Convergence week 8 (the final one!)

Man, I cannot believe I've managed to write about every single issue in this event.  I know some reviews have simply been 'I can't be arsed to write about this', but they are still words, about each and every comic.  Woo, go me, ect, ect.

Now to do the final week's batch.

Convergence: World's Finest 2
Not bad. The cartooning journalist is a high point, again.  Sir Justin is alright, but I prefer Sir Ystin from Paul Cornell's Demon Knights.  At least these guys are all heroes, acting heroically.  There's a couple of panels with Telos' giant hands too, which makes for a fun read,  Probably not a keeper though.
The We are Robin preview was dull.

Convergence: Justice Society of America 2
Also not bad.  The JSA are young again with all their powers, and easily defeat the enemy.  Then they lose their powers and get old again, giving us this panel:

This is not good art, because although the guys look marginally different (if you really look) you cannot tell who is who.

It's a shame, because the comic also has this crowd scene, which is a marvellous piece of comic art:

It was nice to see the old guys up and at it again, but I'm not sure whether this issue is worth keeping/  I def preferred Hawkman in the Convergence: Hawkman issues.

The preview is for Superman/Wonder Woman and it is violent and dull.  Supes looks rather like pre 52 Conner Kent and tells Diana he doesn't love her anymore.  I'm still not interested in this Truth storyline, despite Anj's praises for the first Greg Pak penned issue.  Sorry Anj, I'm just a cynic! Wondy has nice armour though.

Convergence: Action Comics 2
This was good, with a great Amanda Conner cover:

Seriously, how great is that?  Doesn't Peej look angry?  I love it.  Especially the stars around their feet. It's just really, really nicely designed.

The issue itself is also very strong.  Earth 2 (?) Peej (Kara) and Superman are fighting the Red Son universe Wonder Woman.  Lex Luthor is still bitter.  The characterisation for the Red Son characters are accurate and the two worlds are slotted together really nicely.  I really, really enjoyed this.  Keeper, obvs.

The back up preview is for Sinestro.  I flicked through it but didn't read it properly.

Convergence: Infinity Inc 2
The characters and setting for this comic feel so dated, yet I found myself enjoying it.  I'm not sure why, looking at the cover I can't quite recall what happened in it.  On reopening it I enjoy the sense of familiarity at the characters used, but it doesn't fill me with excitement.  Probably not a keeper then.

The backup is for Batgirl, which I'm already getting.  I didn't like the video game conceit of this preview, tho the art and plotting is good enough.

Convergence: Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters 2
I'm still not understanding why Plas is with the Freedom Fighters.  But it reminds me that I did see this great Plastic Lady cosplay online today.
The Freedom Fighters look ridiculous, but that's not really what this comic is about.  It's about Plas stepping up and being a hero.  That makes this worth keeping, I think.

The backup preview is Harley Quinn.  Every month I enjoy the Harley comic, but I feel no affinity to it and no desire to keep it.  I pass it  on to a friend.  I cannot quite understand why it's so popular.

Convergence: Detective Comics 2
Earth 2 Huntress and Robin are up against Red Son Superman.  Supes doesn't want to fight but Huntress is all fists first, talk later.  Red Son Batman comes to their aid.  Like Action Comics, the characterisation of the Red Son Characters are spot on.  The art (and cover) is partly by Bill Sinkiewicz and it's wonderful. Def a keeper.

The preview is for the Flash, drawn by Brett Booth and it is ugly to look at.

Convergence: Booster Gold 2
I've lost track of which Booster this is.  Nevertheless, it's a fun issue until Booster turns into Waverider, which to my mind makes him far more serious with more gravitas than Booster should ever be given.  And the character design is stupid.  I'm going to keep the issue though.  The back up is for Earth 2: Society, with this terrible piece of Peej art:

I tweeted the picture and Escher Girls picked it up and will post it.  It's awful, in all sorts of ways.

Convergence: Crime Syndicate 2
I liked issue 1 far more than this.  This is mostly fights, coloured in a washed out palette that I can't decide if I like or not.  The Crime Syndicate are fighting Justice League Alpha, a future league from the 853rd century.  The character designs of Alpha WW and Alpha Aquaman are nice.  Alpha WW is the only left standing at the end of the issue.  I don't really care for this, it's uninspired, there's not passion.

The preview is for Cyborg and it's very new 52 ish.  Dull.

Convergence: Shazam 2
This comic is great.  It's homely.  It's like a bit warm hug, with thrills.  If you like Captain Marvel you should read it.

