NYCC 2012 Day Two

Today, the 3-Day Pass folks joined us 4-Day Pass folks, making for serious crowding in the main show room. I spent some time in Artists Alley, and had a delightful chat with Joshua Middleton and bought a print of Poison Ivy, which he signed. He had only that and one other of the smaller size, and since I don't have wall space for the larger prints, I didn't get one of the Supergirl prints.

Joshua Middleton

Bill Barnes

 I also chatted with Bill Barnes of Unshelved, the library comic strip.

Then I went shopping in the main room and took pics of people in costume. There are so many wonderful cosplayers at the con this year, as usual.

And here's today's purchases.

Today's Goodies

I also, on a whim, picked up the 0 issues for Red Hood and the Outlaws and Green Arrow, which I spotted at one of the comics dealers. I skimmed them on the way home. I don't like and never liked Jason Todd, and while his origin now is actually more sympathetic, it did nothing to make me like him even a bit. As for Green Arrow, I prefer the origin as told in the recent, pre-DCnU mini. I suppose they think this is edgier, but the other was edgy enough. Actually, I really like the first chapter of GA's origin as told in the new Arrow series, which I really enjoyed. A lot. More on that in a bit.

What I was really interested in was seeing if Roy Harper would figure in either of them, despite my earlier lack of interest in anything to do with Roy in the new DC52. Yeah, it's a year later and maybe I'm mellowing a bit in my negative attitude about the books. Or just curious. And I have to admit, the way Roy was used in Green Arrow 0 wasn't bad, though we didn't get his background. There was no mention of his ever being raised on a reservation, and I'd hate to have him lose his Native American connection.

So, is anyone reading Red Hood and the Outlaws? Has it improved from Kory as Bimbo book? Is it worth reading? Given I've frozen Roy in my mind pre-Lian's death, I think I'm at the point where I'm ready to accept an alternate universe Roy Harper. I'm reading Nightwing and that's really good.

Back to Arrow. The quick review: I loved it. Amell is great as Ollie and I like the gimmick of alternating present time with flashbacks to his time on the island. There's intrigue and a nifty connection with Laurel Lance, her sister whom Ollie cheated on her with, and their father, Det. Lance, played by the wonderful Paul Blackthorne, who has it in for Ollie. There's lots of promise here for a fun, fast-paced show that's action and soap opera rolled into one.

Arrow

I thought the first preview looked intriguing, but this longer one is downright enticing.  I never watched Smallville, but I might actually watch Arrow this fall.

Reviews Reviews Reviews

Since we're now in Brightest Day (review of issue 0 soon), I'll skip reviewing the last issues of the Blackest Night, except to say I like how it ended, even if Ralph and Sue are still dead. How Boston Brand deals with being alive (and does he still have a twin brother named Cleveland? I can't keep track of all the retconning in the DCU that happened in the 10 years I wasn't reading comics), which is somewhat more dramatic than the other characters restored to life, will be my major interest in this. I don't care much about Max Lord, given I know him only from the storyline that led to him killing Ted Kord and then Diana killing him. I am happy it's Shiera Hall who's back and not Kendra, though it would be nice if she remembers her life as Kendra. Brightest Day should be good. Let's see if it lives up to expectations.

Detective 863
Great ending to the Batwoman story with a neat dual storyline for her and for Bats. Edgy stuff. And I'm thrilled beyond belief with the plot twist at the end involving Betty. The Question story is taking some intriguing turns and I wish there were more pages for it.

Gotham City Sirens 10
Fun stuff, and I suspect the Riddler will be back on the wrong side of the law sooner rather than later. Every issue, I'm amazed once more by how much I enjoy it.

Wonder Woman 42
What started as a meh story for me -- another aliens out to destroy Earth plot -- took a sharp turn into "Whoa, that's interesting" with the reveal at the end that turns the whole thing into something personal for Diana and once again, plays with the Wonder Woman/Amazon mythology. Now I can't wait for the next issue. 

Batgirl 9
I love the cover. Stephanie looks fierce, while still looking girlish. She's not a mature woman on that cover, not sexualized, but clearly, someone who is in charge of herself. After I stared at the cover for a while, I read the story. And any story with the Calculator works for me. I like Wendy and how things are progressing in that regard. And I'm wondering, given Oracle's mentoring of Steph, what will happen when Birds of Prey resumes. Does Steph become one of the Birds? Or does Babs divide her time between the Birds and helping Steph.

(The Fall of) Green Arrow 32
Not what I expected. Ollie's been exposed. He's arrested, tried, found not guilty, and exiled from Star City. There's some good character stuff in here, especially between Dinah and Ollie and I guess it's unlikely they'll ever be together again, which saddens me nearly as much as Lian's death. I had hopes for a Nick and Nora Charles vibe from them in this book. And while everything Dinah told Ollie was true -- he does push people away -- they were, at their best, a great couple.

