Wonder Woman 600 End of an Era

I've got so many mixed thoughts about this, but as of this moment, I'm thinking this is my last issue of Wonder Woman for the foreseeable future.

I'd had trepidations re: JMS taking over the book. While I don't think Gail Simone did her best work on Wonder Woman, she did build up the mythos and brought back Etta and Steve and generally put the Wonder back in Wonder Woman. I could believe that yes, she is one of the "big 3" as DC says. But after JMS takes over? Not so much.

This is not the time to redo Diana's backstory/origin. Maybe after 52, but not now. She's been through a lot and to screw around with her continuity now means none of that could've happened. It negates the hard work Gail put into this book. It's a slap in the face of WW fans.

It's not like Diana hasn't been messed with before. She went without powers for a while in the '70s, after all, and wore civvies and was more like Emma Peel or Modesty Blaise, and I loved those books, but I always considered that a temporary phase. The Amazons had left Earth and Wonder Woman lost her powers. I have no problem with characters entering a new phase, but I do take exception to changing or seriously altering their origins, especially if they're major players. Icons.

Superman was killed and he was also split in two (I didn't read those stories, but I have read of them) and Superman isn't the worse for wear. Bruce Wayne is reported dead, Dick Grayson takes over, but he's wearing THE Bat suit, not something new. And while there have been tweaks, they've been for the better. Clark's foster parents survived to see him grown to be Superman was a nice change. But he's still the toddler rocketed to safety just before Krypton explodes. You tamper with that at serious peril to the company's bottom line.

People claim Wonder Woman's origin is weak. And in the original version, yeah, probably, but it's also one based in mythology and that's a powerful starting point. Over the years, there have been tweaks and the mythos built up, the Amazons made stronger, more a warrior race. What JMS has proposed is not so much a tweaking, as he claims in the Behind the Scenes at the end of issue 600, but a revamping, one that is not needed. He clearly wants to write his version of Wonder Woman, not his take on DC's character. That he's being allowed to do that shows that contrary to their claims, DC does not consider her one of the Big 3. They would never do this to Bats or Supes.

To wit, from the issue, after he goes on and on about the W symbol and how men view women by their roles (sounds good, right?) and the desire for a 21st century perspective (what's wrong with her mythos in today's world?), he says:

"...But I didn't simply want to eradicate all of it and destroy the work of those who came before me."

Gee, how gracious.

"So the solution was to tweak time: at some point about 20 years ago or so, the time stream changed."

Do Rip Hunter and Booster Gold know about this?

"Paradise Island was destroyed, and Diana as an infant was smuggled out before her mother was killed along with most of the others. She was raised by guardians sent with her, and some surviving Amazons, so she has a foot in two worlds, the urban world and the world of her people, which still exists in the shadows, underground. So we keep what makes her an Amazon but mix it up with a more modern perspective."

And this is different than an Amazon who has been living in the modern, urban world for years how?

Seriously, this would be like saying Bruce Wayne's parents were not killed by a mugger but by a drunk driver and he still became Batman. It's a change for change's sake that changes nothing and irritates longtime readers, so why bother? Why can't JMS, whose Babylon 5 TV show I loved but whose comics work I've generally thought sucked, a supposedly good writer DC was thrilled to get, work within what exists and make it his own? Gail Simone managed very nicely. I didn't like everything she did but she wrote a solid, savvy, modern Diana who was Amazon through and through. Why is that so difficult for JMS that he can't write her unless he changes her? Is that it? He doesn't really want to write Wonder Woman? He wants to write a strong woman and Wonder Woman was offered to him?

As for the new costume, when I saw it in the last story in the book, "Odyssey: Prologue -- Couture Shock" (seriously, that's the title), I thought Diana had gotten some cool new civvies. That's not a costume. It's an outfit. Skintight pants or leggings and a nice, red shirt with what looks like a W, but barely, to people passing by who might think she's a fan of Wonder Woman. When I read that it's the actual costume, my reaction was WTF?

I'd love to tell you about Amanda Connor's wonderful little story in issue 600. I'd love to tell you about the lovely full pages of Diana rendered by some of the top artists. I'd love to tell you how good Nicola Scott's rendition is. But I'm too incensed right now. And saddened. First the destruction of Roy Harper as a good, just, fair-minded hero, and now this.

