Suicide Squad #2

Two pieces of prerequisite information. 1) I realize I am way behind in discussing some of these comics, and my plan is to not go trudging through them. You don't want to read my opinions on comics that came out a month ago, and I don't want to dedicate myself to religiously writing a post on each issue. All this to say, I typically wouldn't bother discussing Suicide Squad #2 since the book's immediate relevance has passed. 2) I am only writing about #2 now, because I actually only read it last night. I haven't been too thrilled about getting on to the second issue since I read the first, but last night I was waiting for dinner and I found it lost in my stack of comics. I don't read them all at once and so sometimes things can, by chance, simply be forgotten. Suicide Squad #2 is a case.

But I chose to write about Suicide Squad #2 because it is fucking terrible.

Now, #1 wasn't so great. It was predictable and fairly uninteresting. What it did well was 3 basic things. 1) The premise is good. Super villains as part of a team to handle covert operations that are morally grey. 2) Harley Quinn is in it. People like her for a reason, and it's beyond the titillation that began around Arkham Asylum. 3) The shark guy was awesome. He speaks like a crazy carnivorous cave person and he chomps shit right off.

But, while it has those three things down, it couldn't even manage to pull those 3 off without a caveat for each. 1') I'm not sure #1 actually communicates the comic's premise clearly or efficiently. It's not complex and so maybe that's why the first issue isn't complete nonsense. The cover could suffice to communicate the premise if you are familiar with any of the context surrounding the book. 2') Harley Quinn is awful. She is dressed like an inflatable clown fuck doll and has the character of one. She says weird things and got dumped by Joker. Not much of the intelligent, deranged, but strong female villain that people actually like. 3') There is simply not enough shark guy. The comic HONESTLY spends times on the other "characters" rather than just the shark guy a'chompin all day.

Never mind 3 in that list.

Okay, so let's finally (FINALLY) talk about #2. I got a lot of problems with this book, and now you're gonna hear about it!

1) Harley Quinn is still awful. She is a ditz with a hammer. She swoons about how she likes a man that takes charge. She spouts unfunny one liners. The way she is depicted as showing off her smarts is her saying, hey, I'm smart you know, I used to be a psychologist. Remember creative writing 101, the show don't tell thing?

2) I have been struggling to think of the word I want to use to describe the art. While somewhat pretentious, I feel like the word I want to use is uninspired. The art just looks so bleh. It is functional in that it forms shapes and colours that your brain can decode into some semblance of meaning, but never does it really go beyond that. There is almost an absence of joy or fun in the art. The crowds of deformed robot zombies attack the teen girl squad and they are just kind of a bore of mutated fleshy shapes. Much in the same way that Frankenstein's tableaux of monstrosity just fades into a generic blob of what your brain just reads as "threat". EXCITING!

Also, the cover is like the same as the month before, just the characters are reorganized. Issue #3 also looks the same. I swear this is a budget title.

3) So the super senshi are dropped out of a plane in the end of #1 and they're told to kill everything in the stadium. Wow, you say, are they really there to kill a stadium full of people? That is certainly morally complicated. That complexity, oh so thankfully, is simplified immediately when we find out the entire stadium is infected with robo-zombie-ness. So yeah, killing monsters is killing monsters. They'd kill the world? Yes. No chance to fix them? Not really up for debate when there is a stadium waiting to kill the world. Fine and simple, torch the whole damn thing.

4) And this one really irks me. This book is trying SO HARD for you to think it is earning that T+ rating. But it's like the pastor's wife dressing in a leather jacket and talking to you about the dangers of drugs. The sheer obvious effort exerted to be edgy just sucks any sort of genuine moral complexity right out of the book. At the end of the book, Deadshot shoots a dude that was tasked with shocking every dead body to make sure it was good 'n dead so that whatever organization they are working for (I can't remember) can use him as a cover story. Oh and the evil monster they fight is pregnant! And one of the members is constantly fighting with Deadshot about how everything he does is sooooo wrong. Whatever, go back to choir practice.

It comes down to this, Suicide Squad is just poorly written. The dialogue is stilted and the narrative is contrived and painfully transparent. Then, the art can't pull the excess weight because it is simply there to classify this book as a comic. Maybe if the writing wasn't so bad I wouldn't mind the lame artwork, and maybe if the artwork was stunning I would just ignore the text. But no, we get, I think, my least favourite comic of the new 52.

SAVING GRACE TIME: So they find the woman they are looking for and she has the package they need to secure. Of course she is the carrier and her child the package, but when they confront her she starts to transform into a super hideous tentacle robo-zombie. <ASIDE> Why always with tentacles? Are we all afraid, actually afraid, of Chthulu? Why not like claws and shit? Animal Man can make things creepy without tentacles. </ASIDE> So the team starts to fight the mass of tentacles and shit and one mean big tentacle grabs Harley. Then it's about to squeeze her to death when shark guy BITES THE MONSTER'S HEAD OFF, and then spits it out. PATOOIEE! I think all villains should be defeated this way. NOM NOM NOM. Hilarious.

Don't bother though. It's not worth it.

Batman #2 and #3

Remember: Batman #1 was okay. When I wrote about Batman initially I was a little underwhelmed with the mystery revealed at the end of the book. I thought it obvious that Nightwing didn't murder that guy.

And in #2 the evidence that Nightwing murdered the victim is hastily dismissed.

While this dismissal is a nice character moment that shows Nightwing's closeness with Batman and him acknowledging Batman's anal retentiveness about detective-ing, it also works to explain the trajectory of the series thus far since the first issue.

Batman #2 starts out with Bruce Wayne falling to his death, pushed by a highly skilled assassin, from a tower his grandfather constructed in the early days of Gotham. As like every other narrative does, the book then goes back to show how it all started. What it does differently than #1 though, is actually make me interested in what happens in the story.

Honestly, Batman #2 and #3 have me hooked. Apparently there has been a secret society in Gotham since its earliest days, known as the Owls or something, and they control Gotham. The details aren't clear yet obviously, but I'd expect the run of the mill control of the government, cops, and crime. That's how these things work. Didn't you see The Skulls 3!?

There is also this nursery rhyme in Gotham that warns about the Owls and scares young children, which Batman of course dismisses as just a nursery rhyme. But oh ho ho, when an assassin in an Owl costume throws him from the top floor of a tower, through unbreakable glass might I add, he changes his tune. I know I've been through the whole thing with the Jolly Rancher gang in my city. Watch out for Watermelon.

Oh yeah, Batman is a badass.

Batman #3 then has Batman all detectin' and shit, uncovering some information about these Owl people. Much of what he learns about them connects to various historical facets of Gotham City. While I am aware that Gotham is a fictional city, subject to the history that is conjured by the needs of a writer, it is somewhat interesting to have a threat tied so much to the history of a major city. Might be the humanities major in me, but these faux-historical connections ground the mystery in a sense of realism. Gotham is a place with history, and the society of Owls is bound and integral to that history. Indeed the act of solving this mystery is akin to historical research, recontextualizing the historical narrative of Gotham City. But with like dudes dressed as flying nocturnal animals and have bloody knife fights.