The preview is for Constantine, and although I don't know a lot about Constantine, I don't think the creators got his characters right.  I shan't be picking this up.

Convergence: Blue Beetle 2
I'm still baffled as to why Beetle is teaming up with Cap'n Shinypants and the Question.  They are fighting the Legion and there's misunderstandings galore and it looks like it's all going to pot, until Beetle and a Legionnaire hatch a plan and fool Telos into thinking one side has won.  Unlike the Crime Syndicate issue, this comic, full of costumed folk fighting, had soul in it.  Really good and definitely a keeper.

The preview was for Black Canary with art by Annie Wu.  It looks very nice, but it doesn't feel like 'my' Canary.  I've ordered issue 1 anyway.  I think this series won't last that long and if I don't get it I'll regret it.

Convergence 8
I did have a a lot of thoughts on this, mostly around the what the hell is happening variety, but it's been about 2 weeks since I read it and now I don't think I care.  I do like the choice of characters on the cover - Hal, pre Crisis Kara, Barry Allen, pre 52 Supes, Lois and son.  I think what has happened is that the first crisis may not have panned out the way we knew, Barry and Kara may still be alive, Clark, Lois and son are certainly alive somewhere, and Hal maybe didn't die.  All the earths referenced in Convergence and Multiversity are still around, or most of them anyway, and have continued to exist from when their relative timelines were last referenced in Convergence or Multiversity.  DC have said Convergence opens the doors for any and all stories to be told, continuity be hanged.  I don't think I'm really fussed about what happened. This is a dull story told with very little affection or love, but it did give us some cracking 2 issue minis.

LSCC 2014: Cosplay

As promised, here are all the cosplay photos I got:

 

 

 

 

And then there was me.

No wonder no one wanted to take my picture. Sigh.  I'll never be one of the cool kids.

Here are links to other people's photo albums:

401 Photography - on facebook.
Holloh - on flickr.
Poisoned Pirate - on Sta.sh.
A Mystique - on twitter.

Comic reviews

Over the last two weeks I have read X-Men 10, Forever Evil 5, Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion 5, Green Lantern/Red Lantern 28 and World's Finest Annual 1.
Spoilers after the break.

Other guest posts I have written

So, in addition to my lists of posts for Prism Comics, I thought I would also store links to my other guest blogging spots (not that there's many of them).  So far I have three and a couple of bits!

Inked - On Piercings: A guest post I did for Female Impersonator, talking about my rationale, motivations and feelings towarsd my body piercings.

The Most Memorable Moments in DC History for Women: Nominee #19.  Wherein I talk about the amazingness of Huntress, especially around the moment where Joker shot her in the stomach in No Mans Land.  Written for the DC Women Kicking Ass tumblr.

The myth of the 28 day cycle for The F Word, the premier site for UK feminism, I'm quite pleased about this one :)

My experience of slimming clubs for The F Word.  I feel like I've made it as a feminist when I get to write for them.

I also contributed commentary for a couple of posts on the DC Women Kicking Ass tumblr, on the topics of the best for DC women in 2011, and the worst for DC women in 2011.

Superkiss?

Hell I''d be surprised too!

Clark looks like he's enjoying it a little too much.  Lois won't be pleased.

From JLA 37, vol 3.

Extra special daily post: the Huntress edition

Hey y'all, do you remember a few days ago I posted about a series the DC Women Kicking Ass tumblr is doing, on memorable moments for DC heroines?  Well, I wrote a guest post on Helen Bertinelli - the Huntress.  The specific moment was in No Mans Land where she stares down the Joker after being shot by him.  You can go read it here.

Many thanks to DCWKA for inviting me to do a guest post, I'm honoured and more than a little humbled to be included amongst the other writers who are contributing pieces.

No Mans Land - Huntress

So, I keep seeing talk about how Huntress got shot in the stomach.  This usually is in reference to the stupidity of her bare torso'd costume (btw if you do go look at the post that picture came from you'll find it's a list of the 8 sluttiest superheroes.  Yeah, nice.  For some reason Black Canary is included.  Yes, I think we can ignore that site.).  Anyway people argue that Huntress shouldn't wear that daft costume cos she got shot in the belly once - she'd want kevlar to protect herself, surely.  (My argument against it is that it looks ridiculous, she'll be cold, and why would she want to flash some skin when she's not superpowered and is fighting crime mostly at night).

Anyway, guess where she got shot in the stomach?  It's No Mans Land!  Here's some scans from when it happened.  It's starts here:

She is protecting children in a building.  She is the only one there to protect them.

