Signal Watch Reads: Star Trek/ Legion of Super-Heroes Crossover

To begin with:  I've been utterly compromised.

In order to retain whatever passes for journalistic integrity around here, I should mention that Saturday night I had a couple of cocktails with Ms. @Allisontype and her husband, writer of this comic, Chris Roberson.  Excellent people.  All the stories are true.

Also - ask them about their Halloween cookies.

I had intended to do my review of this book prior to the evening, and failed.

So, here's more of an informal discussion of what I'll say up front is a really fun comic.

I am totally okay with Phil Jimenez doing nothing but drawings of Uhura and Saturn Girl forever

Reading Superheroes and "The Book" - pieces on a board

En route to Laredo I switched between podcasts and the audiobook of Grapes of Wrath.  We'll talk Steinbeck some other time, but one podcast I listen to with regularity is Radiolab, produced out of New York. And if you wonder about the pedigree of the show, one of its hosts/ producers/ creators recently won a MacArthur Genius Grant.

The episode I was listening to while plowing across the glittering fields of Texas was "Games".  You can hear the episode below.

At the 26:30 mark, there's a terrific story on chess.



I loved this story. Jamie and I tried many games while we lived in Arizona, looking for ways to fill weekends. At one point, we owned a plastic chess set that actually had the possible moves of each pieces printed into the plastic. It was real beginner stuff. But whether we played Checkers, Chess or Connect Four, sooner or later, we stalemated. I always found this interesting if only because it became predictable and boring. We both play defensively, neither of us had any real strategy or experience to call upon, and so... we'd just stalemate. Too few moves in our arsenal, too little understanding of the games we were playing, and the fact we played only one another wasn't helping, either.

Signal Watch Reads: Justice League #2 (New 52)

Justice League #2
Justice League: Part Two
writer - Geoff Johns
penciller - Jim Lee
inker - Scott Williams
colorist - Alex Sinclair
letterer - Patrick Brosseau
associate editor - Rex Ogle
editor - Eddie Berganza
this review is of the print, standard cover edition

Having had read almost 3 dozen of the New 52, I'm a bit over the shock of these All New #1's not exactly having the best idea what a #1 might look like that's useful to new readers.  In this series, its clear that Geoff Johns will be writing for the trade.  He's counting on the fact that our new readers have familiarity enough with Superman, Batman and Green Lantern (and The Flash!) that we need not spend much time getting readers caught up.  It'll be several more issues before the band is put together, I'd guess, but when assembled, Johns will have put down a template for a possible treatment of whatever Justice League movie the comics-side of DCE must be day-dreaming about as the trailers for Avengers have spun the internet into a little tizzy.*

The B&N v. Kindle Fire v. DC Comics debacle

So, here's the rundown.

Amazon has introduced the "Kindle Fire", their next generation Kindle and lightweight, relatively cheap competitor to the iPad.  As part of their launch, they announced that Amazon had signed a deal with DC Comics to carry about 100 graphic novels exclusively on the Fire in digital format.

DC also has several other outlets through which digital comics can be bought, but not these hot-selling graphic novels (at least hot-selling in paper form).

Barnes & Noble heard about the deal and loudly announced that they would be removing all of the exclusive graphic novels from their physical shelves.  Not their digital store, but the regular 'ol graphic novels from bookstores.

This is a few months before the holidays, which is when, I assume, B&N has a lot of foot traffic and sells a lot of comics.  Its intended to sound the alarm for any publishers looking to make exclusive deals not to do so, lets B&N, now the only bookstores more or less left in the US, will totally rain on your parade.  The "Books-a-Million" chain, which I've never seen (its not in Austin) has also pulled the same list of graphic novels.

I've been watching the situation with muted interest.

1.  I do not own an iPad or Kindle
2.  I likely will not own any digital device like that until late 2012 or much later
3.  I actually own physical copies of a remarkable number of the books on the list, some of them for over 10 or 15 years, so I've only partially been paying attention as - I'm not worried about where I can get those books
4.  I don't buy graphic novels at B&N, anyway.  Doing so is kind of a bad practice as you can get a better selection while helping out your friends at your local comic shop by buying your graphic novels from a better curated comics selection.  Buying graphic novels at B&N is like buying your meat at Target.  Its there, but...
5.  I haven't bought a book from a book store in years.  Generally, I find Borders and B&N pretty unpleasant in a late-90's box-store way.  And I never have a "book emergency" where I can't wait a few days for Amazon to put something in my mailbox at a greatly reduced cost.