Oh yeah, they seem to want Bruce Wayne dead because of the new Gotham project that is meant to rejuvenate Gotham. So obviously they are an allegory for conservative politics. Har.

Batman #3 also has one of my favourite covers of the DCnU so far. It also is part of the white cover trend I've noticed. I'll keep you posted on this unreported conspiracy.

There's suddenly a lot I like about this series. It is well written for the most part, with jokes and good dialogue, the mystery is intriguing, and the threat palpable. Definitely a step up from the first book. I highly recommend.

What Happened

If you've noticed I haven't posted in a few weeks, you could possibly be correct. I haven't got bored of comics or writing about them though. My computer just died.

M was working on some homework and went to save a conference application when the computer just froze. I was still half asleep so I reassured her that the computer freezes all the time and it's no big deal, and that it would unfreeze in 2 or 3 minutes. Worse case scenario, I said, it will blue screen of death and you'll just have to restart it. That's like a 1 in 30 chance though.

It blue screened.

M restarted the computer like I had done plenty of times before and she encountered a problem: "No operating system found".

I guess my computer had a bit of an existential crisis and it just couldn't go on as things were. I did keep a good number of philosophical and literary theory articles on there, any combination of which could have easily broken one's soul. Be it a metaphorical computer soul or no.

So long story short, the computer works again. Works being a generous application of the word given the various other idiosyncrasies that plague the computer that lives beyond its time.I couldn't find my Windows 7 product key though, so I'm running Linux Mint, which has provided me with a whole new set of computer challenges. But the takeaway here is that the I have a computer again and I can resume posting.

Just in time too because tomorrow is release day. I have some lingering #2s to pick up and my first set of #3s. Aside from my computer being down it has been some busy times, so I'm looking forward to dropping another fiscally questionable amount of cash on a trip to the shop tomorrow, and then spending the next week catching up on how Superman and Batman have been doing. I bet it has been awkwardly sexual.

If I had to guess, you know.

Frankenstein #2

I know that's not the whole title but I think Shade as an acronym is silly. Getting that right out of the way.

Spoilers as well.

In my last post I heaped praise on Lemire's Animal Man #2 like potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner. Well, now I'm on a diet. Frankenstein is, um, not good.

Essentially: Frankenstein discovers a bunch of kids and that other kids apparently were used as sacrifices. Frank bitch slaps the priest across the cellar and then mutters a one-liner about his wrath not discriminating by age. Ho-hum.

Then the crew inside the church walks out into the street where they were just moments ago last issue, and suddenly the street is clear of monsters. Well, living monsters. The vampire and werewolf dudes are standing over a massacre of vaguely drawn monsters. Apparently, they cleared out what was a huge effin deal last month in no time. Maybe in the time between issues they were still killing all the monsters that had overrun the town. Whatever.

So Father Time has figured out where the monsters are coming from so they head over. He picks the fish lady as his companion to go see the portal under the lake. In some lackluster storytelling, fish lady jumps into the water and narrates some stock narration intro to the effect of "while I should have been thinking about the mission I could only remember blah blah blah."

She gives us her back story that includes a dead child (sad) and then the resulting work she's done for SHADE. The first monster-making project actually made monsters (whoda thunk) and so they have to ditch them into a different dimension (hm, sounds suspiciously familiar). Later she used actual human adults for the existing team test and so that is the genesis of the team (yay now I know).

Of course we find out more about the monster portal and that the town has been superstitiously sacrificing children to it, and that the monsters they already fought were scouts, and the rest of the planet is set to invade.

Someone then makes the stupidest conclusion ever that they need to take the fight to them as a result. Or, you know, you could figure out a way to close the fucking portal to an evil monster filled planet set on invading your own. But no, they pull some dimensional ship out of someone's ass then they head through.

Science scanners tell them the planet's surface is organic but when they get through it's full of monsters. Oh no! And Frankenstein's "wife" is standing atop a pile of these monsters and she quips "about time". And scene.

Now, I realize I summarized here and summary is not criticism, or so M keeps telling her students, but I wanted to go through the plot to point out how ridiculous this story is. I don't require a serious or lofty story, but I do want one that makes sense, and this story is a disaster.

Worse, it really does seem like those monsters that fish lady made in our shoehorned narrative flashback have a good shot at being the monster planet. Which would be super lame. And super convenient. And, worse, very poorly foreshadowed. I hope I'm wrong.

I also joked before about the vaguely drawn monsters, but the art in this book is a little underwhelming. Where Animal Man has a weird art style that compliments the genre it is working in, Frankenstein's art style just seems lazy and fails to illustrate this convoluted world they are constructing. This is a real campy series, and I dig the premise, but give me some details and consistency in the art. When characters are not in focus they are drawn like after thoughts, and the whole village/planet of monsters loses all impact because they look like a mass of monster masses. Nothing can be too scary or threatening because they just look like body shaped squiggles with some teeth and eyes. Save me.

So then my final complaint is one I wrote about in my impressions of Frankenstein #1, and that is Frankenstein's lack of character. This guy is supposed to be the main character of a series that is inherently campy. The werewolf dude makes a joke with Frankenstein and he's all like, hrrm, I don't have time for humour. Of course, by the end he does make a joke, and he says that he is learning to adapt. He better learn to adapt pretty damn quick and make that a defining characteristic, because a campy comic with a main character without a strong sense of irony is a comic that falls as flat as the last two issues. If you're going to rip off Hell Boy, at least rip off the reason people like Hell Boy.

I still like the mummy. If nothing else, they should make the comic about him. Cuuuurse...

Animal Man #2

Spoilers!

Before I began to read the new 52 I really didn't get the idea of a horror comic. My mind went to Tales from the Crypt, and then, obviously, to the Tales of the Crypt cartoon from my childhood. Not exactly the stuff of nightmares. I couldn't understand how a comic could be scary.

Then I read Animal Man and now I get it.

Animal Man isn't a scary per se, rather it's just kind of fucked up.

The last page reveal from #1 was a pretty haunting image. It made me begin to reconsider my conception of horror comics. Animal Man #2, however, completes the argument. I see how a comic work within the horror genre. It might not be nails into the chair suspenseful, but it is disturbing. And Animal Man is quite disturbing.

Where Animal Man #1 had a single horrifying depiction, #2 has long list or terrors.

• Feeding the skeleton cat milk because it is hungry.
• Maxine morphing the neighbour's arm into a chicken leg.
• The gigantic tumors on the hippos.
• Some monsters that appear to have open sores for skin.
• The possessed human forms with their swollen cheeks.

And this is without addressing the cover, which is pretty messed up in and of itself. A mass of fleshy gore with a single eye that doesn't stare at the fleeing Animal Man and Little Wing, but straight off the page at the reader.

Forget all the monsters and the possible evil that is entering the world, the most disturbing part of this issue is when Maxine turns the neighbour's arm into a chicken leg. While all the other things are also disturbing, their origins are in some form of threat or evil, presumably Sethe, but this incident is born out of a little girl's fear for her family. She sees this man hurting her brother and so she protects him--a perfectly reasonable and human reaction, but the manifestation of this aid is terrifying. And Maxine isn't disturbed by what she has done to him either. She has to be convinced to change his arm back.