I did have quibbles with the book. Ollie's ready to meet his fate, He killed and is ready for punishment. He thinks, once he's found Not Guilty, that the jury made a mistake. But why was he on trial? Why didn't he just plead Guilty, get sentenced, and ... well, we know why. He needs to not be in prison so the book can continue with him moving on to his next phase as Green Arrow, even if how that happens makes no sense character-wise and story-wise.

I wish Roy had appeared. I hope there finally is a scene or two between Ollie and Roy in the Rise and Fall of Arsenal mini, because they need to confront each other.

Secret Six 20
The moral of this story is: Don't mess with Catman or any of the Six. They aren't like normal people. Thomas reacted to the extortion/threat to his son just as I'd hope he would. And I loved that Cheshire says she doesn't want to lose another child. I love the continuity in that. I love when a writer acknowledges other things going on in the universe that affect the characters they're writing. Kudos to Gail Simone for that. And for keeping this book so good that it's one of my must read first books.

More on Titans 23 Plus Green Arrow 31

I thought I'd hallucinated the solicit for Titans 23, so I went back to DC's site and no, I was not wrong. Here it is:

"Spotlight on Red Arrow! As Roy Harper lies in critical condition after the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #5, his fever dreams show him the perfect future life he wants for the Titans. Unfortunately for him, it's a life the Titans will never see."

Am I the only one who got the issue but didn't get that story? Seriously. Was Roy having a dream about a perfect future life? Was he even dreaming? Because the story I read flashed back to the past, with what seemed to be everyone's retconned memories except Roy's. And it was the story in the solicit that I wanted to read and was the reason I bought the book, not the story I got. That was untruth in advertising. Does anyone else who read it feel cheated?

As for Green Arrow 31, the start of the actual Fall of Green Arrow storyline, it went mostly as expected. Ollie was the usual stubborn, arrogant, self-righteous prick who thinks he knows best, even to the point of treating Dinah like the enemy. This isn't out of character. It's the whole vigilante killer that's out of character. Connor provided a philosophical counterpoint, which was no surprise, and Mia came in at the end and is fully in Ollie's camp. The art was nice, though. Dallocchio has a nice touch.

Krul's doing a decent job with this mess so far, but there's nothing special here yet, nothing that lives up to the hype. And while this might end up being a strong arc for Roy and Ollie and they'll end up stronger than ever, Lian will still be dead in the worst case of plot device I've ever read.

For the Record, Anger Does Not Equal Interest

This, a link found over on Insolvent Republic of Blogistan (great title, btw), is irritating to the extreme.

Here are the quotes that gall me:

James Robinson: "That decision [was] a controversial and one that I know has been greeted with some displeasure by some people... I'm sorry if it upset people. In all honesty, they wanted to kill Speedy too, and I said no, so give me some credit for that."

Ian Sattler: "I'm happy it upset people because it means that the story had some weight and emotion."

Uh, no. Upset means upset. It means the CHARACTERS have weight for us. Whether or not the story does and can evoke emotion depends on the story, how well it's written, for example. And the emotion you want when a child is killed is grief and yes, anger that she was killed, but directed at the bad guy in the comic, not the bad guy in the editorial office. Or the bad guy typing up the words.

Lian has weight and her death matters because 1) she's Roy's daughter, and 2) she's a little girl. That she died is the sad thing, not the way she was killed. That just sucked, story-wise, art-wise, every-wise.

As for Speedy, I'd sooner have had them kill Mia, much as I like her, because she's relatively new next to Lian whose been around 23 years, for fuck's sake. Sheesh. It's a little girl, killed only to give Ollie grief and angst. Roy's angst seems almost an afterthought here. Hmmm.... lost an arm, lost a daughter... toss-up which will drive him mad and maybe to drugs first. But Ollie? He's out there avenging an entire city. Why did a little girl have to die to further that plot point?

Shit. This just makes me angry. The story sucked. I did not buy it. I skimmed it in the store (don't tell FPNY, okay?), because I knew it was gonna suck. If, maybe, it looked like it wouldn't suck, or Lian wasn't dead, I would've bought it, but it sucked. SUCKED! If the idea is to get people to never want to read anything James Robinson writes ever again, congrats! Because I sure won't. I just don't trust him. (Yes, I bought the Starman books. Yes, I still plan to read those, as I have no emotion invested in that character.)

No, Mr. Robinson. I will not give you any credit.

No, Mr. Sattler, the story did not anger me because it was evocative. It angered me because it was crap.