Continuing through the New 52 #1s - Green Lantern/ Red Lantern

I apologize.  I thought I'd do this more quickly.  Well, life happens, people.  Life happens.  We're still talking about all of the New 52 #1's.

I'm now making my way through the Green Lantern family of books.

Green Lantern #1
by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke

Darn you, Geoff Johns.  Intellectually, I know you're not the world's best writer, but this was actually a fairly solid issue of Green Lantern.  Maybe not a "what is a Green Lantern and let's start from scratch" sort of #1 issue that we could have used for this comic, but...  in all fairness, I gave up on floppies of GL a while ago and have been picking up the trades, so I'm very much behind.  And while I want to know how we got here (and will buy the comics to find out), I never felt completely lost.

Hal was a GL.  He's not.  Now this jerk with a really despicable history, Sinestro, has his ring and Jordan is back on earth trying to remember how people basically go about their day-to-day lives.  And he has no idea.

Its an interesting bit, because my continual complaint about the GL series has been that Johns never slows down to let Hal develop into a real character, or be much more than the handsome fellow wielding the ring.  Frankly, Kyle Rayner has had far more time wrestling with these sorts of things of late than big-time "I've got my own movie" Hal Jordan.

You aren't going to get much out of a Johns comic but what's on the page exactly, but he's still very, very good at turning in comics that are a good, enjoyable read.  Even when you can almost see the gears of what he's doing, right there on the page.

I'd read some negative reviews about this comic, and I sort of have to raise an eyebrow.  It seemed almost as if readers were confused or unwilling to deal with their characters facing any adversity they couldn't punch, in this case:  Hal Jordan's inability to land a job.  But it actually all fits pretty neatly, and, frankly, answers a lot of the questions I'd had about the wobbly set-up Johns seemed to give Hal in the early days of this series.  How the hell WAS he supposed to be in the Air Force during war time and not be on active duty?  Or at least have someone looking for him?

Anyhoo...  its more of Johns on GL.  And given the success of the book prior to the New 52, that's perfectly okay by me.

Red Lantern
by Peter Milligan and Ed Benes

I don't really believe Atrocitus is necessarily a bad character, or even a two-dimensional character, but the concept of being steaming mad all the time?   By the time any writer explores all the nuances of rage, its not really rage anymore.  Already within this first issue, our protagonist has pensive and introspective moments, which seems to push back against the concept of what it means to be blind with rage or fury.

But you can't write that kind of energy level for characters all the time.  It threatens to stick too many characters with, more or less, exactly the same personality and its got nowhere to go.  And deep down, we sort of know that rage isn't really a useful reaction to much of anything.  Its why clever animators have given us Yosemite Sam all these years.

Do I think this book will appeal to young readers looking for vindication (and a nigh-romantic take) on their inability to manage their personal hissy-fits?  That the correct reaction to slights against us is spewing blood to make more blood?    Milligan will have to do a lot more in this book than he did in issue 1 to convince me.

Also, I almost laughed outloud at how sadly watered down Moore's original visions which eventually spawned Atrocitus and others became, and even the excitement of seeing Atrocitus the first times when we see him explaining "I used to be a psychologist".  Sigh.  There are so many things wrong there, and the fact Atrocitus was redesigned into a pink guy with a pointy nose in this book?

Man, Atrocitus, you used to be cool.  Now you're kind of...  like post 1999 Ozzy versus "he bit the head off a bat" Ozzy.

The curious bi-furcation of DC Entertainment

DC Entertainment and puzzle and game manufacturer, Wonder Forge, have announced that Wonder Forge has licensed both "Super Friends" style DC characters for little kids puzzles and toys and "Justice League" characters for older kids and adults.

Yesterday a whole block of cartoon programming centering on DC's characters, lasting over multiple hours per week (over multiple years) on Cartoon Network was announced.  Kids (and adults) will be getting family-friendly versions of Batman, Plastic Man, Doom Patrol and a My Little Pony-type take on Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Supergirl.

One also cannot help but notice that Hot Wheels (yes, the tiny, inexpensive toy cars) has been running ads for Justice League themed cars on the backs of certain DC comics that, historically, should be kid-friendly, such as Superman. 

And, of course, General Mills is putting the Justice League on boxes of cereal.  In their traditional costumes.

Meanwhile, I read Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws.  Bit of a different thing.