Such horror coming from a place of innocence is truly unsettling, especially as it hints at the cruelty that is bound to that innocence.

Final thought for #2: at first I was a little put off by the art in Animal Man. Even when I was looking at preview pages I assumed they were still in draft form. The art style is not at all what I think of when I think comics and it really took me out of the first issue.

I have come to see, however, how this style really lends itself to the horror genre. It at once keeps "reality" surreal and the fantastical elements like the dream world or the deformations less obviously fantastical.

By destabilizing how we see the real world of the comic, we don't recognize the horrific elements as foreign to that world. Which is sort of creepy and impressive.

And that is what I love about Animal Man. Everything really does work together to create a whole. Instead of separate words and pictures, Animal Man seems to be intentionally constructed as a comic. Real darn impressive.

Also, did you notice when Maxine is gearing up for the journey she has glasses on that kind of look like the old Animal Man goggles? Nice touch, Little Wing.

Swamp Thing #2

Here be minor spoilers.

HOTT

Damn right Swamp Thing. I feel pretty positive about this book. The #1 had a distressing lack of Swamp Thing in the actual comic, but #2 starts strong and keeps Swamp Thing around for the bulk of the comic. So my first criteria was met.

You might remember that my first discussion of Swamp Thing #1 said that I thought this was to be a campy book, that Swamp Thing was a campy series. Well, I guess my assumptions were wrong because this seems like a pretty damn serious comic.

The comic uses the bulk of its pages for Swamp exposition. Swamp Thing prime talks to man Swamp Thing, Holland, and explains at length how Holland has to come back and become THE Swamp Thing again so that he might fight some age old evil. It is the expositional equivalent of that scene in The Great Outdoors with John Candy when he eats the giant steak. Like John Candy, I got it down, for the children

Since I don't know much about the Swamp Thing world, these pages of "you are the one true hero, Link!" actually help me get a grasp on what's going on in the comic. The exposition pairs well with the artwork, providing some good imagery to represent the rambling back story we're reading. The giant murderous flesh monster walking down main street is the image that sticks in my brain most.

Admittedly, I may get more out of this comic because I read Animal Man, and I can see and imagine how their stories are connected. I'm not sure how ol' Swampy #2 would stand on his own.

The back story that does come out through Holland and Swamp Thing prime's conversation hints at the brutal history of Holland as Swamp Thing. This is something that I know nothing about. I am confident I have read an origin Swamp Thing comic, written by Morrison, in which the Swamp Thing man is actually reborn as a plant. This seems to me the past that is referenced. I might have to do a little research, gosh darnit. Let me know if my assumptions are right about Morrison's Swamp thing. I'd be willing to pick up a trade.

MORE SPOILERS

Now that we're all here in spoiler land I can discuss how much I enjoyed the ending where the locals zombie him in his hotel room. Those twisted heads are disturbing, especially in mob form. Both Animal Man and Swamp Thing are doing a good job at making Sethe threatening in both a global and localized way.

The white haired woman thing was super lame though. Are writers not aware of how obvious these hooks are sometimes?

"Beware the woman with white hair!"
"Two-four good Swamp Buddy." Oh hell, I'm being attacked by a woman with a twisted around head and an axe, but yay a helmeted woman helps me escape but--"Oh god she has white hair"
*cue dramatic music*

Sigh.

Looking forward to #3.

October 19th Shopping Spree

Wowwee. Grabbed my comics on Wednesday. I grabbed what was on my reserve and then, I grabbed a few more. I keep telling myself that this is 3 weeks of comics so I shouldn't freak out, but I am a little freaked out because this is a big stack of comics and I didn't really think I was the kind of person who would just go in and buy big stacks of comics because they add up and you have to pay for them every month and that isn't in my budget and worse what happens after like 4 months of this and even if I am buying less, where am I going to keep all these comics and am I going to need to get boxes to store them, because after all some of them are #1s and they sold out like Batgirl and Action Comics, not like I expect these things to be worth a lot of money, but you do have to think about these things after all, there is a market for these number ones, especially because who knows how comics are going to be read in a few more years with digital distribution and their sales the way they are and fuck fuck fuck:

Blur added to protect the innocent.

That's right it says forty eight dollars.

It's for three weeks though.

And I didn't buy any Magic cards or action figures so I'm going to chalk this up as still not unhealthy. I want to engage in the critical discussion surrounding this relaunch, and so I have to buy the comics so that I can read them and think about them. I also enjoy reading them. Some of them.

This rationalization will suffice.

October 5th, 12th, and 19th Pull List: This Shit is Going to Cost Me

I have been irresponsible in purchasing these comics by week. Now I have to go and buy three weeks of comics. I hope not to have much trouble getting all the comics I want since they should be reserved for me, though I can't remember exactly what my reserve list says, but it shouldn't be too far off the below.

Let's do this week by week:

October 5

• Action Comics - I am really excited about this one. I like the reduced powers Superman. And to see him in the hands of government is a promising story.
• Animal Man - From what I've seen, this comic is going to get messed up. Love it.
• Swamp Thing - I'm hoping Swamp thing is actually in this one.

October 12
Oh crap, this month had a stack. Might need to get one of those payday cash loans for tonight.

• Batgirl - I like Batgirl as a character. Looking forward to more self deprecating inner monologue. I have a feeling this comic might be a little more serious though, dealing with the complications of her PTS.
• Batwoman - I can't wait to look at this comic. Might also read it too.
• Frankenstein - This is one of those, I hope this book changes my mind scenarios.
• Green Lantern - Haha. Oh Green Lantern. People like you, I'll see if I can get it.
• Resurrection Man - I'm curious to see where this one goes. I'm wonder how the demon school girls plan to cosplay this month. Maybe french maids?
• Suicide Squad - I'm intrigued by the, kill the entire stadium thing. Please explain #2. Also, let's see some more of that shark guy.

October 19
Good golly. Do you really think this is a good idea? I had plans this weekend.

• Batman - This is the Batman I chose, and I'll give him a chance. Every other comic I've read him, he's a narrative device. I'm hoping Batman might actually be a character here. Might need a DC encyclopedia to understand the history of all his sidekicks though.
• Birds of Prey - I'll give this one another shot. Not a lot of enthusiasm for it though. Might feel better if more of the team is involved.
• Catwoman - Big shit storm of the month award aside, I really dug Catwoman, which I discussed at length. She's funny, in charge, developed, and the comic is obsessed with her body, like almost every other DCnew52 comic was about their female characters. *cough cough Voodoo cough*
• Wonder Woman - I'm hoping there is less equestrian sacrificial transformations this month. Run sheepies, run!

What is 13 times $3?

Fuck it. It's for my art!

DCnew52 Month 1 Roundup, Part 2

Round 2! I think I managed to get all the comics I haven't already discussed here. If not, I'm sure you'll survive. There will be some minor spoilers.