Yeah, I'm pissed.

Not a Review, Just Some Thoughts

I can't do a proper review of Justice League Rise and Fall Special. I want to, but my thoughts about the issue run more toward feelings than any commentary on the actual story. First, J.T. Krul did a much better job with this monstrosity of a storyline than James Robinson did in the Cry for Justice (which I just skimmed) lead-in. But there's only so much anyone can do with this material. To be fair, Ollie's narration showed a semblance of self-awareness, as in he seems aware that he's being a complete jerk, a total douche, a self-serving maniac. But still, he's not stopping to take a deep breath and figure out what's really important, like, perhaps, being there for Roy. Oh, no, not Ollie. And in that sense, he's in character. Because, after all, this is the insensitive idiot who threw Roy out when he caught Roy shooting up heroin and this is the Ollie who more recently, when Roy was shot 5 times and which already seems forgotten, when some of the Titans formed a new Outsiders group, rushed out to find the bastard who was behind it all rather than stick around while Roy was in a coma (sound familiar?). So, in character.

Even the killing of Prometheus could be considered in character, because he is hotheaded, though I'm on the fence about him leaving the body to rot and waiting for the deed to be discovered and not mentioning it to anyone until he said something that led Dinah to realize the truth. Ah, Ollie. Such an asshole.

But then, I hope Krul keeps in mind that Ollie is, at his core following the loss of his fortune back in the Green Lantern/Green Arrow days, a bleeding heart liberal out to right the wrongs of the world (over population, pollution, racism, fanaticism, the ism of your choice), which led to some debates/arguments/fights with conservative Hawkman, until lesser writers just wrote Ollie as being argumentative without an actual agenda.

So, Roy doesn't actually appear in this issue, except for what seems to be a flashback, with him staggering down a corridor leaving a bloodtrail from the stump where his arm once was. Which led me to this bizarre thought...

Why couldn't they rip off his other arm instead? The left one, with the Navaho tattoo that no one ever remembers to draw in anymore. I remember when Barry Kitson took over the Titans book near the end of its run (that time) -- at least, my memory is telling me it was Kitson -- he was a fairly regular poster on the DC boards, as was I back then, and he was quite happy to draw the tattoo once we who actually remembered it, mentioned it on the boards. If they'd just ripped off that arm, then no one would ever be vulnerable to the accusation that they forgot/didn't want to draw the tattoo.

Here's another thought/omission. In the conversation Wally and Dick have, they discuss how it's been perhaps just luck that's kept them from being hurt the way Roy was. Never mind that Roy almost died from that shooting a while back, or that all of them have been hurt seriously -- especially Dick, in all the Bat books, including his own as Nightwing -- but not once do they mention Lian and how awful it is that Roy's six-year-old (or thereabouts) daughter was so horribly killed. Lian played with Wally's kids. Dick helped Roy get custody of Lian. Can they/did they not shed a tear for her? Are they not upset? Can they really calmly discuss Roy and how Wally "graduated" into his mentor's role before Dick, or Roy, did, without showing any sadness for Lian's death?

So, while what was there wasn't bad and some of it was pretty decent, I ended up not liking the book for all that wasn't there, the emotion, the sadness, the horror that a little girl was dead which is as awful as Ollie killing her killer or Roy lying unconscious and unaware the light of his life is gone. I'm looking forward to the Arsenal mini-series. At least in those books, the story should focus on Roy and all he's lost and will have to deal with, and not focus on Ollie, because so much of this so far feels like "all Ollie, all the time."

feh

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It's Things Like This with Spoiler

That really annoys me. From DC's The Source:

"...the Emerald Archer continues to seek out his own brand of Justice from those responsible for the tragedies that have befallen him."

Uh, befallen him? Roy's the one without the arm. Roy's the one who lost his daughter. Really, people, let's get real. 


I suppose it's in character for Ollie to be so self-centered, but this is more the PR spin from the suits than a character trait, unless when Rise and Fall issues start appearing, Ollie is this much of a prick. Because, really, this is a bit much for even him. 


Surely, there could be better ways to word this to emphasize Ollie's role in the upcoming storyline without making the loss sound like his and his alone.


I really want the Rise and Fall story to be good and I really want to like it. I liked the story J.T. Krul wrote focusing on Roy and Lian and think he's a good writer. But the hype has me nervous. Sure, Ollie's the main character and Roy will always be secondary, so the focus should be on Ollie, but there's something missing here, at least in the teasers. I hope there's nothing missing, something emotional and meaningful for Roy and his place in the DCU, in the actual issues.