I had been thrilled when DC relented and restored the numbering for WW's book, allowing it to reach issue 600. You never saw Superman or Batman or Action or Detective canceled and restarted with new number schemes. You might see it for lesser characters like Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Aquaman, but not for the Big 3. Well, not for 2 of the Big 3. Wonder Woman, for all the lip service DC has paid to her importance, has never really gotten the respect Supes and Bats get. Maybe it's the bottom line, after all. She simply isn't the wage earner the two big guns are and probably never will be. But this wholesale "tweaking" sure isn't gonna help the cause. Because I'm outta here. Let me know when JMS is off the book and who's taking over and what their plans are for revamping Diana yet again and I'll consider putting the book back on my pull list.

Thanks for Nothing, J.T. Krul

I've been composing this post in my head for the last half hour on my way home, after reading Rise of Arsenal 4 on the train ride back from my comics shop. I am very upset and annoyed right now, so if this is a bit more rambling than usual, sorry, but I'm typing this as the words come to me.

And of course, there be spoilers here.

First, I want it known upfront that I'm an easy audience. I'm the sort of reader and viewer who most willingly checks my disbelief before entering some fictional realm. I'm easy and forgiving, so it takes a lot -- a helluva lot -- to piss me off. Yet, that's exactly what J.T. Krul has done.

Second, I wanted to like this. I had high hopes for this. I told myself to wait til after I read the last chapter before passing judgment. And so I have, and it isn't pretty.

Third, I shouldn't take these things personally, I guess. The death of the original Supergirl cut so close and it turned me off comics, especially DC, for nearly a decade, so I should know better than to be so emotionally attached to characters. And there they went and killed Lian and it hurt because there was no reason for it. Ollie could have gone off the deep end and killed whathisname just for taking Roy's arm and destroying most of Star City. But now I know the real reason and it sucks bigtime.

And I can't just turn my back on a character I have loved for 45 years. Roy Harper wasn't my first male comics character crush. Back when I started reading comics, it was the Bat books and the Superman books and that included the LSH in Adventure, so my favorites were Dick Grayson and Element Lad. Gradually, I added in Elongated Man and Roy, with Roy leapfrogging to the top of the list.

I don't know whose decision it was to do this to Roy. I don't know if Krul came up with the idea and got the go-ahead, or editorial did and Krul was just the hired gun. It doesn't matter. I thought Krul got Roy. His first effort, in Titans, showing Roy and Lian, was wonderful. So I had hopes he would make this mess into something wonderful, surprising, even. That he didn't is as great a disappointment as when it turned out Lian was dead as many of us suspected.

Which brings me to the fourth thing. I don't mind heroes who kill. I understand the reasons behind the act and when done well, it can add to a character. Many years ago, on Magnum PI, one of Magnum's close friends, his contact in the Navy, was killed by someone with diplomatic immunity and the most that could be done was to deport the asshole. And that wasn't good enough for Magnum. It wasn't justice. So he waylaid the car taking the killer to the airport and as the episode ended, you see him aim his gun and fire. It's a close-up and you don't see the killer die. The camera is on Magnum and you know this is not about revenge but justice. This was cold-blooded, an act of quiet desperation, perhaps, but one that had been decided and carried out with care. There were no witnesses who would come forward. Magnum got away with it. He'd been in war, so he knew what it was like to kill. He knew what he was doing and it was an act that fit the character.

In Rise of Arsenal 4, Roy kills the Electrocutioner, while Ollie pleads with him to not do it, and while dozens of prison guards and prisoners look on. Roy's act is not one of justice, but of revenge, as he's goaded on by hallucinations of his dead daughter. Roy has escaped from the drug treatment facility, he's in physical pain, and he's suffering the lingering effects of the narcotics in his system. And what happens after he kills the bastard? He walks away. He burns his house, says goodbye to Lian's ghost and he walks away. At least Ollie went on trial for the murder he committed. I can only conclude that the reason behind Lian's death was to make Roy a killer. To make him as sanctimonious as his mentor.

The book ends with the note that Roy's story continues in Titans Villians for Hire, a book I have no intention of reading. This is not where I wanted/hoped Roy would be. I'd hoped he might be able to return to the JLA, along with his fellow Teen Titans grads Dick, Donna, and Wally. But the days of following Roy to whatever book he turns up in are over. I have no interest in Titans now and what Roy is right now is not anyone I want to read about.