Swamp Thing

This was the first comic I actually read of the new 52. When human Swamp Thing has his nice long chat with Superman, the book gets a little dry and the momentum of the story sort of wanes. I was a little surprised at the pace, as Swamp Thing has always seemed like a bit of a campy book. Of course, maybe I'm not giving the plant monster enough respect as a literary figure.

The end of the comic makes up for the middle though, when shit gets real for those dudes. That moment when the first guy breaks his own neck under the influence of the evil fly swarm really sold me on the idea that horror comics can actually have some juice. I wasn't scared, (seriously, I wasn't, like not even a little) but it was certainly graphic and shocking.

Wow Superman is Super Boring Award
Is there or isn't there a Swamp Thing in this Comic? Award

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad wins the award for being the most predictable comic of what I read of the new 52. They are being tortured to reveal information by the very people that formed the team to test their loyalty and bad-assnes? Wow, crazy twist.


Predictability aside, the comic is okay. Nothing too special. Harley Quinn is super sexualized which bugs the shit out of me, and it seems as if Joker kicked her out rather than Quinn leaving him. That's a bad choice if you ask me. Quinn would be a stronger character if she left Joker because she is fed up with his abusive ass, instead we have her pining for the man that uses her.

The shark guy is fucking great though.

The Shark Guy is Fucking Great Though Award

All Star Western

Who would have thought a Jonah Hex comic would be so damn wordy. I swear this one took all night to read. I kind of like the idea of pairing Hex with a bookish type. I wouldn't want to keep this character around by any means, but a partner that is actually studied and prudent would compliment Hex's brute disposition.

The continual psychoanalysis is a nice slightly meta element that allows me to enjoy the book a little more than I probably would. Freud and Jonah Hex. Seems about right.

Best Sitcom Idea Award

Birds of Prey

Honestly, I don't remember much about this particular comic. I remember some transparent ninjas, nonlinear narrative, and the fact that neither the samurai lady or Poison Ivy were in the first issue. As this is another team comic (sigh) I don't expect the team to be fully formed when I pick it up, but I do get confused when characters on the cover aren't in the book. I've heard jokes about Wolverine being on every cover despite never appearing in the comic, but I didn't know Ivy had such power.

Wait, isn't Poison Ivy a fairly consistent villain? I'm not sure how she would fit into this fem-Bat-team. I guess I'll just have to buy more issues to figure out how she fits in. Dammit.

I Wanted to Make a Charlie's Angels Joke but I Thought it Might be Sexist Award

Legion Lost

This comic makes no goddamn sense. Legion Lost is at once both incomprehensibly opaque and narratively clumsy. When characters provide exposition, it's like they're trying to shove a round ham through a square hole. None of it gets through, it just ends up as a huge stinky mess.

Then half the team dies. Like the bug guy. I was curious about the bug guy above everything else. Seriously, he reminded me of Baxter from Ninja Turtles. Lay off.

Belaboured Ham Metaphor Award

Resurrection Man

So this guy doesn't die, just resurrects with powers that are derived from the way he died. How this actually plays out is unclear. In the book he dies in a plane crash and gains the ability to melt. How does that follow precisely?

I'm not sure what Resurrection Man typically does as a hero, but it looks like heaven and hell don't like whatever it is because they have decided the adventure is over and he has die once and for all. Given the character it makes a lot of sense. What doesn't make sense is that each eternal destination's representatives are fetishized women. Hmm.

I like the joke about the angel being "Ga Ga sexy", but at the end when the demons are like slutty evil school girls, I thought there might be a classier way to go about the whole drawing female antagonists. I guess if they aren't Catwoman, people are fine with these particular women being meant for titillation.

Moving on.

Really? School girls? Award


Voodoo

Wow, where to fucking start. So, this takes place in a strip club. And we watch Voodoo strip for page after page. There are some cops watching her. The man cop then has a private dance, and then Voodoo kills him. When she's naked. And a lizard.

Things that really pissed me off:

• This panel:

Male gaze anyone? Christ.

• Another panel I couldn't find a picture of, where we get a nice shot full of the waitress' cleavage. Yeah, that's all that's in the panel. Not her head or face or anything else. It's hard to think this comic thinks women are anything but how it depicts the waitress in this panel.
• Voodoo transforms into a lizard monster but still retains the ridiculous female figure. WITH BREASTS! WHY DOES THE LIZARD WOMAN HAVE BOOBS!?

I'm too tired to tear this comic apart.

Fuck you Voodoo This isn't an award.

I, Vampire

This entire comic is two vampires talking. One seems to be evil and plans to take over the world, the other seems to be one of those vampires with a soul or something. During the conversation, the book flips back and forth between a scene of the two dracula-fromping through the night, and a scene of Angel, I mean guy vampire, combing through dead bodies in what appears to be a post apocalyptic city.

The conversation is fairly tired, since I've seen this story told before. This is the problem for I, Vampire (besides a damn ridiculous title if you ask me): we've all taken in a fair dose of vampires in the last decade(ish). There's Buffy and Angel, Twilight, True Blood, then a slew of other vampire stories. We're inundated with Vampire, thanks.

This isn't necessarily I, Vampire's fault though (the name, however, most certainly is), but they don't manage to press too hard on the mold.

That said, the book doesn't reek of cliche, only a familiar scent. The vampire apocalypse seems interesting, especially as it acknowledges the existence of super heroes. I'm slightly intrigued, especially as it seems the story starts when the vampires have already won.

I have one sticking question though, could vampires really take the Justice League? I mean, Supa Man, Green Lanterns, and Wonder Woman seem like they'd be fairly capable of taking some vampires. For one, I'm pretty damn sure that their fangs couldn't pierce Superman's skin, and secondly, I'm a hundred percent certain that all Batman would have to do is type "plan #alucard" into the Bat computer and it would spit out a series of plans on how to deal with a vampire apocalypse, with global and local strategies, for heroes with super powers and normies like himself.

I guess I'll have to see how I, Vampire plans to deal with this. Dammit again.

Too Soon? Award

The Flash

I kind of like The Flash. I have no real reason why, other than how I know he can run through things and then blow them up. This comic gave me no new reasons to like The Flash though.

What amused me most about this #1 were the campy layouts. The title page reveal is so classic comics I laughed when I hit it. I can't really tell if the creators are trying to make the comic campy or if it was just an ill-conceived page.

Other than a few odd layouts, I really liked the art of the comic. It looks crisp and cartoony. Really fits with how I always thought a super hero comic would be drawn.

Aside from the art, the story telling is a little hamfisted. We see a character die and then we go back and show how the character is a long time friend of The Flash. Seems sort of coincidental that the only guy that dies in the team attack on the science fair is his friend. Of course by the end of the comic we have an inkling for why it isn't a coincidence, but the contrivance remains.

He does go Through Something and Blow it up After, so Yay Award

Justice League Dark

Home stretch. So one thing I'd like to get off my chest is my dislike for changing the narrator mid comic. I understand this is something that comics do and maybe I should just get over it, but when it happens for only a page, and when that character didn't interact with the narrative at all, it seems like that page could have been, you know, trimmed out.

