Series: Wonder Woman
Words: Brian Azzarello
Images: Cliff Chiang
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: It reads December 2011 but we got it in October
Format: Single Issue comic
This second issue has put to rest any of the few concerns I may have had after reading issue one of Wonder Woman (and there weren't really many). Issue two of Wonder Woman still reads like an episode of Xena. And this is still a good thing in my book. We are seeing a little more of Diana getting drawn into the conflict with the Olympian Gods. And I like how it is playing out.
There are a few shifts to the Wonder Woman’s back story. Stife / Eris states while held by Wonder Woman's lasso that they are sisters. Implying that either Zeus had a hand in Diana's creation. At times in the past (though usually in the cartoon movies) it has been implied that Hades lent a hand in Wonder Woman’s creation from clay. Of course this information comes from Strife/Eris and if anyone would be able to mislead while telling the truth it would probably be her.
I really like the mortal and human side kick that Wonder Woman is protecting from Hera. Or at least potentially protecting from Hera. There is this one little side conversation (that is not linked to the plot at all) where Hermes is trying to find out what form Zeus came to her as. And she very quickly and effectively shuts down Hermes’ slut shaming. It pleases me to see sexually expressive women showing up in comics in a way that does not feel like an exploited caricature. My hat goes off to the writing team for finding that balance.
The art is growing on me more and more it seems with every issue I read. I am really starting to adore Chiang’s work. Normally I follow the writers more then the artists but in the last few months I have started paying attention more to the people who create amazing art in comics. I have started watching out for the ones whose work elevate the story beyond just words. Chiang’s style really compliments the story well.
I love that his version of Wonder Woman is less cheese cake then I have seen in the past. She is still a beautiful dark haired Amazonian princess but there is a little more of a classic feel to the look.
The design behind the Olympians is also very appealing. I cannot imagine it is easy to try and make something flat and two dimensional appear other worldly but still recognizable. Chiang with his use of size and colour has managed to seamlessly express that.
I hope the these two have a long run with Wonder Woman because I am loving what they are doing together.
Well worth picking up. Well worth reading. As a Wonder Woman fan girl I am very pleased with this version of her and looking forward to reading more. It is something that I would consider accessible enough to lend out to friends who are not as into Wonder Woman or D.C. as I am. Especially worth checking out if you enjoy stories that play with old myths or if you like the Greek / Roman gods.
If you know me flip through the first two issues next time you are over. Or borrow the trade when it comes out because this is one I look forward to buying again in Trade.
Showing posts with label D.C.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D.C.. Show all posts
Friday, 4 November 2011
Friday, 21 October 2011
Manhunter
Series: Manhunter
Words: Marc Andreyko
Images: Jesus Saiz
Issue Number: 1-5
Release Date:
Format: Trade Paperback
I am a little late to the Manhunter party. And for those of you familiar with the Manhunter mythos I am talking about Kate Spenser. For those of you who aren't familiar with the name let me just say that the D.C. universe had more Manhunter's then it knew what to do with.
I want to get one thing out there. Manhunter is not perfect. I have read criticisms by others about both the character, her body type and the art work are not the step forward people present it as. Curled Up With a Good Book summarizes the criticisms well especially about how the main character is still overtly sexualized through out the series. And while I do agree with the reviewer from Curled Up With a Good Book that Manhunter is not a perfect feminist character, I do still think she is a step forward.
Her costume is functional and while tight is not overtly sexualized in design. There are no short skirts, there are no boob windows. There are no painfully high heels. Beyond what she wears both Kate Spenser and Manhunter have actual depth to them and actual flaws that they develop and grow beyond. By day she’s a high powered prosecution attorney fed up defendants escaping justice on technicalities. She is driven. She is assertive. She is failing horribly to balance her life. She deals with the realistic pressures of trying to be a good mother and trying to be a professional working woman. And I like that she does not get everything perfect. There is this very fine balance between making a developed female character who is someone I can relate to and starting to break down and disempowering female characters. I felt that Marc Andreyko balanced her fairly well.