Roy has been a character routinely dumped on. The drugs were just part of it. But no matter what, Roy always came through the bad times a better, stronger person. He might not have been able to turn to Ollie who was rarely there for him, but he could lean on Dinah and Hal, Dick and Donna. Now, he's alienated everyone who cares about him. No matter how much darkness he had in his soul, there was a basic core of goodness that never died. It's what made him a better person than Ollie at times. It's what made him a hero. And now, the death of his daughter destroyed that. Realistic, perhaps, but this isn't a real person we're reading about; it's a freaking comic book character. The opportunity to do something special with him was tossed away so he could become just another vigilante.

Perhaps the next time the DCU hotshots are questioned about the apparent racism and sexism in their books, they could point to Roy and say, "See, we disrespect white male characters, too. Just look at how we continually botch the writing of Roy Harper!" I'm sure they're proud of what they've done to Roy, when all they've done, that I can see, is alienate Roy's fans. This is one fan who can't bring myself to care about him anymore. So congrats, DC. You've managed to destroy my love for Roy Harper. And the sad thing is, the folks at DC will never know that, and if they did find out, wouldn't care.

As a reader, I know I'm not in charge. I write, so I know and understand that the audience should not dictate to the creators. And with so many people over so many years involved in writing comics and individual characters, there will be different interpretations and some inconsistencies. But I also know that if you want to be read, you would do best writing what people want to read. And while I might not have liked, at all, this storyline, I would have been fine with it if it had been good. If it had been true to character. If it had been more than a predictable, cheap shot. Because this is not the Roy Harper Brad Meltzer wrote joining the JLA a few years ago. This is someone unrecognizable. That Roy Harper would have gone through the denial, anger, and other stages of grief, but he would have emerged stronger, wiser, if sadder, and with a strong sense of purpose, of what's good in the world and of doing good, not as some dark avenger, but as someone who sets an example. The true Roy would have found that goodness inside him.

If I had written this story, Roy would have, with the help of his friends, found a way to rise above the bad and tap into the good inside him. He would have finally started to believe that he had worth after all. I would have kept his flaws, his doubts, but had him start pushing them aside and start really believing all the good things he pretended to believe about himself. If that's the ultimate goal for Roy here, it's taking too long and I have no interest in continuing to read in the hopes that's the case. Now that I see where this is headed, apparently, I almost wish he'd been killed, too.

I have a short box of comics that feature Roy, plus the short box of Teen Titans/Titans books. I have even bought dups of some of the JLAs with Roy so I can keep them in his box as well as the JLA box. That's how much he mattered to me. And now, I'm going to toss out this mini-series and content myself with rereading all the old, wonderful stories that showed Roy for the youth, and then man he truly is. Because the man who emerged from this story isn't him. Maybe someday, the true Roy Harper will return, but I'm not counting on it. Though, given how often he gets revamped, it might happen in another 3-5 years.

Unless Roy guests in a book I'm already reading, I guess this is it. Farewell, Roy. It's been a helluva 45 years. But it's time for me to move on. There are plenty of characters for me to read: the gang in Secret Six. The gals in Birds of Prey. Batgirl. Supergirl. Power Girl (I hope!). Batwoman. Batman or whatever book Dick Grayson is in. A few others and a bunch of non-DCU books. That's more than enough. So take care, Roy, and maybe we'll be reunited someday. With comics, one never can know for sure where the stories will lead.

Diversity in the DCU

I suppose I should comment on Ian Sattler's comments in a Q&A at HeroCon that have been sliced and diced across the comics blogosphere (no links because I can't remember all the places I've seen them).

A serious topic came up about how characters who are minorities who happened to be legacy characters like Ryan Choi are killed off so their caucasian counterparts can return and how they feel like they are being cheated or sidelined out of their roles. Sattler took a more serious tone. "It's so hard for me to be on the other side because it's not our intention. There is a reason behind it all. We don't see it that way and strive very hard to have a diverse DCU. I mean, we have green, pink, and blue characters. We have the Great Ten out there and I have counter statistics, but I won't get into that. It's not how we perceived it. We get the same thing about how we treat our female characters."

Now,  I'm going to be charitable here. I'm going to assume that no malice was intended. I'm doing to assume this is simply (and yes, I know the risks I run when I make assumptions) a case of someone just not getting the point.

I believe he's sincere in thinking they're doing nothing wrong. And I believe there's a real story/plot point behind the deaths and the chosen resurrections. It may all end up being one helluva story that we'll be talking about for decades and that we'll all love. Maybe. But that does not negate Sattler's misreading of readers/fans' concerns.

