by Patrick
Here we are, ready for our tenth issue of ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER, and DC issues a recall because you can read they didn't do a good enough job blacking out all the swears that Frank Miller wrote. So why we wait for the long awaited issue to be pulped and reprinted, it seems like a good moment to sit back, look back at the first nine issues, and ask ourselves, "what the hell was Frank Miller and Jim Lee thinking?!" So, now the Bad Genious would like to present the wildest, wackiest, craziest moments that made fandom put their funny books down, look at each other, and say "what the F*@%?"
#1: Talking with Green Lantern Batman finds a way to deal with Hal Jordan. You have to think why didn't Sonar or Black Hand ever use this method.
I love that he's drinking lemonade. It pushes the gag that much farther. And you'll now how Batman refers to himself, which brings us to bullet point #2...
#2: THE GODDAMN BATMAN: No one noticed when Vicky Vale called him by his newest trademarked name (Granted, we were paying more attention to her underwear parade when she rolled out the name).
Clark Kent is way too proper of a young man to say the whole thing out loud, but we all know he is thinking it.
Black Canary seems to think it's his first name.
But everyone takes notice when our favorite playboy millionaire start referring to himself as "The Goddamn Batman!"
#3: Batman Rolls Over Some Cops. So Batman, you've just saved your future sidekick from corupt police officers. Now what are you going to do?
"I'm going to run them over like roadkill!"
All Star Batman- Bringing you the pure Batman you grew up with!
#4: The Introduction of Wonder Woman: We start out with Wonder Woman walking to a meeting with the Justice League. And she just feels like sharing her view of men as she walks along: Sperm-Banks!
Then we have the Amazon's view on what to do with the "Batman Problem."
And then she reacts as only woman on TV or in Frank Miller comics act. Namely "I Hate you! You make me sick! Yet, you turn me on and must have my way with you."
Somehow, I don't think this is what Adam Huges had in mind when he signed up to produce ALL-STAR WONDER WOMAN.
#5: THE VICKI VALE FASHION SHOW
And our final moment...
#6: Batman hooks up with Black Canary
Black Canary. In the DCU, she's a strong willed, strong female. Leader of the Justice League. And not someone who you would want to mess with.
All-Star Black Canary, not quite the strong female role model we see in her own book. Hence her jumping Batman's bones the second she see him.
That's all for today. Until Batgirl beats up gang members while shouting profanities, make mine All-Star Batman!
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9.10.2008
Another Godd@*# Batman List: The Most Insane Moments from All Star Batman (so-far)
6.30.2008
DC Comics -- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
by Chris
With all the talk of DC comics in the news lately, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at what they're doing well and what they're not doing so well. Most of the press recently has been negative, what with Chuck Dixon leaving, Warren Ellis making comments on his Bad Signal e-mail, and other creators complaining in general in regards to the editorial direction or lack thereof. After Doug's article last week about the company, I figured I'd throw in my $0.02. Are DC's comics these days really that bad? Does this reader have anything good to say about the company? Read on and find out!
The Good:
Batman -- Sometimes, I have no idea what Grant Morrison is doing with a story, but then, a few issues down the road in a different story arc, he'll pull stuff in that he introduced six months ago and make it awesome. He did it with New X-Men and he's doing it now with Batman. Combine that with Tony Daniel putting in the work of his career and you've got an awesome book.
Detective Comics -- Paul Dini's one and done (sometimes two and done) stories are refreshing in these days of story arcs that take six months to get to the payoff. Then there's Dustin Nguyen's moody and gorgeous artwork. Put them together and you've got something stellar. Month in and month out, these
guys put together an engaging, well drawn story.
Justice Society of America -- Okay, I have no idea whose legacy half these new characters are carrying on, but I'm still enjoying this book immensely. The passion that Johns (and Ross) have for these characters just bleeds onto the page, which translates into some amazing stories. With so many characters, there's just a ton of stuff going on in each issue, which is so much the opposite of a lot of books these days. Dale Eaglesham doesn't get a lot of mention when talking about this book, but his artwork is very good.
Action Comics -- While I was pretty underwhelmed by Richard Donner's run on the book, Johns has really taken the bull by the horns, so to speak. No one has ever gotten me interested in the Legion of Superheroes, but that arc was amazing. Johns really made me care about them and really got me emotionally attached to their relationship to Superman. Now I'm really looking forward to the Brainiac story.
Sinestro Corps War -- Now THAT is how you do a crossover. I didn't even buy the Green Lantern Corps issues and still was able to follow the story and enjoy it thoroughly. Great character moments, plenty of action, and engaging storytelling, much unlike the rest of Johns' run on the book (see below).