There is some great witty banter in the comic that directly pokes at some of the depictions of other women in the D.C. universe. Especially in terms of how impractical a lot of the female costumes can be for running and fighting.
Also it features back ground LGBTQ characters in a fairly positive (for the most part) and friendly way. Kate’s assistant while a little stereotypical (at points) and not as developed as Kate eventually ends up in a relationship with another D.C. character. I like that it is a happy, healthy and functional relationship. I like that some of the issues around family and their lack of understanding are touched on. It is by far one of the more realistic portrayals of a gay male relationship that I have read in comics.
This series was also my introduction really to the Department of Extranormal Operations. I am not entirely sure why but I adore the DEO. This is odd because I typically end up disliking the government organizations whose goal is to monitor, control and contain. At times there is some great interactions between the department head Bones and Kate especially in terms of race. Bones (if it wasn’t for his skin and organs being translucent) would be a person of colour. Kate at times tries to use that to pressure Bones into helping her dig into areas that he has clearly ordered her to stay well away from. The play out of a liberal white woman essentially bullying someone of colour to get her way in terms of creating what she thinks should be social change for people of colour (and the consequences) are interesting. Personally I found it slightly reflective of second wave feminisms and some branches of feminism that have come out of that where feminists of power and feminists of privilege try to force their values inappropriately. Like most of the social issues touched on in Manhunter it is very briefly done and it is not perfectly executed but I am pleased to see these conversations start to appear. I am hopeful that we will continue to see more of them.
As a generic comic reader one of the biggest issues that I had with Manhunter was the pacing. In some cases I found that there were huge gaps of time in between the story lines of each trade paper back. During these gaps there are some pretty big shifts and changes. If you are going to pick up the trades keep that in mind going into the story. Manhunter was cancelled by DC in 2006 and issue 2) was supposed to be the end of her run. Due to fan pressure D.C. pushed that back to issue 30 (end of vol. 4). I get the impression that volume 5 of the graphic novel is mostly wrapping up a lot of extra loose ends. It is mostly a look at the characters in the distant future with her son’s graduation. While I was glad to have more things resolved I just felt that it was rushed. I am a little sad that we did not get to slowly explore the stories that got them to that point. However, I am pleased to see that Manhunter will be appearing in some of the post relaunch teams.
I found the strongest volumes to be the first trade and the fourth. I have to admit my love of the fourth may be how heavily it featured Wonder Woman and some outside D.C. storylines that I am familiar with. I probably would not suggest Manhunter as a D.C. starting point. While not essential having back ground knowledge of what is going on in the D.C. universe is helpful. Certainly to get the most out of Volume 4 I would suggest having already read Infinite Crisis
If you are familiar with D.C. and want some stronger female leads then I suggest Manhunter may be a good addition to your collection. Overall I will be keeping my eyes open for this author’s future works.
Words: Marc Andreyko
Images: Jesus Saiz
Issue Number: 1-5
Release Date:
Format: Trade Paperback
I am a little late to the Manhunter party. And for those of you familiar with the Manhunter mythos I am talking about Kate Spenser. For those of you who aren't familiar with the name let me just say that the D.C. universe had more Manhunter's then it knew what to do with.
I want to get one thing out there. Manhunter is not perfect. I have read criticisms by others about both the character, her body type and the art work are not the step forward people present it as. Curled Up With a Good Book summarizes the criticisms well especially about how the main character is still overtly sexualized through out the series. And while I do agree with the reviewer from Curled Up With a Good Book that Manhunter is not a perfect feminist character, I do still think she is a step forward.
Her costume is functional and while tight is not overtly sexualized in design. There are no short skirts, there are no boob windows. There are no painfully high heels. Beyond what she wears both Kate Spenser and Manhunter have actual depth to them and actual flaws that they develop and grow beyond. By day she’s a high powered prosecution attorney fed up defendants escaping justice on technicalities. She is driven. She is assertive. She is failing horribly to balance her life. She deals with the realistic pressures of trying to be a good mother and trying to be a professional working woman. And I like that she does not get everything perfect. There is this very fine balance between making a developed female character who is someone I can relate to and starting to break down and disempowering female characters. I felt that Marc Andreyko balanced her fairly well.
