Spider-Woman #5

Let’s all just agree to not really talk about the first four issues of this series, OK? They are very strongly tied in to the main Spiderverse story, and to be honest, they don’t really hold up that well. The story is clearly a side plot, and probably one that didn’t need to be told in such detail. Add in Greg Land’s much-discussed artwork… let’s all just agree that those issues happened, and move on.

The real first issue happens in issue #5. That’s the issue where Dennis Hopeless gets to trot out a new costume, a new attitude, and a new high concept for the series. Let’s be honest, this is 100% the Batgirl-ing of Spider-Woman. She’s got a new costume, she quits the Avengers, and she’s riding around in a cosplay-friendly suit handling street-level problems. This is Marvel’s answer to the DC’s modern Batgirl, and not surprisingly, I prefer Marvel’s take.

The main reason I dig Marvel’s Spider-Woman a bit more than Batgirl is due to the use of classic Marvel villains as plot devices. Any comic where Big Wheel (or his wife) play a role, you gotta know I’m going to appreciate it. Ben Urich is here too, tying this clearly into the Marvel U. I’m not a huge Urich fan, but he’s fine as a supporting character. He makes for a good plot device.

I also really appreciate Jessica Drew’s new outlook. Splitting from the Avengers makes sense, and while I don’t like that she’s messed up quite so many times since the break, I don’t mind the concept. Showing Jessica pull herself up by her bootstraps makes her easier to identify with and root for. I also like that her internal monologue feels like the same character as I’ve read about for years. This is not a new personality, instead it feels like Daredevil’s current outlook; it isn’t a new character, just a new attitude.

And the art is delightful. I will miss the classic Spider-Woman costume. It is just so full of 70’s greatness, I don’t’ think I’ll ever let it go. But the new suit is pretty darn striking and modern too. It still looks like a superhero costume, unlike Hawkeye’s terrible new duds. And Javier Rodriguez’s art is fantastic. The book maintains an independent feel while still looking like a Marvel book. I just wish that villain from the opening pages could show up again! He looks absolutely horrifying and fascinating, and he’s just a throw-away! Imagine what Rodriguez is going to do with classic characters and long-term villains. Exciting!

Thanks to the art, I think this might knock Silk out as my favorite of the Spiderverse launch titles. This book is GOOD!

Batgirl v4: Wanted HC

I think there might be something wrong with Gail Simone. When I write, I can come up with depressing and dark stuff. But Gail Simone has done it for so long, and done it so well… let’s just say I’m glad I don’t live in her neighborhood!

This book picks up with the new Ventriloquist, and my goodness, she’s a sicko. She’s a sociopath who started murdering as a child and hasn’t really slowed down. She kills famous people in an attempt for fame, but she also kills lots of random folks just to do it. This is about as new 52-y as you could hope for, if you are into bloody violence and murder!

 I must absolutely point out that Batgirl always responds to the death and violence in a heroic, appropriate manner. This isn’t the darkening of a hero; this is a hero trying to maintain a light in the darkness, which is much easier to take.

I’m not saying it isn’t well done; it absolutely is, but man! Simone continues to have a wonderful voice for Batgirl/Barbara Gordon. Babs is experiencing some major doubt after seemingly killing her murderous brother in the last arc. Jim Gordon witnessed the whole thing, and now Batgirl is public enemy #1 as the commissioner unknowingly targets his daughter. 

Simone does a nice job balancing the interpersonal drama here, including some new love interests for Babs. I really like the idea of Barbara dating a guy who is a bit damaged, so the romance has a nice star-crossed lovers feel to it. The warmth of the guy’s family does a lot to make the whole interaction sweeter too.

The art from Fernando Pasarin and Daniel Sampere is so effective in its use of the DC House style that I’m not sure I can really even comment on it! All those buckles, cowls, and strange detail lines are ever present on Batgirl and the villains are dark, spooky, and blood spattered. You sort of know what you are getting here!

This is an OK Batgirl story. I didn’t love it, didn't hate it. But I’m happy that there is a book featuring a competent, heroic hero in the new 52! 

Batgirl #35

I might not love the content of this comic, but by the New Gods, I will fight for DC’s right to create it.

After months and months of the dire, dour Batgirl title that I couldn’t put anywhere near my daughters, I have been anxiously awaiting the “soft reboot” promised in this issue. Batgirl is one of the most popular characters for young, female comic fans, so is this finally an era of the comic my nine and six-year-olds can enjoy?