Constantine shows up in JLU, narrates for no reason and then we move on. I'm pretty sure he was included because if he wasn't sales of #2 would be lower as a consequence.

So remember back when I wondered how a vampire could take down Superman and the like? Well, in JLD we see how a witch would take down the JL: teeth. Swarms of old dirty teeth.

Yes, you are right. That is ew.

JLD also falls under the category of not much happened this comic as we are too busy trying to explain a lot of stuff up front, guess I'll have to buy #2 just to get a sense of how the characters will relate to each other and the narrative.

I will buy it too, because Constantine showed up for a page.

Weirdest Way that Superman has ever been Brought to his Knees Award


Tomorrow I plan to grab a lot of comics. Then I can start this whole process over again. Rather than do two GIANT posts, I'll make sure to get smaller ones out more frequently. Yay, action plans.

DCnew52 Month 1 Roundup, Part 1

Been busy at work and at home, and that stack of comics wasn't going to read itself. So, while I'm two weeks behind, I just want to get all of this ugly #1 business out of the way. With awards. Some spoilers.

Aquaman


What was this character like before this book? Did he have his own book or did he just sort of stand around in the JL? Did people make fun of him back then or is this a new development for Aquaman's world?

However Aquaman used to be written, I gotta say, this is a great way to do him. The comic is really self deprecating and has a lot of fun with the character's ethos. Aquaman himself has a touch of emo to him, but I guess we need somewhere to start with the story. "My daddy boo hoo hoo." Shut up and fight some scary fish men.

Favourite part: when the police officer asks if he wants a glass of water and Aquaman just stares at him for a panel.

Best Sense of Humour about Aquaman Award

Firestorm

I felt good about this comic in the beginning. The fake terrorists were fairly brutal and a nice change from super villains. I didn't even mind the racial conflict established between the comic's two protagonists. The dialogue was okay and the bad guys were plausible and threatening.

Then the super powers came out and the characters erupted into melodramatic monologues before they even knew they were fucking super heroes. The end is a real big let down.

Best Sudden Turn to Shit Award

Wonder Woman

This comic has received a lot of praise. And justifiably. It sets up a pretty odd scenario with the villains/mystery, and it pulls Wonder Woman into the story with what seems to be the stretchiest stretches ever used in narrative. "Hey look, take this thing-a-ma-jim. Yay, now Wonder Woman is here."

The introduction of the centaurs is also one of the most disturbing things I've seen out of the New 52. At first I thought the figure in the feathers was WW, until she sliced off the head of that horse and then a mutherfucking torso started climbing out. Jesus mighty.

Most Intriguing Use of Greek Mythology Award
Poor Horsies Award

Animal Man

I was pretty excited for this comic. Maybe a little too excited. In my excitement I actually read a great deal of material that was released promoting this book and the new 52. Unfortunately this left me with not much new material to read when I sat down with the book. I had seen a lot of the pages before, so I really just read how they connected together.

That said, I enjoyed the family dynamic that Lamire sets up, especially with the daughter. Then when the dream sequence came, it really amped up the story. The last panel in particular shocked the socks off me. It's a fantastic reveal, grounded in a relatively conspicuous element from before. M said it would give her nightmares. Rightly so.

Hands Down Most Amazing and Disturbing Last Panel, like Ever, Award

Frankenstein

Not much to say about this one. The universe seems fine enough, but there isn't much immediately that pops out as all that fun. Frankenstein and team seem like DC's attempt at Hellboy. Problem is Frankie and the rest of the cast just don't seem as engaging as Hellboy and crew. Better shape up!

Biggest Dissapointment Award
Most Blatant Hellboy Ripoff Award

Batwoman

This book just looks incredible. It is worth a read if only to look at the page layouts. I'm pretty happy to see a lesbian as a main Bat-character as well.

Can't say I am immediately won over by the supernatural stuff that Batwoman seems to be up against. Fighting ghosts and skeleton-headed secret government agency middle management are not typically what I expect of a Batman comic, but I am willing to give it a chance.

My worries are a) that it might actually be ghosts or some shit which doesn't fit in with the Batman universe as I've come to know it. Batman and friends have enough trouble fighting the villains in Gotham, they don't need to fight ghosts on top of that. That's what Ghostbusters are for.

Or b) that it isn't a ghost and we're going to get pulled into an inappropriately adult shifted Scooby Doo caper. "I would have done it too, murdered all those people, if it weren't fer that pesky Batwoman."

Best Page Layouts Award
Holy Shit Batwoman is Fighting a Fucking Ghost Award

Batgirl

This is another comic that is just really charming. Batgirl is a lot of fun to read as a character. Her inner monologue as she handles the perps is quite funny and endearing.

Of course, there is an elephant in the room, a big elephant that got out of it's even bigger wheelchair. I understand why people are upset that Barbra Gordon has been undone as an example of a strong disabled female character. I don't have a but there, it's a real shame.

Barbara is dealing with posttraumatic stress though, so there is that. One disability was switched for another. This might not seem like a fair trade for those people that used to look to her as an strong example of a character with a disability, but maybe people with anxiety disorders feel differently.

Most Unfortunate Controversy

Batman

Batman is a fairly unremarkable comic. I mean I like Batman, and the beginning where he's fighting all the famous villains is pretty enjoyable, and their designs are pretty decent.

But the whole mystery that we are introduced to isn't all that intriguing. I have to say it should seem obvious to everyone that the revealed suspect obviously isn't the killer. Maybe in some weird comic-booky way, but not in any honest character driven way. Maybe I'm wrong, but it is most likely that I'm not. So the mystery seems a little hollow.


Highest Robins per Panel Ratio Award

Red Hood

Since I'm doing the run down on Batman titles, why not discuss Red Hood now and get this all done with.

So yes, Starfire is horribly objectified and portrayed as a body that desires casual sex with whomever. This is likely not the way that DC should responsibly portray their characters. If that's what her character is like, than there is nothing wrong with her choosing to have casual sex with every man in the DC universe. The sticking point is whether this is pandering to the base male audience that comic readers are often thought of as. So there. Starfire's depiction pretty much ruins what starts out as a pretty decent comic.

Yeah! I really liked the first few pages of Red Hood. The art is crisp, and the first few pages frame the setting and action really well. When Red Hood bursts from the fat priest suit I was conflicted. While this was pretty damn cool, I knew Starfire was about to show up.

And she does show up, and then I started feeling uncomfortable with the writing. While the shots of Starfire Baywatching are pretty reprehensible, one of the things that offends me the most is when Roy asks Red Hood about his relationship with Starfire he makes a comment about how he has had her. I didn't realize escaping in a jeep from a military group was also the time for locker room talk about penis conquests. Silly me.

To be fair, I've never been in a jeep fleeing a military force or a locker room. What would I know.

Biggest Boob Award
Best Opening Award

Is DCnU a Real Reboot?

Today we discuss the "n" of DCnU fame.

I've read a month worth of the DC"n"U comics. Not all of them, but enough. I probably hovered around half. <UPDATE: I counted, it is precisely 26> Some of the comics seem like reboots (Action Comics, Frankenstein), a lot seem like relaunches (Swamp Thing, Animal Man), and the rest just seem like new arcs for existing stories (Green Lantern, Batman).