There is some great witty banter in the comic that directly pokes at some of the depictions of other women in the D.C. universe. Especially in terms of how impractical a lot of the female costumes can be for running and fighting.
Also it features back ground LGBTQ characters in a fairly positive (for the most part) and friendly way. Kate’s assistant while a little stereotypical (at points) and not as developed as Kate eventually ends up in a relationship with another D.C. character. I like that it is a happy, healthy and functional relationship. I like that some of the issues around family and their lack of understanding are touched on. It is by far one of the more realistic portrayals of a gay male relationship that I have read in comics.
This series was also my introduction really to the Department of Extranormal Operations. I am not entirely sure why but I adore the DEO. This is odd because I typically end up disliking the government organizations whose goal is to monitor, control and contain. At times there is some great interactions between the department head Bones and Kate especially in terms of race. Bones (if it wasn’t for his skin and organs being translucent) would be a person of colour. Kate at times tries to use that to pressure Bones into helping her dig into areas that he has clearly ordered her to stay well away from. The play out of a liberal white woman essentially bullying someone of colour to get her way in terms of creating what she thinks should be social change for people of colour (and the consequences) are interesting. Personally I found it slightly reflective of second wave feminisms and some branches of feminism that have come out of that where feminists of power and feminists of privilege try to force their values inappropriately. Like most of the social issues touched on in Manhunter it is very briefly done and it is not perfectly executed but I am pleased to see these conversations start to appear. I am hopeful that we will continue to see more of them.
As a generic comic reader one of the biggest issues that I had with Manhunter was the pacing. In some cases I found that there were huge gaps of time in between the story lines of each trade paper back. During these gaps there are some pretty big shifts and changes. If you are going to pick up the trades keep that in mind going into the story. Manhunter was cancelled by DC in 2006 and issue 2) was supposed to be the end of her run. Due to fan pressure D.C. pushed that back to issue 30 (end of vol. 4). I get the impression that volume 5 of the graphic novel is mostly wrapping up a lot of extra loose ends. It is mostly a look at the characters in the distant future with her son’s graduation. While I was glad to have more things resolved I just felt that it was rushed. I am a little sad that we did not get to slowly explore the stories that got them to that point. However, I am pleased to see that Manhunter will be appearing in some of the post relaunch teams.
I found the strongest volumes to be the first trade and the fourth. I have to admit my love of the fourth may be how heavily it featured Wonder Woman and some outside D.C. storylines that I am familiar with. I probably would not suggest Manhunter as a D.C. starting point. While not essential having back ground knowledge of what is going on in the D.C. universe is helpful. Certainly to get the most out of Volume 4 I would suggest having already read Infinite Crisis
If you are familiar with D.C. and want some stronger female leads then I suggest Manhunter may be a good addition to your collection. Overall I will be keeping my eyes open for this author’s future works.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Batwoman
Series: Batwoman
Words: J.H. Williams & W. Haden Blackman
Images: J.H. Williams
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: In reality October 12, 2011 but our cover reads December
Format: Comic
Words: J.H. Williams & W. Haden Blackman
Images: J.H. Williams
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: In reality October 12, 2011 but our cover reads December
Format: Comic
As soon as I could I was tearing through the pages of Batwoman. The art in this comic continues to be amazing. For issue number two I think that art is even better then the stunning first issue. This is really unfair because it sets a very high standard for other artists. There is this blending of art styles and methods of drawing both characters and backgrounds that set a shifting and effective mood and tone for the comic. During one of the early fight scenes the image of x-rays is used to provide an illustration of how much physical damage is being done in a fight. And you do not have to just take my word for it Comic Book Resources had a preview of the comic (link here) that quite effectively show cases how amazing the art style is for story telling.
If you are a comic book fan you can also enjoy trying to find Warren Ellis' Desolation Jones in one of the panels. A great little Easter egg of sorts for longer term comic readers.