She's now been shot.  It looks like this might be the end.  I like the above panel a lot.  She's not weepy or scared, she's defiantly looking up at her attacker, almost daring him to go through with it.

Skip to the next issue:

Then, if I recall correctly, the cavalry arrives.  Or at least Nightwing does, and he takes her to the only hospital in NML.

 I never knew Dick cared so much.  This is cemented by this next page:

And that's why Huntress needs a full kevlar suit.  Dick and Helena should get together again.


Psssst. There's a poll on this here site.

Cry for Justice #2: not sexist at all, actually

Wow, WFA already has 4 posts about this issue up. May as well add to the debate then.
View the page in question here.

I don't see how Hal having a 3some with Zinda and Helena is sexist. They're adults, it's pretty well established that Hal hits on women a lot and I don't think it's too out of character for Helena or Zinda to have a one night stand. *Maybe* that's because I don't think one night stands are bad or morally wrong, unlike most everyone else I know. Having sex, not a bad thing ok? Anyway, from what I've read of both Zinda and Helena, they both seem like they like sex and booze. Having Helena have another one night stand does not make her a slut. While we're on it, The use of the word slut? Really derogatory and disrespectful.

I have a lot of issues with some comments in the CBR page that I linked to above. So lets go through them.

After storming out on a JLA meeting, Ollie thinks that Hal needs to confess a threeway? How does that make any sense?
How about because they're friends, they're used to ribbing each other and they've been waiting on the rooftop for a while so their anger has probably abated?

This throwaway line of dialogue adds nothing to the story, except making Hal seem like he uses alcohol to get laid.
Yes, he probably does. What's your point?

It also paints Blackhawk and Huntress in a very negative light; they never had serious romantic relations with anyone during a lengthy run of a team comic, but a bottle of grappa gets them naked together?
You'll only think that's portraying them in a negative light if you think casual sex is bad. Consenting adults + sex generally equals fun. And yes I do think you can consent whilst drunk. I don't like the commenter's insinuation that the women have to be duped, tricked or made drunk. For all they know it could have been Zinda or Helena's idea. But oh look, that would give the women some sort of agency over their sex lives wouldn't it? I get the impression the commenter doesn't think they would ever willingly have casual sex. I disagree.
Vehemently.

They go from being professional teammates and friends to some fantasy groupies.
Erm, no. Having a one night stand with Hal and each other does not stop them being professional teammates. People sleep with folks they work with all the time, it doesn't stop them doing their job. I also don't see how sleeping with Hal makes them groupies - that term intimates that the night was all about Hal. I betcha both Zinda and Helena enjoyed the shag too. And a 3some doesn't mean they got down with each other either. Even if they did, so what?

With one line you did a good job at tearing down years of progressive writing by Simone.
By giving the characters a sex life? Get stuffed.

I think if Huntress was congratulating Black Canary on a threeway with Green Lantern and Green Arrow, fanboys would be up in arms.
They probably would be. But that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing that Hal had a 3some with Z and H. And of course Ollie congratulated him on it, he had a fun night! I congratulate my friends too if they have a fun night, that doesn't mean the other participants are being disrespected.

Gail Simone's comments:
I hate to see Huntress get branded as a slut again.
Who's branding her a slut? No one in the story is. If the readers then decide she's a slut, that's their issues.

Once again, this is all about the man
Only because it's a conversation between 2 men, talking about their experiences.

I really feel like most writers of mainstream comics get the sex thing all wrong over and over. It’s all wink wink nudge nudge and women as trophies and thumbs up
I really didn't feel that it read as women as trophies.

But it does feel weird that people can read bop and still come away with the impression that THAT Huntress and THAT Lady Blackhawk would get drunk and be someone’s sad Penthouse fantasy.
Now that's fair enough. That's an is out of character type comment. Well, Gail Simone wrote BoP, she'll know the characters, I haven't read all of BoP and I don't know the characters. But, in my knowledge of them, I can definitely see them both getting drunk and laid. I'd be surprised if Zinda and Helena actually shagged each other, given that Zinda's from the 40s and Helena hasn't revealed any lady loving tendencies, so far as I know. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't shag Hal.

So yeah, I liked this issue a lot, far better than #1. It's a bit of a shame that Kara's costume isn't longer in the torso area, but then again they changed her cape several times in Superman: WONK too. The rest of the issue was great.

I'm really surprised no one has commented yet on the text bit at the end of the issue - the bit about the Atom, and Jean Loring. If anything was gonna get called out for sexism that would be it, I'd have thought. Man, the writer, (Is it Robinson?) really hates Jean Loring doesn't he?