Sometimes, I wish it had been Roy who'd been killed. At least then I could be done with the Arrow Family. This way, I have to keep reading because Roy's my favorite character. Damn it, DC! You guys had better deliver the goods.

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.

Back in Stock

But maybe not for long. Forbidden Planet NY got the DC Classics figs from a few weeks ago back in stock, and I was able to get Ollie, even though he looked to be selling better than the others and will probably be sold out again soon. But at least now I can pose him with Dinah.

Comic Goodness

Suicide Squad 6
Double crosses! Triple crosses! Intrigue and backstabbing! And someone dares go against Amanda Waller! This book has it all! I continue to be entertained by this.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 5
I rarely buy both when there are alternate covers, but I did this time because I couldn't choose between them. I just don't understand why the art credits on the covers don't match with the credits inside and the Conner cover has the interior artist, Andre Coelho (who did a decent job) under Winick's name on the cover and is clearly signed by her and the other cover has Conner's name on it and clearly isn't her work, nor is her work inside, because, duh, that's Coelho. And that cover is signed by Chiang. The interior credits list covers by Cliff Chiang and Amanda Conner, with David Baron (who also did colors). Did anyone else notice this and was anyone else confused by it?

Anyway, there was a story inside, and Winick is clearly messing with our minds now. The Conner "death" story is anything but so far, with Conner the target or lure for Ollie in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Much of the issue was flashback to how Ollie and Conner's mother, Sandra Hawke, hooked up and straightened out some of the continuity confusion and maybe now people will remember who she is and when Ollie got her pregnant. We got to see Conner as a boy and not a very well behaved one at that. Ollie and Dinah finally get married for real and then there's the cliffhanger when a mindwiped, catatonic Conner is kidnapped. I am definitely enjoying the ride Winick is taking us on and think this is some of his best work.

Booster Gold 0
I read Zero Hour and Hal as Parallax years after the fact, so a lot of this didn't resonate with me as much as it could have. However, it was fun to see Michael and Ted resume their friendship and the Blue Beetles interact, though I am not trusting the future Blue Beetle for some reason. He's an unknown quantity to us and with all the weirdness and varied baddies in this book, we don't know enough about him to know he's above reproach. How this all will end up, whether or not Ted will get to stay alive or end up making the ultimate sacrifice once again, it is one rollicking adventure.

Countdown to Final Crisis 11
More gathering of the players to Apokolips. Harley and Holly, with Mary, have become as entertaining a team as Piper and Trickster while Trickster was still alive. Jason seems to have gotten a bit stuck up since his encounter with the Earth 51 Batman. I'm still hopeful of a boffo (does anyone still use that word?) ending.

Wonder Woman 17
As I'd figured, Gail Simone pulled all the elements of her story together for a solid conclusion, while enhancing Diana's origin. And I'm still not sure where this fits into the current continuity, though I'm thinking between Amazon War and before Countdown.

Simon Dark 5
I'm really enjoying this odd, quirky book, and it seems not everyone is what he or she seems. When Simon discovers that his kitty can't be revived by having its head sewn back on (really, that isn't as bizarre, in context, as it sounds out of context), it was an honest, poignant moment. There is serious evil afoot in this book, in Gotham, yet there is also an endearing innocence, too. I like seeing something different being done within the regular DCU continuity.

Mostly Hits, One Miss

First, from last week, Atom 19.
A one-issue, underground adventure, featuring a bit of cannibalism, and Ryan a hit with another female, a zombie-type female. The story by Keith Champange was decent enough, but I miss Gail Simone's fun take on Atom, especially all the pithy quotes in narration.

Now to the main events. There be spoilers here.

Suicide Squad 5
This might just live up to its name. Double crosses are the name of the game here, and maybe a triple cross at some point? Rick Flag as Eiling's puppet is an interesting plot development. Even when Waller has the right job, stopping a weapons factory that will sell it's deadly toxin to anyone with the money, her methods hardly make her heroic. And her tactics have made her plenty enemies, and one of them, Eiling, looks to destroy any chance of the mission succeeding. I really enjoy all the deviousness here. And with no characters I'm emotionally attached to, except maybe Flag, I don't have any stake in a high survival rate.

Nightwing 140
The best thing about Peter Tomasi's first issue of NW is how he's brought Dick back into the Bat Family without effort. This time, Dick might still be seeking his true self, but there's no whining, no "need to do it all on my own," no sense that he's lost his way. Instead, he seeks the thrill of skydiving that evokes his days as a Flying Grayson. The scenes at the Cave were very nice, and when Bruce tells Dick, Tim, and Alfred that "Plain and simple. We're family. There is no one else in the world I trust and respect more. No one," you believe him. Just to have him say it to them was a treat.

