Sunday, May 23, 2010
We Interrupt this Blog for a Vacation
I'm so far behind on my comics reading because I've been trying to clear up other stuff in prep for my vacation. Which is now. Comic reviewing will reconvene sometime in June, once I have a chance to catch up some on all the comics that will pile up in my absence.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Bright Reviews
Well, 2 of 3 are bright.
Birds of Prey 1 is billed as a Brightest Day tie-in, but it's all Birds and it's all good. Art-wise, Benes is better than ever and story-wise, it's great to have Gail back on this book, not to mention having the book back. The Hawk and Dove story arc promises to be intriguing. Gail excels at intriguing. Best of all, she's bringing me Zinda once a month! Zinda is a great character. I do hope, though, that this go 'round, Gail sneaks in some mention of Roy, because he's a big part of Dinah's life.
Brightest Day 1
I can't decide if I like this. It looks good. The writing is competent. There's a mystery surrounding the back from the dead dozen. Boston Brand is alive if not visible. Arthur and Mera are together again. Carter and Shiera are together again. There are weird goings on. What's not to like, even love? But something feels off. Maybe I'm just tired of big event books. I wanted some of the dead characters back. Aquaman. Shiera. But I also wanted the Dibneys. I had no desire to see Firestorm messed with and I can take or leave the Martian Manhunter.
And I don't want to see a return of the DCU circa the '70s. I was upset to hear that Ryan Choi/Atom was killed off. I don't need or want Ray Palmer back as Atom if it means Ryan had to die. There are a bunch of Green Lanterns and no one minds. I do want comics to be fun, but retreating into the past isn't how to do it.
So, yes, bring back BoP, which never should've been canceled. Bring back Bruce Wayne. Dick Grayson has proved himself worthy of the Cape and Cowl, so there's no reason why Bruce can't return to claim it.
But I don't want to lose all the good that's happened in the DCU over the last decade or two. I don't want to lose the diversity. I don't want to lose the hope and promise. I don't want to lose the chance of being surprised, in a good way. So far, the "surprises" have been dark (the killing of Lian Harper and Ryan Choi) and Lian's death was telegraphed well in advance.
I have no idea where Brightest Day is heading, other than it being a misnomer because it isn't all that bright so far. Give us danger and intrigue and suspense, but give us hope and awesomeness, too, DC. Here's hoping the DCU will be a better, diverse place at the end of this storyline.
And yet...
Secret Six 21 is dark. And yet, most likely due to Gail Simone's writing skills, there's an odd level of hope. These characters might be criminals. They might break the law without a thought, but they have their own code of ethics. They're three-dimensional. They're complex. And in their own way, they're loyal to each other.
This issue continues the storyline focusing on Catman and the flashback to his childhood is telling. Thanks to Gail's writing, he's become one of my favorite characters and this has become one of my favorite books. If you want to write dark and creepy, you would do well to follow this example.
Birds of Prey 1 is billed as a Brightest Day tie-in, but it's all Birds and it's all good. Art-wise, Benes is better than ever and story-wise, it's great to have Gail back on this book, not to mention having the book back. The Hawk and Dove story arc promises to be intriguing. Gail excels at intriguing. Best of all, she's bringing me Zinda once a month! Zinda is a great character. I do hope, though, that this go 'round, Gail sneaks in some mention of Roy, because he's a big part of Dinah's life.
Brightest Day 1
I can't decide if I like this. It looks good. The writing is competent. There's a mystery surrounding the back from the dead dozen. Boston Brand is alive if not visible. Arthur and Mera are together again. Carter and Shiera are together again. There are weird goings on. What's not to like, even love? But something feels off. Maybe I'm just tired of big event books. I wanted some of the dead characters back. Aquaman. Shiera. But I also wanted the Dibneys. I had no desire to see Firestorm messed with and I can take or leave the Martian Manhunter.
And I don't want to see a return of the DCU circa the '70s. I was upset to hear that Ryan Choi/Atom was killed off. I don't need or want Ray Palmer back as Atom if it means Ryan had to die. There are a bunch of Green Lanterns and no one minds. I do want comics to be fun, but retreating into the past isn't how to do it.
So, yes, bring back BoP, which never should've been canceled. Bring back Bruce Wayne. Dick Grayson has proved himself worthy of the Cape and Cowl, so there's no reason why Bruce can't return to claim it.
But I don't want to lose all the good that's happened in the DCU over the last decade or two. I don't want to lose the diversity. I don't want to lose the hope and promise. I don't want to lose the chance of being surprised, in a good way. So far, the "surprises" have been dark (the killing of Lian Harper and Ryan Choi) and Lian's death was telegraphed well in advance.
I have no idea where Brightest Day is heading, other than it being a misnomer because it isn't all that bright so far. Give us danger and intrigue and suspense, but give us hope and awesomeness, too, DC. Here's hoping the DCU will be a better, diverse place at the end of this storyline.
And yet...
Secret Six 21 is dark. And yet, most likely due to Gail Simone's writing skills, there's an odd level of hope. These characters might be criminals. They might break the law without a thought, but they have their own code of ethics. They're three-dimensional. They're complex. And in their own way, they're loyal to each other.
This issue continues the storyline focusing on Catman and the flashback to his childhood is telling. Thanks to Gail's writing, he's become one of my favorite characters and this has become one of my favorite books. If you want to write dark and creepy, you would do well to follow this example.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Modesty's Creator Dies
The news that Peter O'Donnell, creator of Modesty Blaise, possibly the greatest, non-super-powered female comics character, has died greatly saddens me. Inspired by a young refugee O'Donnell met during World War II, Modesty is a tough, skilled crimefighter who started on the wrong side of the law. After she and Willie Garvin, her loyal friend and helper, retired, they were convinced to use their skills to help bring all manner of bad guys to justice.