Stepping beyond the amazing art (which alone almost justifies buying this comic or buying Batwoman when it comes out in a trade) is this enjoyable story. It took a while for me to realize but most of this issue is filler and set up and getting the characters to where they need to be. I normally get very impatient with books or comics during these periods. I know I need this information for what comes next to make sense. But I don't want to wait. So usually I end up getting frustrated. Some how though the writers managed to slip me an issue filled with almost all set up and it was so enjoyable that I did not notice or mind. Instead of frustrated I am excited to find out where the story goes.
There is a little bit of relationship development between Batwoman and her side-kick. We get to see the first date with Kate Kane and her love interest Detective Sawyer. And as Detective Sawyer is upset that Batwoman interfered with her investigation in issue one I see foreshadowing for tension and conflict here. Issue two also marks the introduction of the Department of Extranormal Operations setting up all sorts of potential both good and bad. I've only recently become familiar with this department through the Green Lantern film and because it is also featured in Manhunter (which I am currently reading all of the trades of to review).
The only time I was taken out of the story was during an interaction between Batwoman and Batman where he cautions her that sidekicks have a tendency to die and come back as super villains. Being familiar with that back story in Batman's history it came across as a little flippant and a little out of character to me. But it did also get quite the chuckle out of me.
The only big concern I have with the story is the possibility of Batwoman joining Batman Inc. I am not sure if there is a way for that move to be spun with out her losing some of her strengths and some of her development. Currently Batwoman while within the Gotham / Batman universe was not trained by Bruce Wayne, she simply saw his costume and decided to take what she liked and operate on her own. At first her father was the person supporting her, helping with extra training and materials but at this point she has branched out on her own and is now training her own side kick.
The further into the story Batwoman goes the more difficult it is going to be to just pick up the latest issue and read. The story flows from one comic to another building on a foundation. I will update you when this story arch ends and the next starts. It they continue with the artwork and the great stories then this is going to be an amazing trade paperback / graphic novel to own.
If you were going to read just one of the D.C. new 52 in either graphic novel or comic formats this should be the one you get.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Batgirl #2
Series: Batgirl
Words: Gail Simone
Images: Adrian Syaf, Vincent Cifuentes
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: In reality October 12th but our cover reads December 2011
Format: Comic
With the first issue I had a whole ton of concerns about Batgirl. Especially in terms of Barbara Gordon's ability to walk again. I just read the second issue while the mister and I were driving to his parents place. Luckily he was the on actually driving. In terms of disability? I am a little more reassured at this point. I am still not happy about the lack of people with disabilities in DC but Gail Simone has not used the reboot to magically sweep it under the rug. There is mention of the character not physically being able to maintain stunts and fights because while her spinal injury has greatly improved her physical stamina is still lacking. I am slightly reassured by this. I am still sulking a little bit (I hate change) but I'm also really excited to read more.
PTSD and Babs also has not magically disappeared especially with lines like "He pointed that gun at me, just where the Joker tore up my spine three years ago and I froze... the gun triggered something I thought was long over" A fairly classic symptom of PTSD is experiencing either a flash back or a dissociation when presented with stimuli that resemble or remind of the traumatic incident.
One of the few things that took me out of the story is Babs going on a date with her physical therapist. There is no way in heck this guy could have any sort of relationship with Babs and it be okay with his registration board. As an allied health professional who works in the disability field it gave me pause. If you do not work in the field well then it will probably be a none issue for you. In retrospect I can understand why Simone opted to approach a relationship with the physical therapist. It gives more chances for her to explore some of the back story of how Babs' got from a wheel chair to standing. Gregor's background means that some context. Comments can be made about how sometimes with spinal cord injuries the unexpected does happen but it is very rare making this a much more realistic process.
I am very pleased to see that the return of Batgirl has not meant we have lost the strengths she had as Oracle. Physically unable to take the villain down Babs has to resort to her brains. Her ability to research and her ability to make computers do magical and wonderful things that no one else in Gotham or the D.C. universe can do.