Diane Nelson was not brought to DC Comics (which she immediately renamed DC Entertainment) because she happened to suggest to Warner Bros. that they could do well to publish this nifty book about a wizarding school and the unlucky little boy living under the stairs.  Nelson was one of the architects who turned Harry Potter the book into Harry Potter the cultural touchstone.  The Potter franchise is clearly cross-generational, reaching out well past the original audience of young readers and becoming a movie franchise worth more than most nations, a tourist destination in Florida, a line of high-end collectibles in your SkyMall catalog, lines of cheap Halloween costumes, etc... 

What's curious to me is that I'm assuming Nelson is at least partly aware of the strategies at the comics side of DC, and has raised a thumb in support of the "males 18-34" plan put into place by DC Comics.

No More Krypto - DC makes a decision with which I must disagree

According to reports coming out of the New York ComicCon, DC has decided that there will be no more Krypto in the New 52.

This makes me sad.  And this is sort of the thing that is making me wonder about the stated goal of aiming your comics at the 18-34 year old male demographic.

While I do think the comics of the 90's were aimed at an all-ages audience, the 90's Superman comics by-passed the Bronze Age in terms of "world building", but it was also one of the dullest eras of Superman as creators tried everything in their power to avoid reminding readers of the past 50 years of Superman comics and tried to pretend that Superman was just a straightforward superhero book that would fit in alongside "gritty" books.  And, hey, who should be picking up writing chores on Superman than Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen?   Competent writers, but its a strange fit to jump 20 years backward as they're supposedly moving forward.

sorry, buddy

For me, as a Superman fan, this is disappointing.

Return to the New 52: Batbooks Part 3 (BoP, The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin)

Hey, Signal Corps!  Still plugging through the Batbooks.  We're on to the Green Lantern books in the next installment.


A reminder that you should visit the good folks at Austin Books and Comics.  They've more or less sponsored by complete read of the New 52!  And, absolutely remember that these are reviews, but they're my opinion and my opinion only.  And I'm old and cranky and still can't believe Superman no longer has red trunks.

Birds of Prey #1
by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz

I'm including Birds of Prey in this book because, well, this book always takes place in Gotham, and it seems odd not to talk about it in context with Batman.  Also, I was a very much on-again, off-again reader of Birds of Prey going back some years.

This issue just sort of feels like a bunch of stuff happening because its a modern/ current-type comic and so we cna expect lots of covert military style folks in dark, urban locations fighting each other in light body armor.  Unless you have prior knowledge of the DCU, I have no idea why you'd care or feel like you know about these characters.  And you certainly get no insight into what is actually happening other "some people in outfits that make them semi-invisible seem to want to hurt two women who have no problem with property damage".  Frankly, this was so full of cut and pasted 00's-era comics scenes, I was bored stiff.

Return to the New 52: Batbooks Part 2 (Red Hood & The Outlaws, Batwing, Nightwing)

I've sort of been dreading this, so I admit I've been a bit slow to move on through some of these books.

But as long as I have your attention - this week I picked up my books and I fully recommend Animal Man #2 and Swamp Thing #2, with a lesser recommendation for OMAC, which picked up a bit this week.

Just good stuff.  Also, available at fine retailers such as Austin Books and Comics.*

So, let's talk Red Hood and the Outlaws, Batwing and Nightwing.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
written by Scott Lobdell, art by Kenneth Rocafort

Hoo boy.  Well, this comic is trying to capture the spirit that sort of reached its apex in movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, of smart-talking, devil-may-care action flick protagonists who are constantly in over their heads and for whom things don't work out quite right.

Its also just impossibly dumb, and gives credence to every single one of the criticisms of this issue and comics in general.

Look, I don't look for realism in my superhero comics, but when our heroes reveal themselves in the middle of an arena, the stands of which are filled with dudes with machineguns and our heroes have no cover and are armed only with pistols and a bow and arrows?  This should have been the shortest comic, ever.  Its not a "cool" escape.  Its stupid.

The plot leaps into a series of ellipses regarding what, exactly, is going on, but gives us absolutely no reason to care.  Kory can't remember the Titans (yeah, yeah, I read Lobdell saying "no, she's being sarcastic".  I like to think I can read, and... no.), there's some mysterious Top Cow comics reject taking up panel space talking to Jason Todd, a shocking ability to get to the Himalayas, etc...  its just everything that was lazy about 90's-era superhero comics that Lobdell was doing over in Teen Titans but with older characters.