Man, looking back on those stories now, she [Loring] is a major pill. Yeah that's one thing me and Ray have in common. I was even married to a girl like that for a couple of weeks. (Boy was I relieved to learn that marriages in Bolivia aren't legal in the US.)
Dismissive. Rude. Playing for laughs. No idea if the marriage story is true or not, if it is, it's a rather ugly thing to say in your public place of work. If not, it seems an odd thing to put in.

After having to put up with what I was sure was a marriage of headaches for Ray (except in the bedroom, where I'm sure it was Jean who had the headaches)
So not only is she not a nice friendly compliant wife, she also won't put out? Oh noes, poor Ray, how will he cope. Hey guess what. Sex - not a right. Not happy with how much you're getting? Have a wank.

And then Jean returns to his life an even bigger nutjob than we realized, and kills poor Sue Dibny.
That's just a sentence filled with bile. We know that Loring wasn't all there, she had quite clearly gone to the dark side, but why all the hate?

I think it's pretty clear that the writer of the text piece doesn't like Jean Loring. I'm not suggesting that the writer hates all women. I do think the above pieces of text uses sexist and demeaning language.

Scenes that make you go brrr

So a while ago I was bleating on about uploading some scans. I finally managed to get the content of a pdf into a jpg - it turns out to be a surprisingly simple matter of cutting and pasting into paint. So I bring you what I conisder to be the best scene out of the Final Crisis books. Yes, possibly better than Bart coming back. Because I prefer the artist on this one. So, to put it in context, I first present the preceding page, from Final Crisis: Revelations.
(click to enlarge)


It is in itself fairly nifty. But it pales when compared ot the next page. Here is the scene which still gives me chills when I look at it:


Oh my. BAD ASS POWER WALK! That page is a thing of beauty. I hereby declare Renee the coolest most bad ass person in the DC Universe.

For my next pictures I present something a bit more cuddly and cheeky. They are two pages form the Terra mini, art by Amanda Connor, and feature Power Girl and Terra getting all slashy:



Cute, very cute. And very slashy.

Pre Christmas comic reviews

The new and the old.

Spoilers ahead for Buffy 20, Terra 4, Manhunter 37, DCU Holiday Special 2008, Christmas with the Superheroes #1 (1988) and #2 (1989), Supergirl 36, Hawk and Dove 6, JLE 7, 8 and 9.

So, first of all, the new stuff, bought the week before Christmas:
Supergirl #36
For some reason I really don’t like the cover on this. I don’t think she looks tense enough, there’s definition missing and not enough pain. I think the artist has tried really hard, but there’s just something missing that makes it not quite work for me.

But onto the issue. Kara sees her dad hurt and is (quite justifiably) overcome with a single mindedness and fury as she runs to her father’s side. Poor kid, she’s just got her folks back, her mother has turned out to be nuts and now her dad is fatally injured. Is she ever gonna feel like she has a space somewhere? I’m really curious as to how this New Krypton storyline is going to turn out. Given that we were granted a fabulous issue where Kara was given a secret identity which made all the fans squeal with delight, I’m really hoping they continue (back?) down that route. Now that her Dad is dead and her Mum is nuts she could quite conceivably refute all Kryptonian authority and go back to becoming Lana’s niece.

I am rather upset by the way that they killed off both Kal’s and Kara’s fathers. It’s a bit ridiculous. I also am completely unimpressed with yet another homage to the original Kara’s death in the first crisis. We’ve seen it used when Kon died, when Peter David’s pre crisis Kara died and now again when Zor-El dies. C’mon, the image is being robbed of it’s impact by overuse – it’s becoming too familiar and the sense of tragedy is lost.

I am very intrigued by this new Superwoman and have high hopes for her. I’m liking her costume too – the hooded cape is a nice touch.

Manhunter # 37
Oh I so did not understand this issue. After reading other blogger’s reviews I gather it must be set in the future as Kate’s son is all grown up (and gay now!), however Kate didn’t look like she’d aged at all. Do not understand.

Terra # 4
Doesn’t Power Girl look great on this cover? I found this kind of an unsatisfying end to the mini, but I suspect that viewpoint may change over time. I wasn’t blown away by the resolution of the crystal/diamond (?) guy’s sub plot. The evolution of the sub-terraneans seemed a bit shoehorned in and as much as I enjoyed Power Girl and Terra going shopping, I think the mini could have benefited from being extended by a few more issues and looking at all the different sub plots in more detail.