Bringing fictitious ethnicities into the discussion, the blue and green people, while ignoring the many shades of actual humans who are not properly represented both on the pages and in managerial positions, let alone in the talent producing the books is a disingenuous response at best. There are no pink people, no green or blue people walking around our wonderful planet, so mentioning the ones walking around the DCU isn't going to win you new readers. Kids usually want to read about people like them. Sure, a polka dotted alien is cool and can be entertaining, but after a while, you want to see a mocha complexioned woman who speaks like a real person and dresses as someone other than a slut.

Because, women make up half the population, but not half the comic heroes, and that issue is usually brushed aside.

Sure, we've got some great female characters right now and many are headlining their own books. Batgirl has been amazing. Birds of Prey is back. Supergirl has turned into a super book and Power Girl got off to a great start. Wonder Woman has been as good as she and we deserve her to be and I hope that continues. We've got the Batwoman book coming and half of the Secret Six have been female. But do these books represent half the DCU superhero books? Not even close.

There is no reason why characters like Ryan Choi have to die to bring back Ray Palmer as the Atom. There is a whole Corps of guys running around as Green Lanterns, for frak's sake. And wonder of wonders, one of them is actually black, named John Stewart. We've got a bunch of Flashes. We've had some names swapped out without a concern that people would be confused. Nightwing becomes Batman while someone from Kandor becomes a new, different Nightwing. Did anyone worry that we readers would mistake the new Nightwing for Dick Grayson, or that we'd mix up Dick as Bats with Bruce as Bats? No. So call Ryan Choi Mr. Atomic or something and let him live. He was wonderful and far more entertaining than Roy Palmer ever was or likely ever will be.

But none of that matters, not really. They're just characters. Same as with the killing of Lian Harper (a mix of Caucasian and Asian, btw), it's just comics. They're fictional characters, not real people. What really matters is the attitude of people like Sattler who make the decisions. They need to understand how those decisions are perceived. They need to learn how to better read and communicate with their audience. They need to own up to their failings, to own their mistakes, and vow to do better. It's a lesson so many companies don't learn until too late, if at all. They think denial or sidestepping an issue will make it go away or reduce its significance. They're wrong. That just makes it worse, especially in this age of instant, viral communication.

Mr. Sattler, you should have taken your lumps, said your mea culpa, promised to do better, then actually do better. Ask what we'd like to see more of. Ask for suggestions. Suggest ways we can get our concerns to the rest of management. Etc. But don't act like the wounded party. Really, it isn't becoming.

I'll still read the comics that entertain me. And I'll continue to write my opinions of them. But don't expect me to love everything you do because you think it's wonderful. I was going to say that's not how to develop a lifelong reader, except in my case, it sorta was. Because back in 1960 when I read my first comic, there was even less diversity and here I still am. But times have changed. Please make sure the DCU keeps up. Your readers, present and future, will much appreciate it.

The To Read Stack Gets Whittled Down

And yet, I've hardly made a dent. I keep wondering if it's worth posting reviews for old books. Anyway, here goes.

Detective 864
No Batwoman; no doubt she's busy getting ready for her new book. The Batman story was just creepy, though well told. The Question story was okay. I've never been a big Vandal Savage fan.

Batgirl 10
This is getting better and better. Steph and Babs make a great team and I'd love for Gail to use Steph as a guest star in BoP. The Calculator, meanwhile, is just getting weirder and creepier, and ever more dangerous. Gotta love that! ;)

Streets of Gotham 11-12
Damian front and center in 11. That kid is a fun Robin. And in 12, the Carpenter is a cool character I'd like to see more of. The Manhunter second feature is also good and I can't wait for the conclusion. Ramsey is a cool kid, but he needs Kate to sit him down for a long talk.

Gotham City Sirens 11-12
Two concurrent storylines in each. In 11, Harley hyenas cut down the neighborhood's dog population and Ivy starts her new job. In 12, Selina's sister demonstrates how unhinged she really is and Ivy's cover ID is blown. This book has been much more than I'd dared hope for. The odd friendship of these 3 characters makes for pure fun.

Power Girl 12
Ah, the end of a delightful run was a most delightful read. I can't say how much I will miss Palmiotti, Gray, and Conner on this book. I'll give the new team a chance, but if Terra isn't a part of it, I won't likely be reading for long. PG's friendship with her has been a highlight of this book, along with the sheer goodnaturedness that infused each story. PG is no pushover here, but she gets to show her human side, something that she rarely has gotten to do elsewhere. Kudos all around.