The comic goes for humor, but isn't funny.  It goes for gritty action, but there are absolutely no stakes.  It goes for fun characters, but gives us tropes and dialog that sounds like better dialog you've heard elsewhere.  It goes for edgy, and gives us lots of blood and orange boobs.  It wallows in the sort of lazy approach to mysticism that's been a calling card of lesser DC books for decades (which Lobdell clearly didn't learn from), and half-asses the super-agent bit into nonsense (why is any of this happening and how is it funded?).

Is the scene with Starfire engaging Red Arrow as bad as it was advertised?  Yeah, pretty much.  I had said "I want to see it in context", and now I have.  Keep in mind, this same character was introduced with her cup size before her name.  That's the comic we're working with.  It also seems Lobdell has, in fact, decided to ignore 30 years of establishing Starfire's identity and personality in favor of a blank slate of a character he can use any which way he pleases, and its not to the character's betterment.

I was hoping the relaunch would take advantage of the opportunity to admit bringing Jason Todd back was maybe a dumb idea, but instead DC has chosen to compound the dumb idea with worse ideas (and hackey delivery at that), making Brubaker's successful return of Bucky all the more unlikely.

I know this comic sold just fine.  Doesn't mean DC shouldn't be a bit embarrassed this made it out there.


Batwing #1 
by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver

I have to admit, I liked this book considerably more than I thought I would.

The art falls prey to the mandate for lots'n'lots of blood'n'mutilations that's plaguing other DC books, but it perhaps wallows in it a bit less, and its not treated as cavalierly here as I felt it was handled in other titles.

The hook, of course, is that this is The Batman of Africa, which is hugely problematic.  Its typical American thinking about an entire continent, based upon our lack of understanding of the geography, cultures and nations located on the African continent, and to some extent seems to play off of viewings of a few movies and NPR reports.  When DC has been publishing something so specific as Unknown Soldier in recent years, it seems a bit silly and intellectually lazy to go back to the era of Congo Bill and just say "it's Africa, white people!".

And, I had to wonder if Winick knows that tigers live in Asia, not Africa.  Because that seemed like an odd naming convention to pick if you didn't have to.  Not that its necessary to name oneself after local fauna, but...  Africa has its own big cats, and it would have avoided the question.

I remember our villain Massacre (who appears on page one) from some mostly uninspired Superman comics from the 90's when DC was struggling for relevance for Superman during the age of Image comics, and this actually seems like a pretty good place to drop the character.  Massacre as cretinous mercenary seizing power actually makes some sense, and paired against Batwing's crazy get-up, that little skull mask actually makes some sense.

Further, I like the idea of our protagonist as a guy trying to make good on both sides of his secret identity in a place we can substitute for any struggling African nation (which is why I think DC and Winick have yet to name where, exactly, Batwing is hanging out) as the need for law & order is regularly trumped by the pinch for resources.  I sort of think they would have done well to make up a fictional African nation that would substitute for at least a region.  Is this struggling Kenya?  Chaotic Somalia?

However, our protagonist is, thus far, only characterized by a general sense of "I'm an okay guy wearing a Bat-Suit".  I'd have liked to have seen Winick try to take a swing at a bit more about Batwing's secret ID, motivations, etc...

The mystery of the book is fairly brutal, and that's where the staple DC "piles 'o bodies" that seem necessary in every 52 relaunch book come into play.  But this seems to be high-stakes turf/ drug lord war in a place truly without controls or an empowered law-enforcement agency.  The context, while gruesome, at least kind of makes sense if you read the paper.  And, while that's fairly damning of recent history in Africa, its often hard to imagine that "were Superman real", etc... that superpowers and unstoppable forces couldn't be put to better use offshore from a city like Metropolis that seems to have its act together.In that context, I'll take it.

I am not sure I'll pick up issue 2, but I am going to follow reviews and consider the trade.  On a Winick book.  I know, you could knock me over with a feather, too.

Nightwing #1  
written by Kyle Higgings, art by Eddy Barrows and JP Mayer

Well, it certainly feels like a Nightwing comic, which is why I have come and gone from this character's various series over the years.  Dick Grayson has established a character and personality in his books over the years, and its not an unappealing one, but "the well-adjusted member of the Bat-Family" can sometimes be a tough sell - to me, at least.