The Bad:
Green Lantern -- Aside from the Sinestro Corps War storyline, this book is pretty boring. Why do they feel it's necessary to take six issues to re-tell Hal Jordan's origin? I can maybe see three with all the seeds they're planting for upcoming storylines, but six seems excessive, especially when nothing's
really happening. And don't get me started on the arc early in Johns' run with Hal getting shot down in Chechnya. Put me right to sleep. The one redeeming quality in all of this is Ivan Reis' gorgeous artwork.
Kurt Busiek's Superman run -- I love me some Kurt Busiek. He's one of my favorite writers. How does he turn out almost two years' worth of boring Superman stories? I wasn't engaged by any of it. I enjoyed the Carlos Pacheco artwork on the few issues he was on, but aside from that, I can't believe Busiek wrote these issues. I'm looking forward to seeing what James Robinson will do with the book.
Wonder Woman -- When Greg Rucka took over this book before Infinite Crisis, it was the first time I'd bought more than three issues of the book. Rucka had such brilliant ideas and such a grasp on the character that it was an amazing read each and every month. Then Infinite Crisis came along and the book sunk right down into mediocrity and it hasn't pulled itself out yet. Allan Heinberg's run was a train wreck from the start. Jodi Picoult's arc was unbelievably cheesy and felt like it was written in the 70s. Now Gail Simone is writing it and I'm surprised at how un-engaging the stories are. I have faith in her storytelling abilities and Aaron Lopresti is doing an excellent job, so I'll stick around for a while, but how hard is it to get this book right?
Flash -- This book had been awesome for 10 years. Mark Waid, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, and Geoff Johns had elevated this book to one of the best superhero books on the stands. As soon as Johns left, it died. The last few issues before it ended was painful to read. The series with Bart was mediocre at best. Even Waid couldn't re-ignite the magic he had. Now Peyer has come on and we're again at mediocre. I think DC has had problems relaunching a lot of their books post-OYL in general, which points to bad editorial planning.
The Ugly:
Supergirl -- Okay, the first year and a half of this book were usually a bit confusing as to what exactly was going on, but it was crystal clear compared to what the new creative team is doing. I dropped the book after two issues because I had absolutely no idea what was going on. The story wasn't explained, it was just Superman sending Kara after some aliens into another galaxy or some such and then all of a sudden she was back on Earth. There would be panels with no dialogue and no narration and the artist didn't help us understand what was going on. I gave up. I'm still upset they canceled Peter David's version of the book. The new creative team of writer Sterling Gates and penciller Jamal Igle takes over in October. It will be tied in quite closely with Robinson's and Johns' books. Hopefully, they can make the book interesting and relevant.
Crisis of Infinite Mini-Series Tie-Ins When you have to read three or four different mini-series to understand what's going on in an additional crossover or even your favorite monthly book, there's something wrong. Teen Titans, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman all became unreadable during the Amazons Attack story unless you were buying the mini series. Ditto Superman and Action Comics at times during Countdown. If you didn't read the four tie-in mini-series, Infinite Crisis was difficult to follow. And now I've seen at least six mini-series tying into Final Crisis. I'll tell you this: I won't be buying any of them.
the whole Chuck Dixon thing -- So we don't know the whole story behind this, but when the guy who made Robin readable again and was doing a very good job on Batman and the Outsiders suddenly leaves the company, something isn't quite right. The man was a major force in the Batman family of books throughout the 90s, wrote Robin, Nightwing, and Birds of Prey for years, and has a fairly large fan base. I figure you would find any way possible to keep a guy like that working for you.
Late books and fill-in creators -- I was going to write something about how bad it is to have to have a fill-in artist on the second issue of Titans, but I was informed that Ian Churchill injured his hand and physically couldn't do the work. However, there are plenty of other places where DC has dropped the ball, with Action Comics and Wonder Woman post-OYL being the worst offenders. Then we've got fill-in art on Final Crisis, entire fill-in creative teams on Batman and Detective Comics last year, and don't get me started on yanking Tony Bedard off of Batman and the Outsiders before it even got started. They seem to be getting better with this type of thing, though.
