though it's getting hard to find interesting things to say about it.
Wonder Woman 29
The action is ratcheted up as the book explores some serious issues, continuing with the meaning and power of Diana's lasso. The Olympians storyline promises to be good. I have faith that Gail can deliver. She seems to have hit her stride on this book. The Origins and Omens backup story is one of my fav O&O stories. "No, Sir Thomas of Cleveland, it is just the Queen." I chortled. Anyway, it was nice seeing Queen Hippolyte and Tom. Theirs is an interesting relationship.
Supergirl 38
The mystery of Superwoman has been well-played so far and I'm really curious. I'm not up on all the Superman books of the past decade, so I have no guesses as to her identity, but I am enjoying Kara's frustration. It was nice seeing her back at Lana's.
Birds of Prey 127
I know people haven't liked this last issue. The book didn't go out with a bang, but more a whimper, but I think that is really setup for the Oracle mini-series and what the future holds for Babs. She's a confident character and she's faced and beaten failure before, so to get her to the point where she needs to rediscover or redefine herself, or whatever the mini will lead to, she needed to be brought back to the brink of despair, or at least, confusion, a strong blow to her confidence, something that will get her to disband the Birds, at least for now (I hope it's not permanent), so she can take some time. Sure, they could've ended on a more upbeat note, with that bang people want and which Blue Beetle gave us, but I thought this worked. It didn't feel like an ending, just a break with the promise of more to come.
Justice League of America 30
The integration of these Shadow Cabinet characters into the DCU was the purpose of the story, which while good, felt forced. The byplay between Roy and Kendra in the Origins and Omens story was well done.
Wildcats 7
I'm starting to adjust to Neil Googe's art on this book, but it still doesn't feel right. Fortunately, the story's been enjoyable and it's good having this group of characters back.
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