Simone also made some commentary on class and social inequality during this issue of Batgirl that really impressed me. Slipped into the story are little gems along the lines of "... The only cemetery in downtown Gotham that hasn't been demolished. Oh, they've tried. Real estate developers have made a multitude of heatbreaingly sincere please to disinter the occupants of this place. Because we need more shopping and parking, you see. But it turns out, rich people don't like the idea of their loved ones switching accommodations for a new frogurt boutique. And unlike poor people who feel that way... they have the juice to make it not happen. Even here, there is a class system in Gotham." I am pleased to see more and more comic book authors making sociopolitical commentary.
I am really enjoying the level of depth given to the characters in Batgirl. I do have to confess that this issue of Batgirl made me cry. wince and smile. I found myself sniffling at the villain's back story. I have to admit he is quickly becoming one of my recent favorites among villains.
Again the colours and art were impressive. I love how the dark grey of Gotham is broken up with flashes of purple, a bright blue, and green tones consistently though the entire issue. The physical design of women in this comic has continued to impress me. There are more realistically sized. Babs has actual muscle and tone. There were a lot of moments where some of the great character development could have been set back by sexualized depictions of character taking away from Simone's work of developing her. Luckily for the story, the experience and the reader the Ardian Syaf and Vincente Cifuentes masterfully and smoothly avoided doing so.
The comics seem to be going fast. Some people on twitter have started saying that stores are sold out. If you like interesting female leads with a varied supporting cast I would suggest checking out Batgirl.
Words: Gail Simone
Images: Adrian Syaf, Vincent Cifuentes
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: In reality October 12th but our cover reads December 2011
Format: Comic
With the first issue I had a whole ton of concerns about Batgirl. Especially in terms of Barbara Gordon's ability to walk again. I just read the second issue while the mister and I were driving to his parents place. Luckily he was the on actually driving. In terms of disability? I am a little more reassured at this point. I am still not happy about the lack of people with disabilities in DC but Gail Simone has not used the reboot to magically sweep it under the rug. There is mention of the character not physically being able to maintain stunts and fights because while her spinal injury has greatly improved her physical stamina is still lacking. I am slightly reassured by this. I am still sulking a little bit (I hate change) but I'm also really excited to read more.
PTSD and Babs also has not magically disappeared especially with lines like "He pointed that gun at me, just where the Joker tore up my spine three years ago and I froze... the gun triggered something I thought was long over" A fairly classic symptom of PTSD is experiencing either a flash back or a dissociation when presented with stimuli that resemble or remind of the traumatic incident.
One of the few things that took me out of the story is Babs going on a date with her physical therapist. There is no way in heck this guy could have any sort of relationship with Babs and it be okay with his registration board. As an allied health professional who works in the disability field it gave me pause. If you do not work in the field well then it will probably be a none issue for you. In retrospect I can understand why Simone opted to approach a relationship with the physical therapist. It gives more chances for her to explore some of the back story of how Babs' got from a wheel chair to standing. Gregor's background means that some context. Comments can be made about how sometimes with spinal cord injuries the unexpected does happen but it is very rare making this a much more realistic process.
I am very pleased to see that the return of Batgirl has not meant we have lost the strengths she had as Oracle. Physically unable to take the villain down Babs has to resort to her brains. Her ability to research and her ability to make computers do magical and wonderful things that no one else in Gotham or the D.C. universe can do.
Simone also made some commentary on class and social inequality during this issue of Batgirl that really impressed me. Slipped into the story are little gems along the lines of "... The only cemetery in downtown Gotham that hasn't been demolished. Oh, they've tried. Real estate developers have made a multitude of heatbreaingly sincere please to disinter the occupants of this place. Because we need more shopping and parking, you see. But it turns out, rich people don't like the idea of their loved ones switching accommodations for a new frogurt boutique. And unlike poor people who feel that way... they have the juice to make it not happen. Even here, there is a class system in Gotham." I am pleased to see more and more comic book authors making sociopolitical commentary.
I am really enjoying the level of depth given to the characters in Batgirl. I do have to confess that this issue of Batgirl made me cry. wince and smile. I found myself sniffling at the villain's back story. I have to admit he is quickly becoming one of my recent favorites among villains.