Turns out, probably not. 

The book is clearly aiming a bit older for their audience. Online dating services, stolen personal photos, random hookups, and drinking are all core themes of this debut issue from Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher. There are literally so many new words for me in this issue I don’t know how many of the concepts laid out are new words for fake apps like “Hooq” and how many are just things I’ve never heard of! I always thought of myself as fairly tech-savvy, but half of the stuff the characters in this book talk about sounds like nonsense words to me. And there are hashtags in the dialogue! I’ve never felt so old!

The writers are playing a good mix here, with Barbara Gordon struggling with a quite a few things in her personal and professional life. That contrasts nicely with how effective and confident Babs is when she throws on the Batgirl costume. Once she’s in vigilante mode, she seems to have a pretty good handle on everything! I love that the new hipster Batgirl has a villain whose crimes are problems we’d see blowing up on Twitter and liberal news/media sites. This book is quite clear on who the target audience is; a very under-served market should feel quite pleased about this comic. 

One odd thing; with the sudden “de-aging” of Babs to a young college student (and one that could be mistaken for a much younger kid), it is very weird seeing Black Canary show up and crash on Batgirl’s couch. I mean, this is an adult coming to a kid for help! The soft reboot does a lot to open up options for the younger Barbara Gordon, but man, that relationship with Black Canary sure changes, doesn’t it?

Babs Tarr has gotten a lot of press for her more modern, emotive art style, and she deserves it. While her style isn’t my preferred for comics, I am certain my daughters would love it. That new costume is tremendous! I have read some reviews from other folks who really took pleasure noticing the clothes, the accessories, the makeup and other facets of the life of an almost-20 year old. This almost 40-year old missed all of that!

Much of the issue was way too “Scott Pilgrim” for me, but again, I’m thinking I’m not the target audience for this book anymore. I think Grant Morrison’s text-speak for The Gentry is as modern as I can handle at the moment. Hash tags in word bubbles? That’s a bit out of my element.

So for me, this was only FAIR, but I would assume that if you are between 12 and 20, this would probably be a pretty great comic. 

Birds of Prey v3: A Clash of Daggers TPB

Gail Simone and Duane Swiercynski use the third storyline as a way to swap the BoP roster around a bit. The book launched with Black Canary, Poison Ivy, Starling, Katana, and Batgirl. I’m not sure what happened with all those folks in the previous stories, as I only made it 2 or 3 issues in before I couldn’t read any more of the first trade. (Swiercynski has things moving along a little better here; while I never loved any particular issue, the story was fine.)

Back to the line-up! The first new member of the team is the mysterious “good” Talon introduced in Gail Simone’s Batgirl series. She’s fine, but it is pretty hard to get too attached to a totally mute character in a full facemask. I know people loved Cassandra Cain back in the day too, but I never really found a way to get interested in her either. (And it isn’t that they are women, I’m not a huge Snake Eyes fan either!) Later in the trade, we meet Condor, who is an affable doofus who seems to be a pretty decent guy. With his bird theme, simplistic view on crime and total lack of self-awareness, Condor is a pretty amusing addition to the team.

The storyline centers on Katana’s attempts to regain her sword from a mysterious clan of ninjas who are fond of daggers. None of the villains make for a very compelling central antagonist, which does weaken the conflict. Plus, the dagger clan totally resembles the Hand from Marvel comics, so I had to remind myself which universe I was reading about.  

So average villains plus a non-compelling storyline doesn’t leave the book too stacked with potential. That said, Swiercynski’s use of a few characters does make the book enjoyable to read. I really like Starling (I think she’s new to the new 52?), Black Canary’s power fluctuations are interesting, and it is amusing seeing Talon constantly wanting to kill her own teammates.

Admira Wijayadi, Daniel Sampere, Juan Jose Ryp, Vicente Cifuentes, and Romano Molenaar provide the art for these issues, leading me to believe there were some mad scrambles to meet deadlines. Only Ryp’s art really jumped out at me, with the intricate level of detail and gore that I’ve seen in his Avatar work. I actually think Ryp could be a pretty solid artist on a mainstream super hero book; the battle scenes were choreographed differently than I’m used to seeing.

