Recent Reads The Whirlwind Tour

Here's the latest batch, and I still have so much more to read. Forbidden Planet had what is now an annual 20-per-cent-off one-day sale a few weeks ago, and along with the Tonner Catwoman doll, I bought a bunch of graphic novels. I dream of getting caught up on my reading. Ah, someday....

Detective Comics 860
The cover by Williams is stunning. His interior art is nice, too. The conclusion of Batwoman's origin is a real kicker, proving once again that Rucka is one of the top writers of comics today. The Question backup was nice, with Huntress, but more character bits and exposition than moving the story forward. Things should move into high gear next issue.

Gotham City Sirens 7
I read this for Selina, but Harley and Ivy have been enjoyable here thanks to Paul Dini who really excels at writing female characters. A character study issue that gives us some insight into both Harley and Ivy and now that we've met Harley's family, I can honestly say that she's the best adjusted one. (Can't believe I just wrote that.)

Wonder Woman 39
I was honestly getting bored with this story. I'm not the biggest Greek mythology fan and I much prefer seeing Diana deal with "Man's World." But Gail Simone gave us an ending to this arc that was truly moving. Lopresti's cover is gorgeous; he's one of the best artists for WW.

Batman 694
The book continues to excel as it nears issue 700. And another awesome DC cover this month. Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea make a good team. Dick has really grown into the Batman role.

Streets of Gotham 7
Again, great cover, featuring Manhunter. A rather odd, icky Batman story, with a neat moment of Damian showing he's still a boy and a rather human one at that. The tone here is different than in the Batman book, more like Batman and Robin, I think, and it works well. The Manhunter story rocked because it featured Dylan and I love Dylan. Apparently, the plan is to drop the backup features and without Manhunter here, much as I love Dick as Batman, I'll have to seriously think about dropping this book. I get it for Kate and Dick/Bats appears in enough other books. And I don't want to reward DC by sticking with this without Kate, cuz I'm annoyed with them. They bring on a new character I fall instantly in love with, give her a book right from the gitgo, cancel it, restore it but after perhaps too much time has passed, cancel it again, then give us this backup only to take it away again... it's just plain cruel. But I'm happy for what we've gotten.

Booster Gold 27 (Blackest Night crossover)
Ted Kord made a fun (could that be the right word?) Black Lantern, my favorite of the resurrected BLs so far. Jaime guesting was nice and I will miss his backup feature, too. Rip is, well, Rip, and I wonder if Booster will ever learn the truth and if so, how much it will affect.

Secret Six 16
I love this cover, probably my favorite of the month. Black Alice is so perfect for this book. Gail continues to make quirky characters among DC's best.

Supergirl 48
When I think I was actually dropping this book, until I decided to give Gates a chance to make Kara a great character again.... and he hasn't disappointed. Kara is firmly in the DCU now, a vital part of the Superman family, and her stories have significance and consequence. What more could anyone want from Superman's cousin?

Power Girl 7
An old-fashioned fun superhero book. I thought for a moment I was reading a book from the '60s, an issue of Lois Lane, perhaps, but with a '00's sensibility. Gray, Palmiotti, and Conner might not be giving us the serious, somber PG of the JSA, but they are giving us a character who's comfortable in her own skin who doesn't always take herself seriously. Conner's exaggerated facial expressions can convey so much, you almost don't need the words.

Batgirl 5
I can't believe how many good, female-centric books I now have to read. Stephanie makes a fun, capable Batgirl even if she screws up now and then and doesn't do things by the book, or even as Babs would've done things. She is her own person and she's not like anyone else out there who pulls on a costume and fights crime. She has her own voice, her own way of doing things, and despite setbacks, they work. Her scenes with Damian were great. He's such a little prick.

Wither Roy Harper?

I've been agonizing over whether or not to post something about the JLA Cry for Justice series that I'm not reading, but that I know featured Roy in uh, not to be spoilerish, a nasty condition at the end, I guess it was, of the latest issue. I had no interest in reading the series. I didn't like the way things were going in the JLA proper and this sounded even worse. The many reviews I've read only confirmed my fears that Cry for Justice sucked, in that the characters were mostly out of character and things were rather ludicrous at times. I didn't even know Roy would show up, given he'd quit the JLA and seemed headed for DC's unique form of purgatory. So finding out suddenly that he not only showed up, but something major happened to him, well, it gave me a dilemma. Do I reading the fraking book that I never wanted to read, or do I ignore it and wait til he shows up again? (More on that possibility in a bit.) Then there are my fears that Roy's injury, should he survive it, will end up with him becoming a poor man's Cyborg.