As with many Nightwing stories, it feels odd to me to hear Dick Grayson talking about the sickness and insanity of Gotham (something I think DC just needs to mandate all writers let up on, because enough already - show, don't tell) in the same chipper tone he applies to the fumbling of his love life.  But that's always been the character and not just tied to Higgins.

As is also too often a problem with Nightwing (or any DC characters established post 1965), he doesn't really have a rogues gallery, and so we tend to get these generic DC one-offs of armored folks who won't just buy a gun and shoot at Nightwing as if they're scoring style points (I know, I know, you match the challenge to the character).

There's a quick recap to get a new reader up to speed that I think Higgins swings well, and between that and the exposition around Haly's Circus gets someone utterly unfamiliar with Nightwing to understand who this guy is, if they know anything at all about Batman.  Something a lot of other #1's haven't done well.

We also get a current status quo regarding Nightwing's living arrangements, satisfaction with ditching the cape, etc...

As a side note - DC was never going to go with two Batmans on a permanent basis.  Surely you people understood this, yes?

spoilers:  The set-up for the plot vaguely echoes the past year of stories for Bucky in Captain America comics, and so I'm curious to see if DC is really going to go down the whole "mind control" route.  I mean, really DC?  I don't mind that this is your story, but you and Brubaker have been chasing one another's tails entirely too much for years now.  Its just getting awkward.  end spoilers

Its probably as safe to skip this Nightwing relaunch as its traditionally been safe to skip Nightwing in previous incarnations.  It'll be a great companion piece to the other goings-on in the Batbooks, but its also the book which is comfort food to the Batfan.  It rarely challenges, usually reflects the trends of the day, and acts as a sort of counter-balance approach to the overly heavy stuff going on in Batman or Detective.  But its still more palatable than Bedard's "well, this is disposable" run on Robin.

*once again, a special thanks to Austin Books and Comics for making these reviews possible.

Signal Watch Reads: Action Comics #2

Action Comics #2
In Chains
writer - Grant Morrison
pencilers - Rags Morales & Brent Anderson
inkers - Rick Bryant & Brent Anderson
colorist - Brad Anderson
letterer - Patrick Brosseau
Associate Editor - Will Moss, editor - Matt Idleson
this review is of the print edition, regular cover

This issue picks up within, I'd guess, less than 24 hours of the conclusion of issue #1, which ended with our Superman incapacitated after getting pinned to the front of the Daily Planet building with the nose of a commuter train (yeah, I just typed that).

Captured and alone, Superman has become the unwilling test subject for Lex Luthor at the hands of the military under the purview of General Sam "Yes, Lois's Dad" Lane.  Luthor throws everything he's got at both the alien in his clutches as well as the cape.

This issue is the first that confirmed the challenge that's facing down the relaunch of Superman in the New 52, even with someone as talented as Grant Morrison at the helm.  We may be getting something "new", but almost like any myth worth retelling, there are bits and parts of the myth that require inclusion.  While comics fans claim that Morrison perfected the superheroic origin sequence in All Star Superman, that's not really accurate.  He and Quitely said what needed to be said and got us going on our way.*

The New 52 - Impressions at the Half-Way Point

As I mentioned, I've been given a great opportunity from the good folks at Austin Books and Comics to read the remaining New 52 books from DC Comics that I hadn't picked up yet.  So, we'll be starting that up next week.

However, as we enter Month 2 of the New 52 here on Wednesday, I didn't want to wait a whole lot longer to discuss some initial impressions after reading about half of the new 52 (Honestly, it could be another month before I got through the remaining books).

Looking at the financial success of the month for DC and comic shops alike, it seems the hype machine fired on all cylinders, and DC accomplished what it set out to do - and that's get readers to the store.  And they did it by doing what no cross-over or event could do, and genuinely bring the unexpected to the table.  No assumptions were safe, history had re-written itself at DC Comics, and the decades that guys like myself have spent trying to get our heads around what comprised the DCU was semi-irrelevant as we picked up each book in September.  I found that a good thing.

that sound you hear is DC laughing at your gripes from behind stacks of money

I'm guessing that at least the month of September and likely October will see sales for DC Comics that nobody in the hallowed halls of DC has seen in years.