I also liked how Dick decided he needs to know more about New York, so he does some research, at the library of the Museum of the City of New York. How cool is that? And Superman shows up at the end, telling Dick, "We need to talk." There is no more Nightwing needing to stand apart and on his own, with the rest of the Bat gang showing up as rare guest stars. This is Dick, comfortable in his skin and with the rest of his Bat family. I don't read the Batman titles or Robin, but I do like keeping Dick connected to them. So Tomasi gets high marks from me. This is a great start and I wish only that he'd gotten the book a few years earlier, right before Devin began her slide to the total mess she made out of the book would have been the right spot. And Rags Morales' pencils, with Michael Bair's inks are nice, even if Dick looks a bit different than usual. At least there are some nice male butt shots to keep me happy.

Oh, and the story is intriguing. Just so you know I noticed more than the art and the Bat family.

Countdown to Final Crisis 16
Having read the Dan Didio interview in the latest issue of Comic Shop News about how everything's been building up to planned events, culminating in Final Crisis and bringing the DCU into the next years to 2011, and how they realized they'd started too slowly with this while trying to keep pace with the regular monthlies that were coordinating and how they made a mid-course correction, I've got to say, it worked. The last couple of issues have been emotionally gut-wrenching. Jimmy as a soul catcher. Jimmy's eyes bugging out of his head as he stares at a naked Forager. Donna vs. Donna?! The Monitors in a mess. But the best part, the part that made me finally feel something for Jason, was Earth 51's Batman capturing him and threatening to kill him unless he confesses to being a villain disguised as Jason who on that Earth is still dead. Now I can't wait for next week.

Teen Titans Lost Annual 1, Guest-starring Pres. John F. Kennedy
I can't decide what I think about this. I waited a long time for them to release this. And now I wish they hadn't, and not because JFK is in it. In fact, having him off-planet while a shapeshifter, who'd taken his place is killed by Oswald was the best part of the book. So that's what was really covered up. Not a conspiracy about the killer, but the fact that the autopsy revealed JFK was an alien!

Seriously, I know the book used to have some loopy plots, but the whole bit of them being able to locate the planet where JFK was taken (Robin had been in the White House the night it had happened and his shielded costume must've protected him from being frozen for a while during the abduction), then being able to travel there and back via a convenient device in their HQ called a Galacti-Porter. I won't get into the rest of the plot. It's beyond silly. Haney really outdid himself with this. Nick Cardy's cover is nice as are the pages from his sketchbook. But the art by Jay Stephens and Mike Allred, no doubt trying to capture the feel of the '60s, just made it more obvious what an anachronism this is, and how silly. I really wanted to like this, but sometimes, you really can't go back to the past.

And now, the winner of the week (and yeah, I'm surprised, too), Green Arrow and Black Canary 4
A lot of thoughts are still running through my head about this as I haven't quite finished digesting it. Chiang's art was nothing short of amazing in how much emotion he captured in everyone's faces without having the detailed realism of someone like Rags Morales. I can't do a proper review of this, so I'll just make comments about things that struck me.

Ollie's calling for Clark was so perfect, in the why don't other heroes do this more often. And Clark, hearing the fear in Ollie's voice, flies in to get Connor to the hospital.

The title: Please Play Where Daddy Can See You. This set the tone for what the book was about. Fathers and sons. This was a character piece. I suppose next issue, we'll get back to the plot, to the nasty reason for Connor's shooting and the hunt for who's behind it.

Chiang draws a spectacular Wonder Woman. Sexy but not oversexed. Perfect.

The entire JLA, or most of them, at the hospital. And Ollie angry and freaking out. But unlike when Roy was shot and he goes off with the Outsiders to get the baddies who did that to Roy, Ollie stays in the hospital with his family to await the outcome of Connor's surgery.

Hal coming to use his ring power to help heal Connor. Awesome, just like Superman flying Connor to the hospital in the first place.

Batman lurking in the stairwell, telling Diana his presence wouldn't help Ollie and when she disagrees, he says, "that's because you've never lost a son." Wow.

But the bits that are rattling around in my head are from the scene in the waiting room with Ollie, Dinah, Mia, and Roy. Judd Winick has taken a lot of flak for his writing over the years, some deserved, some not, but this time, he nailed it. The understanding that Ollie and Dinah have of each other. How can anyone doubt their love or that they belong together after reading this?

Ollie confessing that he always knew about Connor, then lied that he didn't, even lying by "pretending to be surprised" when he discovered he was Connor's father. Ollie's admitted before that he has guilt about abandoning Roy and not being good with commitment, but this was a full confession. And Dinah tries to help.

And I couldn't help but think about the time Roy had been shot (and had almost died) and wondering if he was thinking about that, wondering if Ollie had been this upset, or worse, if he hadn't been.