Along with the Modesty Blaise comic strip, O'Donnell also wrote a series of books using the characters. I discovered Modesty in the '70s when the strip was being reproduced in an anthology periodical that repro'ed a number of strips. It was instant love. Modesty and Willie loved each other, but it was platonic, the ultimate friendship between a man and a woman. Willie, owing his life to Modesty, would do anything for her, would die for her if he had to. Modesty was far from modest, and while the art, drawn over the years by a number of talented people, was sexy without being exploitive, IMO. The strip was one of the best action/adventure strips and if you haven't ever read them, you'd be doing yourself a favor in picking up one of the softcover collections.
Along with the Modesty Blaise comic strip, O'Donnell also wrote a series of books using the characters. I discovered Modesty in the '70s when the strip was being reproduced in an anthology periodical that repro'ed a number of strips. It was instant love. Modesty and Willie loved each other, but it was platonic, the ultimate friendship between a man and a woman. Willie, owing his life to Modesty, would do anything for her, would die for her if he had to. Modesty was far from modest, and while the art, drawn over the years by a number of talented people, was sexy without being exploitive, IMO. The strip was one of the best action/adventure strips and if you haven't ever read them, you'd be doing yourself a favor in picking up one of the softcover collections.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Attention Female Comics Fans
This article on Early Word about female readers and female characters, with a focus on the cheesecake art makes for interesting reading. I left a comment, now in moderation limbo, and you might want to add your two cents, too. As I've said in the past, I don't mind the cheesecake, even if it's exploitive; just give me some beefcake, too. But I do agree that the art is a turn-off for many potential female readers and it would be to the benefit of traditional superhero books for them to appeal to male and female readers. There's a way to do sexy art, of both sexes, and still not have it be exploitive or demeaning. The good artists, ie Adam Hughes, know how to do it.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Two Reviews
Wonder Woman 43
I could look at this cover for hours. Just lovely. Diana's family troubles continue with her supposed aunt ready to destroy earth. Etta and Steve have been wonderful supporting castmates and I hope that continues with the new creative team.
Rise of Arsenal 2
I have no idea where this is going and where Roy will end up or even if I'll like it, and while I know some people haven't liked this, I have gotten caught up in the emotion. The art has been wonderful, and Lian, in Roy's dreams, looks like a real little girl, and the grief on Roy's face and everyone else's at the funeral, is palpable. Roy's acting like a jerk, but he's also going through the stages of grief. He seems to be past denial, and he hasn't really gotten to bargaining yet, but anger and depression are well established, especially anger in his lashing out at his friends. Roy's always been one to push people away, out of fear of losing people. After all, he's lost everyone he's cared about. For a while, it looked as if he finally had a solid, dependable love in his life: Lian. But now she's been ripped from him. Old hurts and anger at Ollie resurfaced when he learned Ollie denied him vengeance for his daughter's death. He's popping pills, but so far, hasn't fallen all the way into addiction, though the drugs have to be affecting him negatively, keeping him from dealing with his loss and the grief. And all of it is just a way to deflect the anger from himself, because he wasn't there for Lian, which haunts him in his dreams. She died, and he blames himself and, no surprise, Cheshire blames him, too.
Will he be able to fight her? Does he even want to? Does a part of him want to give up, crawl into a hole, die? Or will his inner strength, his enormous capacity for survival, kick in? This is an emotion-packed story, giving Roy some of his most dramatic, angsty scenes, but was it really worth killing a little girl for one storyline? If Roy is to remake himself, yet again, could there have been a way that did not involve killing Lian? I guess I won't be able to begin to answer that until I see where he ends up.
I could look at this cover for hours. Just lovely. Diana's family troubles continue with her supposed aunt ready to destroy earth. Etta and Steve have been wonderful supporting castmates and I hope that continues with the new creative team.
Rise of Arsenal 2
I have no idea where this is going and where Roy will end up or even if I'll like it, and while I know some people haven't liked this, I have gotten caught up in the emotion. The art has been wonderful, and Lian, in Roy's dreams, looks like a real little girl, and the grief on Roy's face and everyone else's at the funeral, is palpable. Roy's acting like a jerk, but he's also going through the stages of grief. He seems to be past denial, and he hasn't really gotten to bargaining yet, but anger and depression are well established, especially anger in his lashing out at his friends. Roy's always been one to push people away, out of fear of losing people. After all, he's lost everyone he's cared about. For a while, it looked as if he finally had a solid, dependable love in his life: Lian. But now she's been ripped from him. Old hurts and anger at Ollie resurfaced when he learned Ollie denied him vengeance for his daughter's death. He's popping pills, but so far, hasn't fallen all the way into addiction, though the drugs have to be affecting him negatively, keeping him from dealing with his loss and the grief. And all of it is just a way to deflect the anger from himself, because he wasn't there for Lian, which haunts him in his dreams. She died, and he blames himself and, no surprise, Cheshire blames him, too.
Will he be able to fight her? Does he even want to? Does a part of him want to give up, crawl into a hole, die? Or will his inner strength, his enormous capacity for survival, kick in? This is an emotion-packed story, giving Roy some of his most dramatic, angsty scenes, but was it really worth killing a little girl for one storyline? If Roy is to remake himself, yet again, could there have been a way that did not involve killing Lian? I guess I won't be able to begin to answer that until I see where he ends up.
Comment Moderation
I've turned full comment moderation back on. Previously, I'd set it for older posts only, but too much spam forced me to revisit that decision. Still no verification, but I need a bit more control over the spammers. $*%(& spammers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)