Of course this may be a ruse by my brain to justify wanting a permanent Terra series. She’s turning up next in Terror Titans so I’m rather pleased I’m already buying that mini. Rose and Terra in one book? That made my day.

Overall I think it is worth getting for the last half of the issue, because Terra trying on clothes and learning earth customs and Japanese food is very very funny.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 20
Cute. The cover is cute, the art is cute, the flashback to season 2 Buffy is cute. Portentous Giles is cute, Buffy’s forecasts are cute and her reunion with present day friends is cute. It’s cute.
Harmony is in the next issue, with what look like yappy little rat dogs. I suspect next issue will be annoying.

DCU Holiday special 2008
Oh my this had some cracking stories in.
Aquaman – Somewhere Beyond the Sea, written by Dan Didio and art by Ian Churchill, was wonderful. Arthur (or is he still calling himself Orin? I forget) saves a pregnant lady and her husband from a kraken and a pirate. It turns out we are reading a modern day reimagination of Mary and Joseph’s travels.
Batman – Good King Wenceslas, featured some beautiful art by Dustin Nguyen. This guy needs to be used more. The pencils and the colouring were magnificent.
Gotham City – A Day Without Sirens was a really good counterpart to the Aquaman one, the main message being that of hope. If you can provide the good cops of Gotham City and Batman with hope then you’ve cracked it. And it turned out to be down to Kara and Babs! Kara, you did a good thing. This was written by Joe Kelly. I like Joe Kelly.
Huntress in An Angel Told Me was also a favourite. It’s good to see Helena out of costume. I appreciate the lessons and politics that were slipped in - how child abuse cases can take forever to get through court and the disability awareness dialogue from Helena.
Teen Titans – The Night Before Christmas has some lovely colours, they really suit he Christmas theme and look like fairy lights going off on the page. It turns out that Cassie is taller than Tim. That makes sense, what with her being the daughter of Zeus and because I’ve always pictured Tim as a short (5ft 6 or 8ish maybe?) slim guy. Bombshell is as stroppy as always, Eddie is central to the story and M’Gann turns up! I love that Cassie’s jacket matches her new costume and Tim namechecks all those people close to him who he’s lost, and includes Bart.

JLA - Party Animal. The point of a Secret Santa is that the gift buyer remains secret. Vixen doesn’t appear to know this.

Christmas with the Super Heroes #1 (1988)
Great secret presents for Ollie and Dick there.
I got this and the 1989 one from a friend who’s selling off his old comics. So I read both on Christmas day to keep in the festive spirit. I enjoyed this issue, sometimes in a pained way (Superman being rescued from certain death in the North Pole by Santa’s elves for instance, or the Legion of Superheroes story which was just corny as), but overall it was an innocent light hearted read.
It was also nice to see that 2008’s A Night Without Sirens wasn’t the first time Gotham had quit crime for a whole night. In this issue’s story, titled the Silent Night of the Batman, Batman is called to the police station for Commissioner Gordon thinks that ‘Christmas Eve is not a night to be out patrolling – (instead) Tis the season to be Jolly!’
Batman shows deep scepticism but is nonetheless persuaded to join the Gotham PD’s carol singing efforts for the night. Spliced between panels of Bats singing Jingle Bells, We 3 Kings of Orient Are and Santa Claus is coming to town we see that the petty criminals of Gotham are not so much overcome by the spirit of Christmas joy, as overcome by the spirit of Batman.
Some kids steal a lady’s newly bought presents, open them, find a Batman doll in and are moved to return the toy to her.
A tired looking man with a gun stumbles onto a Batman lookalike, but the lookalike turns round and we see he’s actually collecting for the Wayne Foundation Christmas Drive for the Blind. While dressed as Batman. With a Santa beard.
Lastly, we see a lady who is missing her husband so much, (he’s serving in the armed forces abroad), that she goes to possibly jump off a bridge. Until she sees a batman shaped shadow in the water. She hears a noise, turns round, and her husband has arrived back in a truck! What are the chances eh?
Back at Gotham PD, a ghostly representation of Gordon’s face asks Bats ‘But what is the Christmas spirit Batman -- Might it not be..you..or I?
I guess the theme of this one is not so much hope but fear. Less uplifting.

