Introducing the New Pull List

It's a done deed. Went to Forbidden Planet and started my pull list over from scratch.

Returning titles:

• Lone Ranger
• Zorro
• Criminal
• The Unwritten
• Doc Savage (We think it's continuing, maybe.)
• The Spirit (We think it's continuing, maybe.)

New titles:

• Voodoo
• Grifter
• Batwoman
• Jennifer Blood
• The Shadow (upcoming)

I'll continue to get in trades:

• Scalped
• Air

Picked up exactly one comic today, Jennifer Blood 4. Got 2 of the new Doctor Who action figures, and picked up some trades to fill in where I had gaps. For some comics, I'm converting the monthlies to trades to save space and to be able to put them on shelves like books.

I was going to add some other DCnU books, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I might try a few first to see if I want to bother sticking with them. Batgirl 1 was sold out. I think I'm relieved. I know folks have liked it, judging by reviews I've seen on other blogs, but I can't think of Babs as Batgirl again. I've tried, but the older, more mature Babs as Oracle keeps getting in the way.

Ah well. was fun while it lasted. I'll be reviewing old DCU titles for a while longer. And I still haven't been able to get myself to read the last Detective. I'm not ready to say goodbye to Dick as Batman, damn it!

Dick Grayson Gets No Respect

Picked up this week's comics, vented at manager a bit about DC's upcoming reboot, we'll purge my pull list in September and start over. He said he was thinking about putting together a "If you like X, you might like Y" list for DC titles for folks like me looking for something else to read other than mainstream DC. I told him I'll buy more toys there with the money I won't be spending on comics.

Still trying to wrap my mind around this whole mess, especially when related to my favorite characters.

Babs/Oracle has probably been the most blogged about. I've lost track of most of the posts, but, many folks feel as I do, that losing Babs as Oracle and getting her out of the chair means DC loses something special. There was a Batgirl before Babs -- Betty Kane -- and when Babs became Batgirl, I didn't know why Betty couldn't have been given a better, bigger role, but Babs won me over. I liked that she was a librarian, which I became! But I think Steph Brown is my favorite Batgirl. But there's only one Oracle and Babs created that persona. She earned that special place in the DCU and come September, that will be gone.

But Babs isn't the only one being forced into a younger, less developed state. Think about poor Dick Grayson. With the character assassination done to poor Roy Harper (the only good from the reboot is that the damage done to Roy the last year or so will be undone, it seems, though I probably won't like what he'll be, either, in the new DCU), I refocused my comics character lust to Dick Grayson who'd been forced to play second to Roy in my heart. It's been clear for years that the PTB at DC don't like him. But finally, with Bruce supposedly dead, he got to become Batman, keeping the cowl warm til Bruce's return. And here's the thing...

If Dick had stayed Nightwing, I would be okay about him being Nightwing again in the reboot.
If Bruce had returned and Dick went back to being Nightwing, I would be okay about him being Nightwing again in the reboot.
But he did become Batman and Bruce did come back and let him stay on as Batman and coming up with the Batman Inc concept so there could be more than one Batman. Dick earned that cowl and he deserves to keep them.

So, two scenarios come to mind in the reboot: Dick goes back to being Nightwing, still a mature man in his 20s, very experienced, whether or not he's ever been Batman, and I'll get to read new Nightwing stories...
Or... Dick is Nightwing, having recently given up being Robin, and I'll have to read all over again about Dick finding his way on his own as this new hero called Nightwing. Sorry. Been there, done and read that. I want to read about a hero leaving his mentor and going out on his own, gaining experience, yadda yadda yadda, I'll find another character to read about.

The second option sucks. The first isn't much better because I preferred reading about Dick as Batman, mentoring Damian, than reading about Nightwing, a solitary hero with a mostly screwed up personal life because he keeps neglecting it to be a hero.