What I'm not sure about is if what they sold wasn't anticipation more than product, if we'll have a fraction of these same readers by June, and what it looks like when buyers quit sampling series.  And, certainly, this is the last time DC can pull this stunt for the next few years.*

Given the fact that DC has reportedly sold out of all of the New 52 titles' first run printings, I'm not sure content or the actual exciting new direction had much to do with anything so much as a perfect storm of (a) the certainty that this really was a major deal and, despite comics' constant insistence on "earth shattering", "nothing will ever be the same" - you get a lot of the same out there, and this wasn't that, (b) the opportunity to get in on the ground floor for what might actually be good, and (c) the remaining readers with a collector mentality who really do get excited by new #1s and all new directions.

But let's cut to the chase...

Here's a list of what I think I will be picking up in Month 2 of the New DCU

DC Comics New 52, Week 4 - Part 2 (All Star Western, Teen Titans)

Whoops. Well, I thought I had purchased more of this week's offerings, but maybe 7 DC titles this week was plenty. So, only two more reviews and we're calling it a day on this first part of my reviews of the New 52, ie - the stuff I wanted to spend money on.

Next week we'll be circling back and looking at the stuff I didn't buy, either because I wasn't interested, or because I'd planned to "wait for the trade" (ex: Green Lantern and Batman books).

I will, between now and then, write a post regarding my general impressions of the relaunch, I think.

All Star Western #1 - written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Moritat

Firstly, this is a poorly named book. Most DC readers consider Gotham to be located on the East Coast, and I frequently have heard that we're to consider its location in New Jersey. If New Jersey is the West, then I have absolutely no idea where I live. But its also sort of indicative of the half-baked approach taken to this book, and an eye-rolling pattern I've seen in reading Palmiotti & Gray's Hex work. They aren't students of History or even The History Channel, and, apparently, neither are their editors. They seem to basically know things like "nobody is going to have a cell phone" and "we probably shouldn't show many cars", but everything else seems more or less up for grabs.

DC Comics New 52, Week 4 - Part 1 (Aquaman, Flash, Firestorm, Blackhawks)

Well, the final week of the New 52.  Truthfully, I'm hoping the hoopla ends but the enthusiasm remains.  Its been fascinating coming into Austin Books for a solid month and seeing all of these titles sold out every single week. 

I should add, I don't know if ABC had a secret stash or what happened, but they have copies back in stock, which means your local shop might have that issue of Animan Man you missed.

What did I NOT get?

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1 - the aforementioned plan to purchase Batman in trades remains in effect
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #1 - same goes for GL books
I, VAMPIRE #1 - I haven't even read American Vampire yet, which looks much more my speed.  I'm sorry if I have a knee-jerk reaction to all-things vampire right now.  Jamie plied me with wine and got me to watch the first three Twilight movies.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1 - The solicits just did nothing for me.
THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1 - I dunno.  The solicit made it look like a terribly generic superhero book with nothing new.  And I just got over re-imagining Hawkman, like, three years ago.  Too soon.
VOODOO #1 - well, since I have no idea what this is about or why I should care and its tied to comics I didn't read the first time, and the solicits were written as if I knew and sounded like "mystery happen to lady! who she? what she do?" I figured - I'm spending enough money.

What I did get (Part 1):

Aquaman #1 - writer Geoff Johns, artist Ivan Reis

I've come to understand that Geoff Johns would be an amazing offensive coordinator, but he's not the guy you'd necessarily want to see at quarterback.  He's great at ideas, he's great at figuring out how to get the pieces moving in ways that will get you over the goal line and win games, but he may know how to throw a spiral, but he's not the guy you want on the field actually busting through lines, seeing escape routes and lacks other writer's abilities to perform with natural athleticism.

That's a bad analogy, but its my way of politely saying he can tell an interesting story and provide great framework, but he's still super-awkward sometimes with the specifics from dialog to being just way, way too much into decapitations.

Signal Watch Reads: Superman #1 (DC's New 52)

Superman #1
What Price Tomorrow
script & breakdowns - George Pérez
pencils & inks - Jesús Merino
colorist - Brian Buccalleto
letterer - Carlos M. Mangual
cover - George Pérez & Brian Buccalleto
associate editor - Wil Moss & editor - Matt Idleson
this review is of the print edition of this issue

If any comic from the New 52 embraced what it means to explain the new status quo in a digestible way for a new reader who may only be vaguely aware of the existence of Superman, this book has tried the hardest to be that comic.  It doesn't always succeed, but I'll spoil this review by saying: this is one of my favorite books of the relaunch, and not just because its Superman.  In fact, I would say I went into this book deeply skeptical of "change for change's sake", and was won over by the team of Pérez and Merino.