Ollie saying he once tried to find Connor, but stopped after he met Roy. And the look on Roy's face, pain that maybe he was partly at fault for Ollie no longer looking for his real son because he had found another.

Mia telling Ollie that Connor had known the truth for years because his mother had told him, and that he'd forgiven Ollie for knowing and for lying about it.

Hal healing the wounds, but not before the toxin he discovered had been on the bullets had spread to Connor's brain, leaving him brain dead.

The last page will stay with me a long time, Ollie with an inert Connor, telling him "Daddy's right here."

This was Ollie stripped of his smart ass self-righteousness and the facade he puts up to protect his feelings. This was Ollie with emotions as raw as when he'd first become GA as per Green Arrow Year One. This was Ollie broken down to his core, reminding me why I love him. Roy is the main character for me, but without Ollie, there would be no Roy there. Ollie might have been written poorly over the years by some writers, but the ones who get him, write him stories like this.

I'm Annoyed

Actually, I'm pissed, but that looked too weird in the title spot. And the cause of it all is Judd "What the hell does he think he's doing?" Winick.

For the record, I still don't have a problem with the Wedding Special. And like Sally, I can rationalize and/or forgive a lot. My suspension of disbelief is great. I'm a reader who happily falls into a story and the writer has to push me out. No need to coax me in. I'm there, baby. Which is why things I've been reading about JW are all the more troubling. I am starting to feel betrayed.

According to Sally, in an interview I think I won't be reading in deference to my blood pressure (which is normal and I'd like to keep it there), Winick actually planned to kill Dinah, before settling on Ollie. Up to this point, I was readily accepting that, as you regular readers will recall, Dinah couldn't take Ollie down any other way. A plot device to spur on the new series, to be sure, but okay, I was willing to play along. No more.

Because I'm getting the feeling Winick has told us two important things about himself. He's a jerk, and he thinks we're idiots.

...

Okay, I lied. I went and read the interview. And you know what? My blood pressure is still normal. I just can't figure out what or whose side I am on this. The only thing I know for sure is that Winick's writing can't support his ideas. His execution, pardon any pun there, falls short of the goal line. It stinks, to be blunt.

Here's what he said:

"Yeah. We all came to the same conclusion around the same time, that it was going to be her, but it just became such a more interesting dynamic when it was Ollie who got it in the end. Ollie killing Black Canary and then hunting for the truth – there was something about it that didn’t feel right to me, and when Dan and Mike and I were talking, we came to the conclusion that we wanted Black Canary to carry the story forward from there. Dinah losing Ollie felt like a different kind of terrible than Ollie losing Dinah.

And I kind of wanted to start the book from Black Canary’s perspective, and this was the best way to do it. It wasn’t a small decision – it was just “are we going to get their by land or by sea?” Different things, but we decided to go by sea, instead of by land."

On the face of it, it's pro-Dinah. It makes it sound as if he wanted to use her, the female character, to move things forward, rather than the guy. That should be a good thing. But his execution, the way Ollie dies, hinders rather than helps the cause. Losing Ollie was one thing; killing him and doing it the way she did, is quite another. If she'd struck a blow to the side of his head and he died, that would've been more fitting. But there wouldn't have been blood that way.

So, I'm going to get and read GA/BC. I'll go along with this for now. And I'll be wishing a better writer was at the helm, because a better writer could've done something great with this story idea. Someone like Gail Simone, perhaps, if such a plot appealed to her. Or Will Pfeifer, if he wrote it in the style of his Catwoman stories and not his Amazons Attack story.

I don't have time to try this myself right now, but it could be an interesting meme. Given the background, what they (writer and editor and head honchos) hoped to accomplish, how would you have handled it?

Or better, how would you have started the new series? What kind of bang would you have used, instead of killing one half of the couple in question? It's something I'm going to be thinking about as I read the opening arc.

But I'm still peeved. Because I feel like I'm being played. And that's something I don't take kindly to. But you know, as bad as Winick might be as a writer, for me, he has never written anything as insipid as Jodi Picoult's arc on Wonder Woman.

More on the Wedding Special, Spoilers

Notintheface has an interesting idea re: Ollie's apparent brainwashing. Now, I didn't know about these hypos, or if I did, I completely forgot. *sigh* However, I'm not convinced it was Ollie, mostly because of the solicits for the upcoming Green Arrow/Black Canary series. Before seeing the Wedding Special, I'd thought that with Connor being the Green Arrow first seen in the new series, that meant that Ollie was missing. And that idea has stuck with me. However, I can see this going in any number of directions now.