Again the colours and art were impressive. I love how the dark grey of Gotham is broken up with flashes of purple, a bright blue, and green tones consistently though the entire issue. The physical design of women in this comic has continued to impress me. There are more realistically sized. Babs has actual muscle and tone. There were a lot of moments where some of the great character development could have been set back by sexualized depictions of character taking away from Simone's work of developing her. Luckily for the story, the experience and the reader the Ardian Syaf and Vincente Cifuentes masterfully and smoothly avoided doing so.
The comics seem to be going fast. Some people on twitter have started saying that stores are sold out. If you like interesting female leads with a varied supporting cast I would suggest checking out Batgirl.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Justice League Dark #1
Series: Justice League Dark
Words: Peter Milligan
Images: Mikel Janin
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: In reality September but our cover reads November 2011
Format: Comic
Now this was one my additions to our pull box. I was curious. I like Zatanna. I wanted to read more with her in. That was pretty much my total motivation. I have not read much else by Milligan (though I have been meaning to read Tank Girl since the mid 90s) and Janin was not ringing any bells.
From page one it is pretty melodramatic. The comic opens with “My name is Madame Xanadu I have looked into the future. The future looked right back at me and told me to mind my own business. But I saw enough, enough to know that we are entering time of terrible danger....” And really that does set something of a tone through out the rest of the comic. It is a big giant dramatic magical feature.
We are introduced to each team member via their representation in her deck again on the very first page.
The first team member we actually meet is Shade. I'm not very familiar with Shade but so far my impression of him is he's vaguely creeptastic. Though my research into the back ground of the character shows that he's been used (sometimes even by this author) to explore some really interesting topics. Essentially this incarnation of Shade uses his Madness Vest (a magical vest that will warp reality to his will) to create a woman who will actually love him. Creepy. Of course when she threatens to leave him his magical vests sucks her back out of existence. Extra creepy.
We only get a small peek at Enchantress. Currently withered and haggard and more mad then well Shade.
We do get to see some of the generic Justice League trying to go up against magic of Enchantress and failing. It was sorta fantastic to see the Justice League not be good at something for a change.
Even better was seeing Zatana stand up to Batman and inform him he was out of his league. I like that she stood up to Batman. I like that she restrained him. I like that she told him off. I'm not overly sure I like that she views herself as expendable and he's not.
Instead of dragging Batman along she brings along John Constitine. Squee! Totally missed that addition and I'm very excited to read more with him.
The final team member to show up is Deadman though he barely gets a nod. Just a page and no witty banter.
As a whole I enjoyed it. The comic started strong. It sorta fell into a bit of a lull and then picked back up. I have high hopes though that Justice League Dark will hit it's stride and continue to get better and better.
I wouldn't suggest this for someone who is heavy into super heroes exclusively. However, if you like urban fantasy. If you enjoyed things from Vertigo or Wildstorm that verged on the supernatural. Then this might just be the comic for you.
Hell my heavy superhero mister who apparently doesn't enjoy fantasy (I had to lie about the dragons to get him to watch Game of Thrones) even says it was “pretty good”.
What I didn't like? The art is mediocre but has potential for improvement. There were a few panels that were good but over all it was very... okay-ish. I dislike Zatanna's costume. Though the entire internet has already exploded about that. If you missed that geeky internet explosion she now wears leather pants, a PVC bodice and fish nets on her arms instead of some variation of a magician costume. I know, I know the magician costume Zatanna was usually hyper sexualized so I should be happy. I'm not. The arm fishnets just look stupid. The corset isn't all that great either. And her shiny pants don't translate well into drawn format.
And so far in terms of physical character design it's leaned heavily towards big giant absurd beef cakes for males and pouty lipped big breasted women in low cuts for women. I actually stopped reading to count Superman's abs because they seemed inhuman. Batman, Wonderwoman and Superman didn't fit with any of the reboot incarnation's that I have read so far. The lack of consistency is starting to well... annoy me. What is the point in rebooting the universe if you are just going to set up the need for another reboot in 10 years?
I will be pulling the next one. Though unless the story improves drastically I wont be buying the trades when they come out.
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