This is an AVERAGE comic. But the good news is, I was able to finish the entire collection this time! And, I’d even read the next one! That’s a big step up for this book; one that exemplifies my feelings about the new 52 in general. 

Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection HC

It must be me! I love Gail Simone’s work with this character in Birds of Prey, but to me, seeing Barbara Gordon as Batgirl is still just a step back for the character. Oracle was one of the neatest ideas DC had, and yet the idea of an information broker powering the Justice League just can’t compete against the idea that some people remember a red-haired Batgirl from the 1960’s TV show. That type of thinking just drives me crazy.

Simone goes out of her way to create a couple new Gotham villains in the classic Batman mold. Mirror is a widowed father out to punish others who have “miracle” survival stories. He thinks that surviving is a curse and that it is not fair that some get to live while his family died. That’s a classic warped bad guy’s back-story, PLUS he’s got a mirror on his chest! That’s a great logo/identifier. I think the guy certainly has potential to show up again in later Bat-books.

The second villain is Gretel, another villain who has been through a traumatic experience and is taking it out on the world. The Gotham underworld gets some of the blame, but when Gretel targets Bruce Wayne, it is easier to see just how crazy she is.

Simone’s two opening villains are both obvious contrasts to Barbara Gordon. Where she overcame the trauma of Joker’s assault (The Killing Joke still happened in the new 52), these new villains have never been able to move on. Simone works extremely hard to create a new status quo, supporting cast, and tone for Barbara Gordon, but I just can’t buy it. There are references to Barbara’s brother, so evidently Scott Snyder’s Dark Mirror story might still sort of count, but good luck figuring out how that continuity works.

The violence is as brutal as all the other new 52 books, ensuring that I can’t let my 8 year old daughter read a comic starring Batgirl. Ardian Syaf has that Joe Bennett DC-house style down pat, but it just isn’t for me. I can appreciate elements of the costume design like Batgirl’s armor plated gauntlets and Mirror’s chest piece, but faces and bodies sometimes get a bit lumpy during action scenes. I will say that Nightwing’s new costume seems to be one of the few positive redesigns in the new 52. I like that red on black look.

Average

Batgirl #1

I’d planned on skipping this book out of protest for the removal of Oracle. After a lot of positive comments on Twitter and review sites, I decided to give the first issue a chance. I’m glad I did. While the book isn’t kid-friendly at all (I had hoped to read it with my daughter), it does have some of the sick villainy that Gail Simone did so well in Secret Six.

Simone's new villain (the Mirror) opens up the book drowning a man with a yard hose, and that’s only one of about 10 murders spread through the issue. That’s not counting the home invasion and Killing Joke flashback. Speaking of KJ, I’m fascinated with the idea that Barbara is having flashbacks and freezing in action when things happen that remind her of her darkest day. It’s a tremendously realistic side effect, I don’t care how much the hero loves his or her job; sometimes you’re going to get rattled.

Ardian Syaf’s art is decent, but I wasn’t particularly blown away. He’s got that Joe Bennett/Ed Benes look, and I’m not a huge fan. I also think skewing the costume a tad more classic wouldn’t hurt, either. Too much armor and treading on that current Batgirl suit.

So basically, this book has the scary villainy of Secret Six with the bright heroics of Birds of Prey. Not a bad combo at all. It’s a recipe that will bring me back again next month.

Good

DC Relaunch! New books part two

So there have been a slew of books announced since my last update. Here’s some quick thoughts:

Green Lantern – Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke – sounds like this is continuing along with Johns’ vision, and since we’re not ditching continuity I’ll probably stick around.

Green Lantern Corps – Peter Tomasi and Fernado Pasarin – I wish Kyle was on this team, but I suppose Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kilowog and the rest will do. I’m buying.

Green Lantern “Rainbow Corps” – Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham – I haven’t loved Bedard’s work on GLC, but I want to support Kyle’s continued existence in the DCU. I’m in.

Red Lanterns - Peter Milligan and Ed Benes - the only way I'll pick this up is if it has the Red Lanterns puking up all over each other in regular conversation, like something out of Monty Python. "Look, Atrocitus, it's Hal BLAAAARGH."

Batman – Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo – unlike a lot of folks, my last memories of Capullo’s work are on X-Force, and I liked him there. I’m very tempted.

Batman & Robin - Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason - these guys wrote one of the best Batman stories of the past year, and Damian Wayne is still around. Yeah, I'm in.