So, while there are some areas where DC could improve, there are definitely some good books begin put out, too. I haven't been reading Countdown, so I can't comment on that book as far as editorial direction goes. I also haven't been following the whole thing with Grant Morrison and his complaints about how the editorial team has handled some of the stuff for Final Crisis. They do have a handful of books that are extremely good right now and a few that could become
very good once they find a solid direction. I'll be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
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6.05.2008
Patrick's Hat Trick: Signs of Things to Come
by Patrick
Whoever I am? It says "by Patrick" right at the top of the post. And if you want the rest of this post to appear so you can get started, all you have to do is click here:
TRINITY #1: After the success of 52 and the...let's call it...the interesting experiment of Countdown, DC is launching their newest year long weekly book. And after one issue, it's looking like this one will be closer to 52 in quality. The issue is pretty much all set-up. And I don't think that is a bad thing. The first part of the book, by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley (in what I believe to be his DC debut), deals with our "Trinity" of heroes (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) getting together to discuss a dream they all had. Except it was one of those dreams that people have in comic books that they know wasn't just a dream. We get lots of good character moments, a little snippet of action from the Flash and his kids, and end on a cliffhanger that looks like it may start moving the story along pretty quickly. One thing I was wondering .... 
Since when does Wonder Woman lose her powers when she is out of
The second half of the book, with nice art from Scott McDaniel and Mark Bagley, focuses on a trio of villains coming together to oppose our heroes, as well as offering some possible views of where the story may be going.
I wonder if some reviewers will be complaining that not enough happens in the first issue. I won't be one of them. It was a good set up. If I was reading a 52-chapter novel, I would expect the first chapter to be set up. And that is what we got here. An interesting first chapter that makes me want to come back and check out chapter two. Grade: B An interesting beginning, but can it hold our interest for a year?
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #16: Has this book been running late and is catching up? Or where there suppose to be two books this month? Because I was very surprised to see this issue this week. It hasn't even been a week since I reviewed issue fifteen. I'm glad to say the pace has seemed to pick up a bit. I felt like more happened. The reveal of Gog and his past was handled well. And it looks like this could be an interesting arc. And it's been fun to have the page or two painted by Alex Ross every issue. Grade: B-The story is good, the pace is picking up a little bit. Let's hope it doesn't tread water until the end of the arc.
HARBINGER: THE RETURN HC: Remember when Valiant comics were the hottest books being published? I remember seeing early issues of Harbinger going for over a hundred bucks. Well, those days are long gone. Valiant was sold, closed its door, and is now back to publishing some of its old stuff again. Dan looked at the X-O Man-O-War collection this past weekend. The Harbinger collection was suppose to hit stores a few months ago, but I believe it was held up by some lawsuits. But I would like to say, I think it was worth the wait. I read some of the Valiant books back in the day. But Harbinger was not one of them. And I have to say, it was a pretty good book. Strong characters, lots of action, and some densely plotted stories. The art on the original issues is all by David Lapham, but don't expect it too look like his current stuff. Valiant had a pretty strong house style when it started, and the art here reflects that.
The extras include the original story from the back of the coupons of Harbinger 1-6, which gave details on the main villain's past, as well as a new story written by Jim Shooter that expands the story from the coupons. I was also surprised by Solar: Man of the Atom's appearance in the books. Everything I had heard about this new Valiant was they didn't have the rights to him or Magnus: Robot Fighter. Grade: BStrong characters, good story (if sometimes a little wooden in the storytelling)and good art make for a very nice hardcover collection.Well, that's three reviews, so it's time to close up the Hat Trick for this week. Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. As always, I'm interesting in hearing yours in the comments section below. See you next week.
6.02.2008
Waking the Feminist inside the Fangirl
by Cindy Cooper
I should start off by admitting that I’m not a very good feminist. I love comics, and not just Sandman and Indy comics. No, some of my very favorite comics are the male power fantasy superhero ones, like Batman or Daredevil. Often in this type of comic, women are either absent, peripheral or physically mal-proportioned at best. I enjoy superhero comics so much that I recently sat watching Iron Man with a ridiculous grin stretched from ear to ear, experiencing what I can only define as a fangasm. I am such a bad feminist that it didn’t occur to me until days later that there aren’t any decent female superhero movies. Since then, how women are viewed, by the comic book and movie industries has been on my mind quite a bit. 
It’s no secret that most women do not read superhero comics. We aren’t their target audience? Therefore, the marketing towards women and girls is largely non-existent. But, I don’t think it’s because we aren’t interested in the subject matter. If you’re between the ages of say 30 and 40 you might remember a show called Wonder Woman. I know for a fact that my sister and I weren’t the only little girls spinning until we were nauseous in the hopes that we’d spontaneously combust into an Amazon princess. We followed her adventures breathlessly every week, between November 1975 and September 1979 when the TV series, starring Lynda Carter ended.