I had another bone to pick with DC as it was. Keep in mind that in 1985, when Supegirl was killed in Crisis of Infinite Earths, I not only never finished reading that maxi-series, I pretty much boycotted comics entirely for 10 years, except for Titans, which I stuck with til '91 when it got so irritating and boring and just too negative to bother with, anymore. I've been fearing that Roy was going to be killed off, which, given he's my absolute favorite comic book character (Kara Supergirl being my second favorite), had me contemplating another boycott that would do no good (I'm just one comic reader/buyer, after all. I can't affect DC economically.

So, that other bone. Namely, the planned future lineup of the JLA with a bunch of Roy's former Titan mates, but no sign of Roy, who'd been in the League, then quit (because he was ticked at Hawkgirl?!). So, yeah, I was pissed. Why should they all suddenly be in the League (even if Dick is now Batman) without Roy, and the book ends up looking like a revamped, Red Arrow-less Titans. Yeah, I was more than ticked and considering how many titles I should drop.

Then I read about this, books focusing on Green Arrow and Arsenal. WTF am I supposed to do now? Read the thing and hope they do a good job and respect Roy as a longstanding character in the DCU who's been dumped on every which way imaginable, from drug addiction and rejection from his mentor, Ollie Queen, to fathering a child out of wedlock with an international assassin/nutjob who blew up a country, to getting shot 5 times (if anyone actually remembers that). And then there's all the early years stuff, with never knowing his mother and his father dying when he was a toddler to being raised on a reservation, only to be sent to live with a stranger he idolized as puberty hit. Oh, and he's changed his name and costume more than any of his contemporaries, and only Donna Troy with her totally fucked up history has had it worse, IMO. Yeah, even by DC's rough life standards, Roy's has been a bit overdone.

Do I read this upcoming books and do I go back and read the pretty much universally panned Cry for Justice? I think it would be impossible, given what's happened to Roy, to ignore it.

I have to admit this is intriguing:

"What happens when a hero has a fateful decision to make? And how can another hero rebuild his world after a life-altering tragedy?
Both ideas are explored in two special books hitting in March, both written by J.T. Krul: JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE AND FALL #1, which bridges the gap between JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA  and the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE OF ARSENAL four-issue mini-series. Concurrently, readers of the ongoing GREEN ARROW series will deal with the fallout in a storyline titled “The Fall of Green Arrow,” starting with issue #31."

and this from writer J.T. Krul:

"It’s going to be a dark and tragic road for both them and I’m hoping readers will be hooked by where Ollie and Roy come out in the end."

More here.


Does this mean that Roy will be in JLA and they don't want to say so because it would give things away re: the Ollie/Roy stories? I believe they've said things will be shaken up for Ollie and Dinah, too. I'm no longer reading Green Arrow and Black Canary because it devolved from what it started out as, a book starring a dynamic, loving couple. I like them as a couple and don't want to see them split up again. I also thought Ollie and Roy had finally worked out their differences, so I have reservations how these upcoming stories will be handled. And yet, it's ROY and it's a major storyline for him. And he's referred to as Arsenal! Not Red Arrow! How could I not read it?! And I'm almost afraid to think of where Lian will be in all this. We/Roy can't lose Lian! (Yes, that's another of my constant fears where Roy is concerned.) Krul seems to respect that side of Roy, though, the whole father angle.

This quote from Krul is encouraging, although not everyone who is a fan of a character will have the same take on the character as other fans, ie me, would:

" I had done the Red Arrow spotlight issue for Brian on Titans. That's how the Arsenal thing came about - they knew I was a huge Roy fan and have been a fan of his forever. I jumped at the Titans spotlight issue, then when I got wind of what they had in store for Roy and they talked to me about that, I didn't have to think about it at all."

The interview is very good. The guy sounds like he gets Roy. But I'm still nervous about it. And I need to know, do I need to read Cry for Justice? Should I read it? I'm looking for honest feedback here. And I guess I need to add Green Arrow back on my pull list. Damn. Sometimes, it's not easy being a comic book fan.

She Was on Sale

Well, not just her. All of Forbidden Planet NYC. Twenty per cent off everything in stock. Today only. So, well, I had to get her. She's a limited edition from Tonner. I think they really need to do a Power Girl. And maybe the new Batwoman.