Detective Comics – Tony Daniel – I saw enough during Grant Morrison’s run. No thanks.

Dark Knight – David Finch – I am morally opposed to a new #1 after two issues. Nope.

Catwoman – Judd Winick and Guillem March – I’m not a huge fan of either guy, so this is easy enough to pass on.

Batwoman – JH Williams and Amy Reeder – I know this will look beautiful, but will it be good? I’m tempted.

Birds of Prey – Dwayne Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz – Black Canary, Poison Ivy, Thorn, and Katana is an interesting team, but “black ops team of Gotham?” I don’t think so. (And look at how covered up all those ladies are!)

And the big one:

Batgirl – Gail Simone and Ardian Syaf – Wow, this is tough. I love Oracle, and I’m not opposed to Barbara Gordon back in the batsuit, in fact, I’m happy about it. But is it through reboot or through in-story development? That will decide if I get this one or not.

Brave & the Bold #33

Hmm. Something doesn't add up. iPhones. All the Single Ladies by Beyonce. All of this in a story pre-Killing Joke? Yeah... that's not right. I don't like JMS' take on Wonder Woman either, she strips a bomber in the opening pages then makes a comment about how she never has a problem getting men out of their clothes. Seems a little sleazy for WW, doesn't it? Later in the book she's weeping in a bathroom with Zatanna. Now, they have something to be sad about, but again, I don't see WW as a crier. It has me a tad worried about JMS' upcoming run with the character.

And didn't I just read a story called "Ladies Night" where She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Woman got all dolled up and went to a club?

There is no doubt that the art in this thing is beautiful, but man, the story is a big swing and a miss.

Average (Poor story with Excellent art)

Batgirl #4

This is the best issue of this new series so far. Stephanie Brown is fully into her role as Batgirl and firmly under the wing of Oracle as she gets trained up for the responsibility of being Batgirl. The best bit about this issue is the running joke about bantering with villains. On multiple occasions, Oracle mocks Batgirl's attempts to mock her foes, and we see she got that mocking from her Dad. Commissioner Gordon take a chance to poke fun at his new detective a couple times this issue, making this the most likeable deployment of the Gotham PD in quite some time. Bryan Q Miller skims over some low-level fighting and then quickly wraps up a showdown with Livewire (the Superman villainess). It's funny, because Batgirl gets a quick and easy win against this much more powerful foe, but it easily could have gone the other way if luck wasn't on her side. I'm still interested in seeing just how effective Stephanie will be as Batgirl. She's still seems to have more moxie than actual skill. I'm not as interested in the Oracle subplot, but I'm glad she's getting featured somewhere.

The two artists (Lee Garbett and Tim Levins) have very different styles. They're just lucky that the artists the work most resembles are both guys I like. Batgirl often looks like a Barry Kitson creation, and the Oracle sequences look like Yanick Paquette's work. But I like both of those other guys' work, so I'm not complaining.

Fair

Batgirl #2

And the march of average Bat-titles continues. I was always a fan of Stephanie Brown as the Spoiler, but I'm less interested in her as Batgirl, because I feel like she already had this kind of adversarial relationship with the bat-family when she was Robin. Having Barbara Gordon hanging out in this book as Steph's advisor makes sense, I suppose, but I'm still sore that Birds of Prey was cancelled to make Oracle available for her appearances here. BoP was a stronger title.

The core storyline is a new drug that turns folks into berserk maniacs, affecting everyone from college students to cops. Naturally, the mystery villain who created the drug is the Scarecrow. I think it's a wise move to put Steph up against a big-time threat like this right away; it will help legitimize her if she can take him down. I'm getting a weird vibe from the monologues from both Steph and Barbara, because they both seem to be downplaying Steph's potential as Batgirl. She's not as smart as Barbara, she's not as strong a fighter as Cassandra Cain, and she's not as good a detective as any of the Batmen. So why is she the new Batgirl? Hopefully this first arc will show me why, but right now, it is convincing me of the opposite.

Lee Garbett is sort of like a scratchier Mike Norton. His storytelling is fine, but to be honest Phil Noto's pencils on the covers are so impressive I can't help but be let down by the interiors. Garbett's storytelling is decent, though, and his take on Scarecrow is pretty iconic and cool. I'm looking forward to seeing his take on the new Batgirl costume.

Average