She was strong and fierce, but decent, honest and graceful in spirit. She was something to aspire to, even if we’d never be able to bend bars with our bare hands. We could still aspire to her courage and complete fabulousness. She affected us in a way that would stick with many of us for years to come.
Wonder Woman the TV series occurred during a time of burgeoning girl power in popular culture. The same time period would give us The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and arguably even Charlie’s Angels. These growing from shows like Mary Tyler Moore and That Girl. Shows where female characters were the protagonist and making their own way, often, gasp! without the aid of a man to pay her rent. It was a good time to be a little girl watching TV.
So why didn’t those little girls watching superheroes grow to be a generation of women reading about superheroes? Part of it is socialization. Little girls have historically been steered away from superhero comics, in the same way they are steered away from toy trucks and those little plastic army guys and towards pink Barbie and baby doll type toys and books. Also, comic book stores can be daunting for a woman sometimes. The staff sometimes stares at you as if you’re an alien and scores of giant chested women stare down from the walls of these stores. Look, we have fashion magazines made specifically for us that make us feel bad about ourselves. We don’t need to go to a special store for that treat. And like I stated earlier, the stories themselves often write women more as props than well-developed characters. I believe this last is the real issue. 
Women don’t just like a story because it is about women. We like stories that are well-written and well-developed, just like anyone else. There’s no need for Lifetime comics. As comic story lines become more grounded in the real world, the fact that often their female characters are mere sketches becomes more apparent. That is not to say that there aren’t more developed depictions of women in super hero comics. One example is the push to make Ms. Marvel a major player in the Marvel U, a heroine with some authority. I appreciate moves like that. However, it’s a small step and since the marketing is not there how are girls and women to know that there might be a story they'd enjoy coming from the Big 2?
So, what is the next generation of girls to do for heroes? I suppose there’s Dora and Hannah Montana but what about women of courage and power little girls can hope to emulate? What character is filling that bill for this generation? I have a 10 year old niece who, until recently, looked up to Brittany Spears, a fact that I find terrifying. My other niece is 7 and like her aunt has a thing for the superheroes. However, when you ask her who her favorites are she will tell you Superman and Spider-Man. And they are fine role models, but where have all the heroines gone?
If you ask around, the word is that stories about women don’t sell. It’s a fabulous atmosphere for maturing girls. Get your Hannah while you can, girls, because by the time you hit your late twenties, the only place you’ll see anyone you can identify with on the big screen are romantic comedies, with the exception of the occasional indy movie. You’d like to read stories featuring women in lead roles? Hit the chick lit. It’s the best you’re going to get. I don’t even want to tell you about what happens once you hit your 30s and 40s, girls.
What are we telling them about their place in life? Go find yourself a nice man. Be sexy. Be desirable. Learn to be the arm candy. Don’t be too strong. Don’t be too funny. The best you can hope for is side kick, kid, unless you get some really big boobs. No one wants to hear your story. It’s just not profitable.
It’s true that, movies about super heroines haven’t delivered financially. The reason being is that the efforts, for example Elektra and Catwoman, have been abysmal. It seems movies featuring super heroines as the title characters haven’t been given the same amount of respect as movies featuring their male counterparts. Just look at the recent Catwoman costume. You can’t look at that costume and tell me there was respect involved. It goes beyond sexy and into the realm of the costume bargain bin at Party City. It’s as if they weren’t even trying to get anyone to care about these characters.
This summer, two movies are hitting the theater, based on very popular serialized stories with female leads. Sex and the City was one of HBO’s most successful series of all time. This past weekend the movie opened in theaters. According to Bloomberg.com, the movie brought in $55 million this weekend, in US and Canadian theaters, knocking Indiana Jones out of the top spot. The success of a movie about 4 women in their 40s says a lot about the power of women in movies. 
At the other end of the girl power spectrum, Kit Kittredge: An America Girl will open in theaters on July 2nd. For those of you who haven’t been near a 10 year old girl at all in the past 10 years, American Girl is a doll company that created a line of historical dolls from different periods in American history. Kit is a little girl growing up during the Depression. Incidentally, all of the historical dolls in the American Girl line are represented in a line of serialized books that detail their experiences. These books have been very popular with little girls over the past decade.
Will these movies finally prove that stories about women and girls sell? Dare we hope that the success of these movies could finally lead to seeing our beloved Diana Prince on screen? Is it possible that more super heroines and even regular powered women will be written with the same respect as Tony Stark? My sister and I are poised to buy tickets for our entire families when the day comes.
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