So where does that leave us with this reboot? It's bullshit, but a brand of bullshit that makes a lot of sense.

Batman #1 provided my tipping point last week:

Can a ginge get some diversity?

Really? Thanks for the labels to indicate which Robin is which, but how the hell am I supposed to know what these characters mean? Wouldn't a reboot mean I'd meet each Robin in turn? This single panel hints at quite a lot of back story. Certainly more than five years, the time period DC claims this new U has existed.

I know a little bit about these Robins, but this panel screams bloated canon, the very thing I thought this reboot was supposed to deliver me from.

So while I do think that DC has in some sense lied or BSed us about where these new 52 books fall as reboots, maybe I'm not really angry about it.

As I read through these books, I did become frustrated at times when they presented characters with  backgrounds obviously not rebooted. After all, I started reading comics this month because I thought I could get into these stories with the slight-more-than-cursory knowledge I possessed. This was to be a starting point for me.

Green Lantern and Legion Lost are great examples of characters that seem to have just had a #1 slapped on their new adventure. These stories mean nothing on their own without each story's continuity.

Green Lantern succeeds as an introduction because it provides enough reference to fill in back story for a new reader. I don't know a lot about Green Lantern, but I know the basics. This story is a new arc, not a reboot, but it was written as a point of introduction.

Legion Lost, however, fails at introducing me to the Legion Lost's universe. Admittedly, I bring zero knowledge of these characters to my first read, so perhaps the book isn't as opaque as it seems to me, but the book also doesn't even try to help me catch up with the world. From Legion Lost #1:

Red Robot Guy: Tyroc, I told you the longer we waited following Alastor's wake, the harder it would be to pierce the Flashpoint Breakwall!

Dude with Goggles and White Vest, probably Tyroc: People needed our help in the 31st Century First, Wildfire. We came after him as soon as we could.

That is some excellent exposition. Just exquisite. I appreciate it trying but Legion Lost fails as a new arc / relaunch because without prerequisite knowledge this makes no goddamn sense at all.

The conclusion that I have come to about all of this DC reboot hand-waving, is that it is not so much a relaunch as a collective effort to make the continuities across the board more accessible.There are quibbles about what is still continuity, and what isn't. There are people that just want DC to lay out what has happened in the universe and what hasn't, what they are keeping as canon.

But, this is the wrong approach. DCnU is DC's attempt to let people in. We aren't starting each character over from scratch, but asking us as readers to let them recreate canon.

So, the reason DC can't give a straight answer about what has happened and what hasn't happened in this new DCU is that they plainly don't know. Canon is gone. Some characters are in similar places as they were before, some characters are now different, and there are some new additions to the DCU, but what has happened before the #1s is something that DC will create. Canon will be what the writers of the new 52 comics and the other comics to follow construct. And ultimately, what the eventual audience of this DCnU decide is canon.

Asking DC what is canon is like asking DC from 10 years ago what canon would be now. DC may have some preliminary plans and courses for this new launch, but from their comments online, their plans seem more than a little bit hazy. Whether DC has everything planned out already, or whether they have no idea, as an audience, I'm curious why some believe DC owes us an explanation of this nU's canon at all. How I see it now, DC's story and characters haven't been rebooted per say, rather the history of these characters.

Batman does have a bajillion different Robins still, just like he had before the reboot, but now maybe he has them for different reasons. Their back stories might be similar, but we can't necessarily assume that. They all might be his clones for all we know. God sakes, they look the same after all.

After a month I now think that the DCU isn't new, it just having it's history reworked. This reworking might be for narrative reasons, but more likely, is is a way to expand DC's readership. DC may seem to be running around like a crazed chicken, but maybe that's because they are trying to figure this thing out just like everyone else.

As a creative process, I respect that DC might not have a master plan, that they are trying to refocus the collaborative Universe of stories and character to make their product more accessible. As a purely financial decision, I respect that decision. At the present moment it might seem like DC has taken a step out onto the tightrope without ever thinking about training, but I am willing to let them try and figure it out. That's storytelling.

If they actually do fall and go splats, I stand to save a nice wad of money on comics every month. Win, win.

Catwoman #1: A Defense, a Klusterfluffle

Catwoman and Red Hood caused a good deal of hullabaloo the previous week. We've seen many readers and critics react very strongly against these two comics. The fuss lead to discussions about how women are represented not just in comics but in all media. Men and women alike are disappointed that we are still in a culture that objectifies women as a matter of course.

These conversations are great. I'm thrilled that we are reconsidering what we will accept as the representation of women in comics and further that we have expectations at all for this reboot to change things. Our expectation that comics will consciously consider how they depict women, and that this new DCnU is an effort to make changes for the better should push publishers to meet those expectations.

Really though, I'm really surprised that the disappointment and outrage happened this week in particular, and that everyone is so pissed off at Catwoman.

I'll start off by saying that I haven't read Red Hood, but I have seen the pictures of Starfire in a bikini. These pictures alone seems like the fucking definition of damning evidence. I haven't read the book myself, but from what I've heard it really isn't worth my time. I may still pick it up though, just to see the context of what appears to be a pretty disgusting case of objectification.

What I want to do in this post is discuss Catwoman and why people are upset about it, but then explain why this comic, while complicated in terms of its representation of a woman, is still a strong comic with a strong female character.

What to Buy, What to Buy (DCnU Launch Week 4)

No wires here at all. Nope.

I've been a little quiet this week. I've been busy, but I've also been preparing a post about Catwoman. I'm still trying to let some of the dust to settle in my head and I want to make sure I get this post right as I'm throwing some shit at a fan.

But, since tomorrow is Wednesday, I want to list what comics I plan to pick up tomorrow.

• All Star Western - Yes. (I didn't see Jonah Hex the movie so I'm relatively unscarred by this book. I'm a sucker for westerns)
• Aquaman - Yes (I hate Aquaman as a character. A dude from the ocean? What use is he to the rest of the super hero community? Good on beach day? But there's a lot of good buzz, and I would have picked this up anyways. Gotta see how someone would try to make this dude interesting)
• Batman: The Dark Knight - Maybe (How much Batman can one person take?)
• Blackhawks - No (I'm burned out on teams, thanks.)
• The Flash - Yes (I had a friend that was into him. Told me he could run through things and then have them blow up. Better than a water guy.)
• The Fury of Firestorm - Yes (Co-written by Gail Simone. I have to support female comic writers. Batgirl was also enjoyable.)
• Green Lantern: New Guardians - Most likely not (Ragtag team? Lanterns? Does not seem like the best choice I could make.) 
• I, Vampire - No (Unlike westerns, I have no enthusiasm for vampires.)
• Justice League Dark - Yes (Only because of John Constantine.)
• Savage Hawkman - No (Hahahahahahahaha)
• Superman - No (I've already got one Superman thanks)
• Teen Titans - No (Superboy is going to kill these guys so what's the point?)
• Voodoo - No (Who do the voodoo?)