My LCS has a 5 title minimum for a pull list. So far, I've got:
The Lone Ranger
Zorro
Criminal
The Spirit (if it continues)
Doc Savage (if it continues)
Batwoman (because she's still new enough to the DCU to not be much affected by the reboot, I think/I hope)
At least, I've got the minimum covered, but a few extras, just in case, would be a good idea.

As for today's haul...
Nice ending on the BoP story (Birds of Prey 13), with a cameo appearance by Catman. I was happy to have something to read that isn't part of Flashpoint. Yet.

Batman and Robin 24 indicates this title will go out with a whimper, what with Jason Todd taking over, relegating Dick and Damian to guest roles in their own book. Have I mentioned how much I detest Jason? The main reason I don't want to read the coming title with Roy in it? Yeah, I figured I had.

Booster Gold 45 continues the Flashpoint storyline, which I've completely lost interest in now that the reboot's been announced. I guess this was okay. I felt pretty meh about it.

Considering My Pull List

Come September, I'm thinking it'll be something like this....

The Lone Ranger
Zorro
The Death of Zorro (I'm not sure when this wraps up.)
Criminal
Unwritten (if it continues)

Batwoman (She's fairly new, so except for some bumps if any other Bat characters show up and they're not what I expect/want, this should be fine.)

The Spirit (Assuming it'll still be published.)

It gets a bit murky at this point. There are some books I'm reading (well, accumulating for future reading) that I could get in monthlies and keep up that way, then buy the trades. These include, assuming they'll still be published:
Air
Scalped

Ummmmm.....

I'm taking a wait and see who the heck is behind the cowl with:
Batman
Detective
Batman and Robin
If it's not Dick Grayson, I won't be getting these. Similarly, I don't want to read about Babs as Batgirl. Been there, read that, decades ago and in a lot of stories. And Dick and Damian form the best Dynamic Duo. I like 'em even better than Bruce and Dick in the old days.

Batgirl... Again, keeping to my feelings about the Bat family, if not Steph, I'm not going to read it.

A Catwoman title? Well, that depends, too. If this version of Selina hasn't had a daughter she gave up, if she doesn't know Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are both Batman, if she hasn't been through all she's been through, if she reverts back to just being a cat burglar, than no, thanks.

Supergirl? Uh, not sure at all. Kara's gone through a lot thanks to Sterling Gates and she's become an awesome version of SG. I would hate hate hate to have her regress to an earlier version.
I don't read other Superman titles, so I doubt I'll start with any in September.

Legion of Super Heroes? What? Another reboot? Are they doing this? I have no clue what to do if this continues.

Green Lantern and Green Arrow? Well, again, it depends. GA has gotten boring, and to be honest, GL has gotten way too complicated for someone who reads only the GL book and not the other Lantern books. I'm thinking of dropping it.

Aquaman.... This holds appeal because I do like the character and he's been rebooted so many times, I actually lost track enough to not be bothered by another reboot. Plus, I didn't read all the versions and many of what I did read sucked. So, I might be enticed to try this.

Secret Six? Birds of Prey? I'm almost afraid to look at them after August. I'd hate to see them ruined. Is Secret Six even continuing? I did read about a new team on BoP and given the changes coming for Babs, this is definitely questionable for me.

Wonder Woman? Hell, I stopped reading it a year ago and I see no reason to start again in September. Ditto JLA and JSA which I stopped reading even before that. I am a bit intrigued by Mr. Terrific, but if no Checkmate and Sasha, then I don't think it'll make me happy.

Nothing else sounds interesting. I'm seriously going to have to look at independents. I don't like reading black and white pages, though. That's fine for 3-4 panel strips, but in a book, it's really tough for me at times to differentiate characters and read the dialogue and text because it all kinda blends in on me. So, I'll need to seek out some fun color comics. Any suggestions? And not Marvel. I've read various Marvel titles over the years, but I can't really get into the Marvel Universe.

The big thing that bugs me about this, because really, DC can do what it wants and I don't mind saving some money to spend on other things, is that there will be a lot of female lead books I won't be supporting, and they might be great, just simply things I don't want to read. And I feel bad about that. But DC clearly doesn't want me as a reader, so that's that.