I want to enjoy the new series. I've always liked Ollie and Dinah together, simply because in the right hands, they've always been fun as a couple, especially when they were arguing. Ollie is flawed, no doubt about it, and Dinah's one of the few women strong enough to put up with him without losing herself to him.

Judd Winick is not one of my favorite writers. He's got great ideas and is good with character. He's always shown an understanding for Ollie and Roy's relationship and he's done a nice job with Roy over the years, especially in The Outsiders. But too many times, the seams show. Too many times, you can see the plotting because what we get is plot convenience.

So, yeah, everyone who's pointed out (in too many blogs for me to go back and find the links) that Dinah could've taken Ollie down easier without needing to resort to an arrow through his neck has a valid argument, even if I can also see that Dinah wasn't mentally prepared, couldn't get proper leverage, and her instinct at that moment was to go for the kill. Would Ollie unconscious from a blow to his temple from her hand, for ex, been as dramatic as that arrow? I don't know. But we do know he's not getting up and walking around in GA/BC 1, and it's clear Judd wanted Ollie/? either dead or incapacitated for the start of the new series. Was that the only way to achieve it?

There are only so many writers out there and a lot of books these days. The top tier, the ones we as individuals wish could write all our favorite comics, are really not able to do that. And because of the need to use many writers, consistency, in characterization as much as background details, can get muddied quickly. Even editors, apparently, can't keep up. Or we wouldn't have had the minor errors Tony Bedard made in a recent BoP. It's the difference between a self-righteous Ollie as written by Denny O'Neill back in the day and the pompous ass written by many others after (not counting Mike Grell who did a good job with him). And a writer might work for us on one book or with one set of characters and not another. And we all get disappointed by different things.

The Wedding Special, until that final scene, was clearly meant to be funny, on an almost slapstick level. And so, we have Dinah freaking out trying to retrieve her ring and trying to knee Deathstroke in the balls even though she more likely would've ignored the ring to bring down the baddies and she knows Deathstroke well enough to know he protects that area of vulnerability. The thing is, the book made me laugh, and that's as much thanks to Amanda Connor's fun art as to what Judd Winick wrote. I really didn't think I was supposed to take the details too seriously, especially since, with so many writers and artists handling various aspects of the marriage storyline, all the pieces didn't line up, at least not as well as I would have liked.

We all have the little things we like to rant and complain about. I can do an entire rant on how long Roy's hair should be. And we all have expectations of some sort, I think. I know that Gail Simone has done such a fantastic job writing Dinah that anything anyone else writes simply pales in comparison. So while I'm looking forward to what Sean McKeever can do with her, I'm also a bit nervous.

Then again, I didn't think anyone could do justice to Catwoman after Ed Brubaker left the book, but Will Pfeifer proved me wrong. And yet, he wasn't nearly as good with the Amazons. Which just supports my premise that no matter how good a writer is, they won't appeal to everybody, at least not all the time, and a writer can be great with one book or character and not another.

I want GA/BC to succeed, but I suspect that even if I enjoy it, it won't be one of my top books each month. And that's okay, as long as it's enjoyable.

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.

Three Reviews

Birds of Prey 109
The first post-Gail Simone issue. It shows. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, but it lacked a certain something. Even the scenes with Babs and Dinah talking lacked their usual oomph. Sin and Barda were cute. And I liked Knockout and Scandal and appreciated the explanation of what's going on with the Secret Six. But there was a disjointed feel with the 2 separate storylines going. Gail handled that better, I think. But the big problem was the flat out error Babs makes when she say Ollie "fathered Connor with that ninja woman." Uh, no. Shado is not Connor's father and Dinah doesn't correct her, which lays the blame on the writer, Bedard, and the editor, Carlin. Yes, Ollie fathered a son with Shado, but Connor was born well before Ollie met Dinah, or Shado for that matter.

Green Arrow Year 1 4
This one also had me scratching my head a bit, going Huh? Now, I've been enjoying this reworking of Ollie's origin. The art's been nice, the story's been filled in with more detail and more character growth for Ollie, plus there's the nifty case he stumbles into with the opium trade and that brings me to the huh? moment. Because with all the retconning that's gone on, during the years I boycotted comics and since, one thing has remained constant. Roy got hooked on heroin while Ollie was off seeing the country with Hal, Ollie discovered this when he gets back (for a bit) and throws him out, after which Hal finds him and brings him to Dinah where he goes cold turkey. So, if Ollie now has the agony of his own withdrawal from opium in his background, is throwing Roy out his way of forcing Roy to go it alone the way he had to? Makes him an even colder bastard than previously because if Hal hadn't been troubled enough by the way Roy was talking to go look for him, who knows what would have happened to Roy. Unless, of course, they plan to do away with that, which would be a big mistake, in my not so humble opinion.