We are getting closer to next month. I'm pretty excited about some #2s.

Everything Hits at Once

That's me.

Stopped off at the comic shop on the way home Wednesday. I wasn't too thrilled about what was being released this week, but M is how women are being represented in this new launch of DC and so wanted Catwoman and Birds of Prey. I went to pick those up and see if anything caught my eye. I ended up with:

• Birds of Prey
• Catwoman
• Wonder Woman
• Batman
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yeah, that's right, I grabbed a non-DCnU title there. Unfortunately it's a #2, but nostalgia is a powerful force and Eastman's name is on the cover so I was willing to give it a shot.

I got home and as I approached my apartment door, I saw a box in front of my door. My mail comics had arrived.

I pulled the box into the living room and began unpacking. There was a great deal of packing material but I got down to my individually bagged comics. This added to my haul:

• Animal Man
• Frankenstein
• Suicide Squad
• Legion Lost
• Batgirl
• Batwoman
• Resurrection Man

I look at that stack now, and remember how just weeks ago I made a comment about a dude with an arm full comics worth approx $30. That's what I see now on my coffee table. Granted, there are a few previous week's releases in there, but still. That distinction that I made between myself and that guy a few weeks ago might be a little less distinct as of Wednesday.

I can feel myself changing. I'm scared guys.

Green Lantern, Superboy, & Demon Knights: The B Pull

And in no particular order (spoilers ahead):

Demon Knights

While I don't seem to hate this book as much as everyone else I know, it is not particularly good. Likely the reason I'm not so down on Demon Knights is because I like the idea of a fantasy comic book. Like the idea however...

Superboy

Wow, fantastic example of obvious writing. Subtlety, thy name is not Superboy.

I like the idea of Superboy being a clone of the combined DNA of Lex Luther and Superman, but this comic does nothing with the idea that is all that intriguing. Instead, I guess Superboy is going to fight Teen Titans. Which is dumb. Robin vs Superman < Batman vs Superman.


Superboy would kill Robin. Robin's got a stick.

Green Lantern

This is probably the best of the trio, but I fail to see how this is a reboot. I know enough about the world that I'm not confused where this book starts, and I bet everyone that would pick this up knows enough too, but I still want to complain because this is just a new run, not a reboot. Maybe the DC universe can't handle having all of its heroes rebooted, especially if they want to have all the different lantern corps stories that they have coming out, but I still call foul.

Also, what I failed to remember when I picked up this book: I don't give any sort of shits about lanterns. Especially THE Green Lantern. Hal is boring. I still think he should be black. AND NOT A DAMN BLACK LANTERN, an African American. So yeah, this book fails out the gate because green lanters are booooring, with an extra "o".

Try Try Again

On Saturday morning I found myself awake at 9:30 in the morning. Saturday morning is actually a glorious time for shopping, but I typically spend it sleeping, as I wake so early during weekdays that Saturday is the morning I look forward to, knowing on this morning, I can sleep as long as I want.

Unless I can't of course.

So I went to the local market. I purchased arm fulls of glorious fresh produce, including cilantro I found by smell, and on my way home I stopped off at the other local comic shop in town.

When I walked in the young guy behind the counter said hello to me. It wasn't too busy as it was 11.00 in the morning--a time I imagine isn't the prime comic selling time, so they were organizing trading cards.

This place had an entire wall dedicated to the DCnU, and they had so many titles still available. I started looking through with excitement. They had Animal Man still, and Frankenstein, and Batwoman, and ... okay they didn't have Batgirl, but no one has Batgirl.

Since I had already ordered everything that I wanted online, they didn't really have anything that I wanted. But, I had heard some good things about Green Lantern and Superboy, and some mixed things about Demon Knight so I figured while in Rome...

And when I went up to the counter I asked about reserving comics. There was the young guy behind the counter and an guy about in his 50s. The young guy behind the counter gave me a list to write down all the comics I wanted reserved for me. I made a long list and told them I was trying some of these titles to pick what ones I wanted to start reading regularly. They told me if I changed my mind on a comic after I tried the first issue it was no big deal. They said these comics were still returnable at this point.

We got to talking about how I had trouble picking up the titles I wanted at the other location. The older guy behind the counter, who seemed like the owner, admitted how difficult he had heard ordering had been for other comic shops.

This is the gist of his explanation.

We've all been burned in the past he said. Like in the 90s with the foil covers. We all bought big and then couldn't sell stuff, so when this new "thing" came along, people didn't want to get trapped the same way. You could say we are a bit skeptical of what the comic companies say will drive sales. But when this came a long I told the guy that orders our comics to order big. And it's turned out well for us. We've managed to have plenty of stock for the higher demand.

I was there early, so I wasn't really exposed to this comic shops community. When I was there only a kid and his dad came in looking for some Simpsons issue, and the kid seemed mostly excited about the Family Guy action figures that talked. However, neither of these guys seemed dismissive of me though. They were helpful, informative, and courteous about my ignorance. They even gave me a card with my reserve account.

So yes, I am now a card carrying comic book person.

It's actually not that exciting at all. No pizzaz to speak of.

Ironically enough though, I don't think I want anything that comes out this week. Indeed I have nothing on my reserve for this Wednesday.

The books that come in the mail (hopefully) will tide me over until the last release week. If I hear some good buzz though, I'll head downtown and have a reasonable chance to find the book available.

Do Comic Shop Communities Want New Customers?

So, of the titles I listed in my Wednesday pull list, I managed to acquire not a single one none of them. Disappointing to say the least, and a really off putting experience all around.

On Wednesday, M and I got to the comic book shop relatively early after work. I was later last week and missed getting Animal Man and Batgirl. I figured this time would prove more fruitful.

It did not.

Apparently at this particular store, DCnU is the best selling thing since Tickle Me Elmo. They arrange all the new titles alphabetically on boards. I was scanning through and saw various copies of Wolverine, Spiderman, and what have you but I couldn't find Frankenstein, or Batwoman. There were these meaningful empty spots of the boards where you would expect to find each title.

So all these DCnU titles sold out in the first hours of their release? Out of this week's titles, I could only find Demon Knights, Grifter, and Mister Terrific (of course).

And no wonder. The shop was packed. We had to awkwardly move around other customers to make sure that we weren't just missing a board. They had so few of DCnU comics that we thought we were simply not seeing them.

Not wanting to waste the trip, we bought a Fables trade for M and the second Sweet Tooth trade for me. More importantly, I wanted to ask the dude at the counter how I could order the sold-out comics and how I could actually get the comics I wanted each week. It seemed to me that there was some sort of transparent process that enabled these other customers to get what they wanted.

It was busy though, so we had to wait in line for a bit.

There was a crowd of people in the waiting-to-buy area, some in line, some just chillin and it was not immediately apparent who was who. Everyone was talking enthusiastically. They were teasing each other and talking about order sheets and then teasing each other again. One person would be a prick, and then the other would prick back. So forth. It was the sort of conversation that exists within its own community and excludes those outside of it.

I don't resent them their conversation, I'm not there for friends, but I wanted to buy my books and leave.