Pull List

I updated my pull list in the sidebar. I felt bad removing WildCats and Manhunter and will happily add them back should they appear again. Though I'm having doubts. They had said Manhunter was uncanceled, again, but so far, not a word. And I'm thinking WildCats 2, nearly a year since issue 1 came out, is a lost cause. With Grifter/Midnighter finished, I'm gonna really miss Cole Cash.

Today's Haul

6Dec06 017
Originally uploaded by ShellyS.

A good week for comics, and action figures! Much as I like the current Huntress, Helena Wayne is THE Huntress in my mind.

So, how was your Wednesday?

Women Rule!

I think this is a first for me, or at least, I can't remember when I've had so many female-lead or female-heavy comics on my reading list.

Right now, on my pull list, are these "must-reads":

• Catwoman
• Birds of Prey
• Wonder Woman (Yes, based on one issue!)
• Manhunter (and I know I haven't put up reviews, but I've fallen behind on my reading it)
  
• JSA (includes female characters; JSA Classified, too, but it depends on which characters are featured for the story arc)
• 52 (which is giving female characters major roles)
  

I'm also reading Supergirl, but I'm not sure how long I'll stick with it. The other female-lead book is Hawkgirl, and I'm waiting for the end of the first arc to see if I like it. I don't think it's fair to judge it yet and I am enjoying how the story is unfolding.

Other comics I'm reading:

• Aquaman (a must-read)
• Checkmate (interesting, and has strong female characters)
• Nightwing (needs to get a complete makeover to keep me reading for much longer)
• Outsiders (I'm on the fence with this one, but it does have some strong female characters and the balance between males and females on the team is fairly even.)
• Blue Beetle (a male character, but fun)
  

I'm getting, but haven't read yet:

• Secret Six
• Shadowpact
• Painkiller Jane (only one issue so far and I haven't read it yet)

I'm looking forward to sampling the new Flash and JLA, too, plus the upcoming WildCats relaunch, which has had a good mix of male and female characters in past incarnations. I'm sure I'm missing some titles, but that's all I can think of right now.

I realized why I loved the non-super-powered Diana Prince of the '70s. She reminded me a lot of Modesty Blaise. Modesty had Willie Garvin; Diana had Patrick McGuire (I think I'm remembering his name right). And both Modesty and Diana were willing to muck it up, though Modesty and Willie were less concerned about the other side having survivors than Diana and Patrick. Still, much as I love super-powered characters, it's the human ones or the mostly human ones who catch my attention. I put Codename: Knockout in this category, too. Damn but I miss that comic, as much for its outrageous humor as for its action.

Dick Grayson and Roy Harper are both so human and yet they do the noble thing. I loved Superman, but I was more a Batman fan, like my mother (my father was the one who'd preferred Superman back in the early days). And except for Lois Lane, there wasn't really a non-powered female to interest me. So I focused on Supergirl who was at least close to my age. And the Legionnaires, who of course, had super-powers.

Picked up this. Okay, so Devin Grayson wrote it, but at least I'll be able to get a Roy Harper fix. And while she's far from the best writer, she's not bad and she did well by Roy and even Dick, as far as I'm concerned.

My Pull List

I'm slowly revising my pull list. I'll add new books as they come out and I determine that I like them enough to keep reading them. I stuck Aquaman on because I decided to read the last few before the reboot. I don't have much to say about the most recent issue except that I loved the art, though Aquaman looked younger now than in many of the flashbacks, and basically, I had no clue who Arthur's son is/was. I remember little Arthur, Jr. who died when he was still a toddler. And again, we have Garth having a daughter instead of a son, Cerdian (or whatever that weird name he was given was or was spelled). Clearly, a lot of changes were made since the last version of the series, which I did read regularly and which wasn't all that long ago.

More reviews tomorrow. I'm pooped/plum tuckered out/too tired right now.