Christmas with the Super Heroes #2 (1989)
Man, that is one ugly cover. What the hell is wrong with Batman's cowl and Wonder Woman's..well just her really?
This one was better than #1, and a lot less odd. The first story, Ex-Machina, is a Superman one. A man’s car has broken down on the motorway (freeway?). 30 cars have gone past without stopping, it’s snowing heavily and the guy is freezing. He’s just about to give up and shoot himself when Supes turns up and thaws out the guy and his car. There follows a discussion about what the guy has to live for and why there is generally another explanation for people’s actions. Supes ends up directing him to Ma and Pa Kent’s place where they will put him up for Christmas. This was inspiring.
The Batman and Robins story was about the heroes growing up, finding their place amongst the darkness and the light and their relationship with each other and with Alfred. Very good.
The Wonder Woman story had Diana staying with a family for Christmas, who also had another friend, Sharon, staying. Sharon is Christian, Diana and Sharon compared theology and the similarities between their chosen paths. Sharon ends up comforted and resolves her crisis of faith.
The GL/Flash story was fun, if nonsensical. It featured Barry and Hal showing a depressed guy that Santa existed. They did this by dressing the guy up as Santa and having him deliver gifts to kids and do good deeds. Odd.
The last story was a Deadman one, where he slips into one man’s body and nearly stays in this body for the whole of the festivities, until he realises it’s unethical. Thing is, Deadman feels utterly alone. He has no one, and he just wanted to feel part of something again.

The Hawk and Dove and JLE books were fun, as you’d expect. But I’m out of energy and can’t be arsed to review them now. I will be reading the whole JLE run at some point though and I’m sure I’ll be gabbling enough then.

Comics frenzy!

Yup. It's been a comics frenzy. God I've read so much recently.

Spoilers ahoy.

JLElite mini - re-read this after I finished Batgirl. Really really good. I got a lot more out of it now I know more backstory etc.

Trinity - still reading it, but am no longer offended. I don't really care either way to be honest so I can probably drop it soon.

Joker's asylum - Scarecrow and Two Face - Ooh yeah, I really really enjoyed both of these! I didn't know much about the character's before but now I'm really intrigued.

Two Face year 1 - issue 1. I also really enjoyed this. Bought it from a shop in Romford with a very chatty sales guy, who gave me a discount and also pointed out his sexy corner!*

Huntress number 6 - Wonderful. :) Although the last panel was corny. I shall enjoy the whole mini in sequence soon.

Manhunter 33 - I don't like the art on this. I can see why people like it, but I like my art glossy, and this isn't. The plot and everything else is good though, so I shall keep getting it.

Supergirl 32 - Oh Kara, you've matured! Love the older her costumer. And poise. She makes the right decision, she felt like her own person, finally. Not like a supporting cast member. And Empress is in the next issue! I like Empress, a lot, I still think her powers etc are a bit dubious, but she is great.

Buffy 17 - Not as exciting as I had hoped :/ And I'm quite frankly shocked to see Willow turn to the dark side again. I'd assumed it was Drusilla leading the way. Nice of them not to put a Buffy upskirt shot on the cover.
I'm on Buffy season 3 at the mo, and by god the main cast's attitude towards Faith is irritating. So she has sex, she dresses like a 'bad girl', get over it! I realise this is a fairly accurate portrayal of some teenagers attitudes, but it's so hypocritical. You just know that Willow is the same between the sheets (As evidence I submit to you Evil vampire Willow and her later more open relationship with Tara) and Buffy has a wild streak in her (Spike sex), yet they pretend to be so bloody puritan and innocent. Grrr. I've never understood people like that. It's ok to say you like sex! It's not a character failing! *Gnashes teeth*

Robin 176 - I only bought this cos it's Spoiler. I cannot start buying all the bat titles, I don't have the room or the money. Must. Not. Buy.

Superman/Batman 50 - Aww I love this title! So far I've been buying the trades but decided to sue this issue as a jumping on point. It's great! I love seeing the two of them interact, light and dark and all that. :) And the fathers meeting retcon pleases me too, I like the concept of fate in my books.

Final Crisis 1-3. I wasn't gonna buy in. I wasn't'. I'd bought Rogues Revenge but that's because I'd just finished the Flash and I'm narked that they killed Bart off. But then I saw that gorgeous Supergirl cover. And remembered it was written by Grant Morrison. So i caved. And it's pretty darn good! I'll need to re read it to get it all to sink in - I was a bit stressed on first reading - but yeah I'm impressed. Here's that Supergirl cover:

Isn't it beautiful?