When you alter something in the past, even just to fill in details, that usually will affect more than that one character, but any or all other characters in that character's life. I wish writers and editors would take such ramifications into consideration when they run stories like this. I wish they'd ask the questions, starting with, "who/what else would this affect?" This one little bit in an otherwise excellent installment has ruined the series a bit for me. feh.

Countdown 36
So, Mary's gone off the deep end and someone's pushing. Mr. Action meets the JLA and Roy's body language was priceless. But Trickster and Piper are just too funny. They make a great duo. It's worth getting the book just for their banter.

Green Arrow Movie

Good discussion of the planned GA movie over on Pretty, Fizzy Paradise. Here are some of my comments there:

1. I don't watch Smallville, so have no idea who this guy is or what his Green Arrow/Ollie was like.

2. This could be either very good or really awful, depending on the script and director. There's just no way to know right now how this will end up.

3. I'm mostly trying to not think about it. I love Ollie, mostly from his O'Neill/Adams days, but I don't usually like him. I'm just too ambivalent about this right now.

I don't have problems with them doing their own thing with the character. Provided it serves the story and/or characters and the medium and enhances rather than detracts. The changes in the Birds of Prey tv show for example, made little sense. There was no reason to de-age Dinah. Another young character could've been used. That sort of thing becomes a distraction and when the writing mostly sucks, it becomes just one more negative in a long list.

Whereas a change that made sense was to change Wolverine's yellow spandex to a black outfit because Hugh Jackman in yellow on a giant movie screen would've been the distraction rather than a sexy Logan. Plus, Hugh Jackman isn't as beefy as Logan in the comics, so that was one change that came right from the start. What works in print rarely works as well on the screen especially a large screen.

Now it can be argued that you can get so far from the original material that it's hardly worth referring to the original. Why use Green Arrow at all if he won't BE Green Arrow, that sort of thing. But if it's well done and there's a sense of who and what GA is, then I'm fine with it.

I don't feel the need for a GA movie, in prison or not, but if it's made, I want it to be good because that might bring new readers to the comic. And if something's done, you want it done well. I'd like to say I'm reserving judgment or that I'm cautiously optimistic, but the truth is, I'm not thinking about it much, hardly at all. When it comes out, then I'll probably see it. And decide then if I think it should've been filmed.

A Tale of Two Reviews

This time, reviews of 2 OYL books I liked a lot pre-OYL and am not sure about them now.

Green Arrow 61
Ollie saying: "You'd think someone with my ego and love of pontificating would have sought out politics sooner." Well, he did, back in the '70s (was it really that long ago? sheesh), even if he didn't succeed at it. Perhaps it was retconned out. I hate that. I hate that I have all these memories and have to pick through them to figure out what's what. (I hate wrestling with my cordless mouse that might be dying a slow death, but that's another story.)

I wish I could figure out why I'm not enjoying this book more. I should be wondering why Ollie didn't die after being at death's door in the pre-OYL issue, but he was up and around in Infinite Crisis, which confused the heck out of me and I can't help wondering if that was a different version of Ollie who did die and now we have this version after the Earths merger. I should be wondering where his family is? Where Conner and Mia and Roy are. But unlike some books, mostly Catwoman and Birds of Prey which have sparked my curiosity, this has left me uninvolved. The cliffhanger ending was nicely done and there are plenty of nfity bits. We've learned that GA was out of action the past year and the exchange between re: the hired hit on Ollie ("No, I believe the torture is coming gratis." "Nice.") was fun, but things seem a bit forced and emotionally distant for some reason I can't put my finger on. I love Ollie, but right now, I don't really care about him.

Nightwing 119
Another character I'm having trouble getting emotional about, and he's another I have a long history with and a lot of affection for. Unless they were standing still so I could see how long each NW's hair was, I couldn't tell them apart which made the scenes with both of them difficult to follow. So, Dick had an injury, it seems, that kept him out of his NW costume, and seems hard up for money. That doesn't sound right. I seem to recall an inheritance or fund that had been set up for him. It wasn't that long ago, so did he go through most of it already? Being mistaken for a male model is a cliche setup and the whole tone of the book feels as off as the mob storyline with "Crutches" felt pre-OYL. And the whole "2 Nightwings" is already stale, even with the angle of Jason killing and Nightwing, ie Dick's rep, getting the blame.

I could get into an analysis of his attraction to a redheaded model who looks a bit like Babs, but I just don't care enough for it to matter. I don't recognize this Dick Grayson at all, though there are moments when the Dick I know peeks out. The story is basically interesting, but I have yet to find a reason to care.