Wonder Woman 44
A solid end to this intriguing tale that reaffirms all that the Amazons are and mean to humanity. Gail Simone spent her run on this book exploring who Diana is and what it means to be an Amazon. The thought that the next writer will be doing the same, according to the solicits, has me wondering why? Why can't we just get stories about Wonder Woman? Why do we have to keep going back to the well and redefining an iconic character? Sure, Batman's scribes and Superman's scribes have often put their touches on those heroes' origins, but not every 12-24 issues. Sheesh. All that usually happens is that each WW writer reinvents the Amazons and their history grows more and more complex and confused to the point that I don't know which end is up. Gail set up what I consider the best WW scenario in a long time, bringing back Etta and Steve in a fresh, satisfying way, and brought in other DC characters for guest roles that solidified Diana's place in the DCU. Going forward from her does not mean going back to her roots yet again. It means going forward. And I'd like that going forward to include what is currently in place.

The Rise of Arsenal 3
This book has me in a quandary. Roy Harper, for those new to this blog, is my favorite comic book character, going back to the '60s. Okay, I was a teen and had a crush on him, if you must know. There was Roy and Dick Grayson and Element Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Those were my three favorite guys. And on the female side, it was the original Supergirl, Wonder Girl, and Lois Lane. I will always have a fondness for those characters, which is why I'm so happy to see the current SG back on track as the original's replacement. But, as I so often, do, I digress.

Roy Harper. I'll read pretty much anything with him in it, regardless of quality, unless he's being done a disservice. And in this book, well... I can't decide.

The book is based on events prior to its first issue: the death of his daughter and the loss of his arm. That's the reality we the readers and Roy the character have to deal with. I hate that reality, but I can't ignore it.  J.T. Krul is a competent writer who often shows a deft touch with characterization and emotion. Many of his scenes are elevated from solid if ordinary storytelling, packing a real emotional punch. And yet...

I can't put my finger on where exactly this book is failing, because it really isn't failing overall. All the right notes are being hit. Roy's grief, his anger, his lashing out, and his hiding in drugs. Yes, I would've liked Roy to be stronger than that, but I can't argue with the characterization. Roy is flawed. Roy has abandonment issues that have never been fully resolved. Roy is emotionally weak. And I'm trusting Krul enough to wait to the end of the story to see where Roy ends up before I judge the story overall.

The scene with Cheshire was a strong one. Roy might now deny he loved her, but his feelings for her in the Titans book(s) was fairly well established, even though he knew he shouldn't feel that way. Her lashing out at Roy fits with her grief, too. And the scene with Dick is powerful. The fight echoed the one after Roy got shot (and that shooting and the scars to go with it, seem as forgotten as Roy's Navaho tattoo). These two men are not so much friends as "brothers." They have a powerful emotional bond.

So, all should be good, right? Not really. Because underneath all this emotion is something flat. Krul clearly wants to write an emotional journey for Roy, and unlike Wonder Woman, whose psyche gets explored with each new writer on her book, Roy has not gotten this treatment for a while. I'm happy to have him front and center of a book that bears his name, even if he's Arsenal again instead of Red Arrow (which connected him too much to Green Arrow and made him seem less independent, anyway), and even if it's because his daughter was killed (ruthlessly by the PTB). And I am feeling the emotion of the tale.

But I can't shake the feeling that Krul read a book on grief, swallowed it whole, and is regurgitating it on the page. It fits, but perhaps too well. It isn't messy. It isn't surprising. Yes, that's what's missing here. The element of surprise. I'm not reading and getting the sense of wonder, of being bowled over by brilliance. I wanted brilliance. I craved the unexpected. I longed for an emotional wringer that came from more than the starting point of an unbelievably sad situation, the death of a child. Damn it, J.T. Krul. I wanted more. I hope I might still get it.

Finally, the art. I can appreciate the phone book list of artists was to make a deadline, which I can appreciate and I'm happy to get the book on time. But the art of the last pages was not up to the quality of the first and middle, and that was disappointing.

Fun with Figures

Three of DC's Finest

Went to Forbidden Planet and got 2 weeks of comics to add to the stack I still need to read from before my vacation. At this rate, I won't be able to catch up until I retire.

Some reviews later.