And finally I'm reading JSA 16, annual and 17. For this I blame Heidi Meeley! And the Alex Ross cover. And the Power Girl theme. I didn't like the inside art that much - it felt very static, and some was just poorly done, but the story of a God coming to earth, healing everyones pains, that's the kind of thing I'm a sucker for. And as Heidi says, it is all going to go to hell in a handbasket. The other reason why I like these sorts of stories.

And I still haven't talked about Babs giving Cassandra that teeny weeny bikini in Batgirl yet. Really it's more a piece of string than a bikini. Babs would never do that to a vulnerable girl like Cass. Babs knows she isn't ready or used to male attention and she knows exactly what will happen. In short, Babs doesn't need Cass to look hawt. Babs also understands you can look hawt while wearing more than two very tiny circles and some string. The same plot point could have been demonstrated with Cass wearing a swimsuit.

*gnashes teeth*

*Where the Grimms Fairy Tales and Witchblade stuff was! get your mind out the gutter!

Buffy Kara and Huntress win, Superman dickishness, and Titans confusion

I'm rubbish at thinking up titles. Maybe something will come to me after I've written this.
Feels like it's been ages since i've put anything up here. And since I now have real life friends knowing where this is located I'm feeling kinda embaressed again at having a blog.. umm..I think I should just get on with it.
On with the comic news! Real life news makes me too angry to write about. I've had stuff going around my head but I just want to relax now and I can't do that if I think about real life stuff. So, to the comics!

Manhunter 31. Hurrah it's back! And I've got a sneaky suspicion I missed number 32, damn. Anyway. It's goood. The art, i'm not decided on. It's different to my normal fare, but I think that's good. It's definitley not tits and ass everywhere, which I shoudl be very thankful for. the story? Well the fuirst part is reintroducing Kate Spencer to us. Then she deals with a really lame Atomic Skull. Then it shifts to where the next story arc is really going, the US?Mexico border. Real life story. For about 10 years someone or a group of people have been killing women in the area. usually mexican women, presumably travelling across ther border to work. 400 have been killed and the authorities are doing fuck all about it. Look up Ciudad Juarez.
So yeah, the comic is covering this. Kudos to the writers, and double kudos points for calling it a femicide and being explicit about the fact that's it's women getting killed because they're women.

Teen Titans 60. You bastards. You've gone and taken Rose off the team and now I'm gonna be buying terror Titans which will undoubtedly be shit. Rose belongs in the Titans, please don't let this be a permanent removal. Also, Eddie and Rose need to be a couple. That panel with Eddie skipping? Made of win.

Superman 677. Really not remembering a lot from this. Renato Guedes art is always great - there's pants covering the whole bum for a start. Just flicked it open and of course, Krypto! Although, Superman saying 'man'? He says golly, he's not cool and trendy!

Huntress 3 and 4. Number 3 bored me. Number 4 didn't. This mini is so wonderful. And a cameo by Barbara Gordon! Helena is so focused. So dedicated. Next issue will be good. Face off between Bruce and Helena.

Supergirl 31. The art is rubbish. Bring back Guedes, or the Drew Johnson & Lee Ferguson tean. Their art was so simple, yet it worked so well. The story and plot was good though, although I am a sucker for Kara based introspection. I'm rather confused about how this all fits in with the plots of say 8 issues ago though. I think I need to re-read the later issues.
(Side note, what the fuck is up with the ambush bug/Dan DiDio thing though?)

Trinity is bloody rubbish. The covers are shockingly bad. The main plotline bores me, and I'm only vaguely interested in this Tarot lady. Plus, Superman is back to being a dick again. In issue 4 he appears to be telling Diana off, like she's a naughty 5 year old who's not obeying the rules. She's not respected or treated as an equal and this really gets my goat. In issue 5 he doesn't trust her fighting skills, ability or strength. Now, even if you want to ignore my fangirlish sense of entightelment I know I'm displaying, there's another problem with this. This series is meant to be showcasing the premier 3 superheroes in DC, how they work together, why they are important and what bond they share. And I'm not seeing that.
Also, I can't believe Diinah would cecede the fight so willingly to the 3 of them. She's not a rookie, she's hard as nails and can take on one hell of a lot.
Shame on you Kurt Busiek.

To end on a better note, Buffy 16. I am loving this season. Dawn's a centaur! A freakin' centaur! Kennedy's back and calling Buffy a homophobe, something I have always agreed with, and then there's FRAY! Am really trying hard not to jump up and down in excitement here, but I am so excited about this plotline! This issue in particular read just like the tv show.
Of which, I am up to season 3, episode 12, Helpless. I really really like this one. I have no incisive or cuttign edge commentray I'm afraid, I just liked it, a lot.
Oh and Allecto has another Joss post up. I haven't read it yet, but I probably will do. And maybe I'll respond again. If I get a spare minute.