The gentleman in front of M and I got to the register and had a stack of comics the size of a correspondence box. Likely $30-40 worth of comics. He also had a stack of cash, not as thick but still a make-it-rain sort of a stack. He asked for a bag and board for the cash, which resulted in even more teasing and guffawing.

Once he is out of the way though it was my time to buy stuff and to solve this mystery of why I don't get the comics I want. The problem is though, that when I got up to the register, the man behind the counter began yelling around me to continue his conversation with the previous customer.

Which is for one, socially rude, but also bad customer service. And I know maybe I sound a tad posh when I expect someone I'm buying something from politely look me in the eye and listen to me if I want to speak.

I got a little angry. I decided I didn't feel like asking how I could get my comics because this guy didn't care that I was there at all. I also didn't feel like asking about ordering comics in front of everyone that already knew how to get the comics they wanted.

And I think my irritation was a little evident on my face because the owner eventually did turn to me, and made the joke "oh, comic book guys, we're all just assholes".

Which really pissed me off.

Not because I found his statement offensive, but because he dismissed M and I. We aren't comic book people, we're just foot traffic.

Nevermind we're buying comics. I guess trades don't count?

We aren't part of that community, so we don't get the comics we want, nor do we warrant assistance with getting the comics we want.

TO HEDGE MY BITCHING: I have been to this store before, and spoken to the women that also works there and she has never been anything but helpful. Last week she even tried finding if she had a stashed copy of Animal Man for herself she'd sell me. It was this guy in particular that ruined the experience for me.

And I wonder how comic people around the world feel about this DCnU. These books are selling out everywhere, so there must be more people like me. People taking this as an opportunity to get into comics again. What do the people that liked the comics before the reboot think about us newbies? Are we posers? Hopping on to the new trend that they were into first? Are they suddenly comic book hipsters?

They'd have to dress better I think.

This is an interesting problem. There is a existing and specific community that is situated in and around comic shops and I am not part of it. But I do have to enter into to it to get my comics. And I've been doing so very unsuccessfully thus far.

To me, the obvious tactic as a comic store owner is to make the workings of the process clear. Maybe say something to me when I ask to have back copies ordered, that I can order the comics I want and they'll be set aside for me. Or even put up a poster. I'm new to this community and process, and need to be initiated, not dismissed. Why wouldn't you try to keep these new customers? Make them like the other people spending $30 a week. Is it too much trouble? Do you look down on them because they are excited about this reboot? Excited about a pseudo-publicity stunt?

I don't know if these people are trying to secure their circle, but I wish I could buy some comics, at the store, on Wednesdays, and not feel like I'm intruding in on their thing.

There is a somewhat happy ending to my tale of exclusion though. I found a website, allnewcomics.com, where I was able to get all the comics I hadn't managed to get, including Batgirl. There was a $10 shipping fee, but I consider it an acceptable tradeoff for getting the comics that were sold out everywhere else.

They haven't arrived yet so we'll see in a few days how I feel about this different kind of comic book buying experience. I know they also have a subscription service, but it's sad that if I choose to get my comics this way, I've circumvented that comic book store community all together. I want to go and support local stores, not mail order my comics, but if I can't get the books I want, what am I supposed to do?

My plan, for next week, is to try a different store. It's the blessing of living in a city that is actually two cities.

Hopefully these comic book people will be careful of my delicate disposition.

Justice League International #1

I'm really curious about the brown guy with the glowing fork.

Yesterday I posted my thoughts on Stormwatch #1. I concluded that while some of the characters were interesting, the writing was a little unsophisticated and a little confusing.

JLI #1, is also unsophisticated, confusing, but none of the characters are interesting. I don't mean to be overly negative, but this book is a failure.

I picked up this series because I'm a fan of Booster Gold. Booster is a dude from the future that uses future technology and knowledge to be a superhero. What makes him engaging is that he isn't a hero at all. He craves stardom, and makes bad decisions as a result. This is often comical, but it also creates the potential for character development. That is something you don't get as much with a Batman or Wonderwoman.

Skeets! Billy West ta boot in JLU.

I'm also a sucker for obscure heroes. I love seeing a crew of people that aren't normally in the limelight, showing off the powers that explain why they aren't normally in the limelight. Writing stories for these kinds of heroes requires a little more creativity because you can't just have a big monster come out of the ground and have them go to town on it. This is what makes their stories so fun to read however. They solve a different sort of problems from the A team, and in different ways.

And JLI has a bunch of heroes that I don't know, which is great, but we don't spend any time getting to know them before the main chunk of the story starts. Each are name dropped, displayed in a panel, and we are told where they are from. Then, the whole thing rushes towards the first story without giving the team much time to interact.

And that sums up the two major problems with this book, it relies too much on previous knowledge of these characters and the DC world, and it moves at a pace the story doesn't warrant.

Some very minor spoilers to follow.

I'm really fine with not knowing who people are, or what they can do, as long as you give them an opportunity to show that off at some point, both powers and character. There is a lot to be said for the slow divulge. But that is something that doesn't necessarily fit a mainstream JL type title. If the story is going to be superhero pulp, don't go for the long character reveal. Just doesn't fit.

In the final chunk of the book, the JLI races off to investigate something and they suddenly become involved in a large physical conflict. You know, super hero action stuff, with punching and power-using. But the action is depicted in big scenes rather than in smaller individual panels.

By quickly focusing on each character and how they handle the threat we could have been given a nice glimpse/introduction to the personality and powers of each JLI member. Instead, there are these large ensemble action tableaus where everyone is doing some generic something. Powers are used, but in the busy glut action, I can only garner a small amount of information about how the various members are doing. Apparently this one can glow, this one can jetpack, and this guy just seems to stand heroically. Batman also thinks this lady isn't pulling her wait. She think Batman is a prick.

I just wished there was some time to get to know these characters before the story plunged ahead. Really, a pair of conflicts occur before and at the same time as the main conflict that are just as engaging, if not more so. I'd rather see an opening issue that deals with group dynamics, and the socio-political implication of a UN mandated JL. Then again, maybe I'm a dullard.

More specific spoilers to follow.

One of the conflicts that I am talking about above is the protests about how the UN took over the Hall of Justice so that the JLI could use it as a home base. I do like the idea that the UN is trying to form a team, and that they do it in a politically unpopular way. That's a good idea, that the public doesn't want this international Justice League. But I don't really understand why the public is so mad about the Hall of Justice though.

Which, I had to look up. The Hall of Justice is like a national museum of superheroes, and obviously, the public finds it offensive that a team, created by the UN and supposedly representing international interests, would set up shop in an American monument.

Maybe I'm thick, but maybe I shouldn't have to look this stuff up to even partially understand why these people are willing to blow a building up over. Remember, this is a DC universe reboot...

So it seems like the arc of this first run is already apparent. The JLI will prove their worthiness to the American people, Green Lantern will join the team, and Booster Gold will prove himself a hero. I'll pass.

Unless things drastically change, I do not feel the need to pick this one up next month. Sorry Booster. Maybe we can hook up at some other time. Like on Batman Brave and the Bold.