I thought of a post title.

Friday's batch..

I got more comics. There's a surprise. Spoilers ahoy.


Huntress \2. Oh my god this is wonderful. Helena is brilliant. This story is where the tough women in comics are. This is the type of woman I want to read about and this is the art I want to see. The rape sub plot initially ground on my nerves, (as in: oh look we need to show a way to do something bad to a woman, I know let's rape her. Lets yet again show women they are in constant danger of being raped. Every single minute of every day, because they'll never be safe you know and we can't let them forget it).
Anyway. The reason I ended up being ok with this was due to the way it was resolved and the way in which Helena dealt with it. Also, it wasn't included as a threat to the protagonist and it did serve to show the power dynamics within the family. So not *entirely* gratuitous. And Helena is made of fiery ruthless steel. She is solid and tough. Cross her at your peril.

Batman Confidential \17. Part 1 of a 5 part story arc, doncha know. Oh win. Oh this was an utter joy to read. I love Babs as Batgirl and I loved this story. And I couldn't help but be impressed that both Babs and Selina had many different facial expressions through this. And none of them come hither and fuck me expressions (except for Selina in the club at the end but that was in context and very much appropriate). And Babs in the last shot? That was a muscular back. Not a waif or with impossibly proportioned hips and arse.
Cannot wait for the next one. Now if only Batman doesn't show up and spoil it all...

Teen Titans \59. Oh Rose is so going to destroy them. She's going to go through them like a whirlwind and they'll never know what happened. Did I mention how much I love Rose? She smokes, she drinks, she has casual sex, enjoys it and doesn't apologise for it, she doesn't apologise for who she is and she couldn't give a shit what other people think of her. My kind of hero. Next to her many other heroes appear to have a rather large stick up their arse (I'm looking at you Cassie and Tim).

All star Superman \11. Read 3 of these now. I don't like it. I figure it's meant to have a silver age feel but the dialogues horrible. I'm not buying this again.

Booster Gold \9. With the JLI reunion I expected more. I'll see how this pans out next issue. Of course, if every single persons topped using the adjective 'sweet' to describe Ice I might be happier. She can't be that nice she was with Guy after all.

I decided against buying the Robin/Spoiler issue. I'll think I'll just start getting the Robin trades.
I also picked up old Cloak and Dagger issues yesterday. Hurrah for finding a new shop selling old comics! I'm loving that team. I'll postulate on them at a later date.

I bought comics. I went splutterwhat???

The cause of this was Titans\2. What. the. Fuck. I realise that this is not a popular issue but I just thought I'd put my two cents in.
I thought the art was by Michael Turner, apparently it's by Joe Benitez. But don't worry,he's been to the Michael Turner school of art and adapted it by giving the ladeez reeeaallly big foreheads.
I really really wish I could find scans of the offending images. The first page is a tied up pair of boobs. OK so there is a head attached. It's still pornfacey. To my chagrin this didn't register as a problem until the boyfriend pointed it out, i'm so used to seeing these images.
Donna looks like a blow up doll. For some reason Raven goes to Trigon's realm and is naked apart from some strategic blue stripes, (which the dialogue acknowledges, but you know what's better still? giving her the damn cloak back).
My real spluttery moment was on page 11. Starfire is leaning over to talk to Cyborg but in such a way that when I first registered the image I thought she was all on fours looking like she was about to be spit roasted. On a second look she is actually leaning over to talk to Cyborg with her back at a 35 degree angle, to the rest of her back. And bum raised. And mouth in an 'O' of blow job. That's not pornface that porn everything.

I'm not buying this again until they get a decent artist. I shall borrow an Ami phrase *headdesk* (repeat till pass out)

The mutant shark going chomp was rather good though. And Starfire's comment about Donna's hair was pretty cute.

Green Arrow and Black Canary on the other hand was fucking awesome! OK so, I have a giant crush on these two. The cover is fantastic, I love the inside art and Mia and Dinah cooing over English bloke is sharp. And Ollie's moody respsone just made me laugh (in a good way). This is Judd Winick being good (anyone coming here from WFA will probably violently disagree with me on this *ducks and hides*)

Huntress yr 1 \1 was also made of much much win. No cheescake! No T&A! No gratuitous cleavage! No huge boobs (ok maybe one panel, but I'll let that go)! Win win win win WIN. Moody, dark, regal, gorgeous. This is what comics can be, give me more.