I'm going to go ahead and take up a sentence or two here to say that Chris Roberson deserves a huge nod for his work on Superman, especially with the matzah ball he was handed to correct in Grounded.  Somehow out of that mess, Roberson went on to create some of my favorite Superman comics of the past several years, and set the bar especially high for even an industry vet like George Pérez.  I'm just glad that, like Superman swooping in at the last minute, Roberson ended that volume on a high note.

Like a real storyteller, with actual storytelling skills, who understands that stories aren't always literally about two grown adults in funny outfits punching each other, Pérez manages to tell a story that's not so subtly about taking down the past and turning your face to the future, even when its making you uncomfortable. The first pages witness the ending of a symbolic landmark in Metropolis, something we're all familiar with. "Superman fans," Pérez seems to be saying, "even Superman isn't happy about this new state of things, but there's so much opportunity if we move forward and quit looking at the comforts of the past". As much as its almost comforting to wallow in the question of how and why things were changed, I like the fact that the discomfort generated by change is played up.

Our Valued Customers has the Final Word on the Real Problem with Sex and Sexiness in Comics

The problems with comics, writers and readers - they run deep.

If you haven't bookmarked Our Valuable Customers, do so now (but never, ever stray into the comments).

Guest Post - Jamie reads Wonder Woman #1

Hey, Signal Corps!  We've got a guest post I wasn't expecting.

Jamie plays it down, but she actually reads a lot of comics.  She does buy her own stuff from time to time, but mostly she reads my comics when the mood strikes her.  This weekend she picked up my copy of Wonder Woman off the coffee table, breezed through it and then started talking to me about it.  

In talking about the book, I thought she made some good points, so I asked her to put some of that down in a post.

Jamie hasn't been overly curious about the rest of New 52 launch, and as far as I know, this is the only one of the books I brought home that she's read.  But she's a woman of mystery, so for all I know, she's read everything off the coffee table while I'm at the gym.


As Jamie is actually pretty familiar with the last decade or so of Wonder Woman comics (I don't think she realizes those trades are pretty much everything going back to 2000 or so), but isn't particularly invested in DC or their publishing efforts, I thought it would be useful to hear what she had to say.  She also (I think) likes Wonder Woman on her own, and I would think a young, well-read, bright woman such as herself might be someone DC would want to buy their comics.

Ryan asked me to post a short review of the new Wonder Woman (#1 in the "New 52" relaunch).  I am not a regular reader of WW, aside from a few trades and a few issues here and there that Ryan has tossed my direction.  Nevertheless, I still felt a bit sheepish when halfway through the first issue of this reboot I looked up at Ryan and confessed, "I have no idea what's going on".  

I have never been particularly good with reviews, which is why I tended to avoid them on my own retired blog, but let me just quickly tick off a couple of issues I had with this...issue.

1. I admit, I got lost right after Diana and her new friend the Pantsless Wonder were sucked back to Virginia and the black and green voiceover boxes started popping up.*  Who the hell is this talking?  Is it the horse people?  Who are these horsey people?  Ryan kindly explained that the voiceover was coming from Glowy Eyes and his possessed lady friends back in Singapore from the opening pages.  I was embarrassed to have not picked up on this myself, but in my defense it had been 14 pages since we'd even seen Glowy Eyes and I don't like having to flip back through a comic trying to figure out what I'd missed.

Honestly if I didn't know about this relaunch and the book didn't have a "#1" slapped on the cover, I would have no idea this was the beginning of a new story.  It felt like any other of Ryan's WW issues I'd randomly read over the years where I knew I needed to just let some stuff go because I wasn't completely caught up. 

2. Not enough Diana.  For an issue that's attempting to draw in new readers, I would have liked to have seen more Wonder Woman in my Wonder Woman.  I understand that they are trying to lay down a story and it's just the first issue, but new readers are going to be picking this up expecting to see Diana in action.  

Like I said, my knowledge of WW and her mythos is less than impressive so I have no idea if this series is going to truly take her back to her roots or what.  My favorite incarnation of WW so far was the Greg Rucka era around 2004-5 of Ambassador Diana where she had no secret identity and a great cast of secondary characters with which to interact.**  I prefer to read comics that have a little joy in them from time to time as opposed to all violence and angst.  Personal preference, of course.  

All in all, I liked the art, and wasn't turned off enough by the story or the initial confusion to refuse to read any more.  I'll stick around for a few more issues, at least.

*I'm sure it's not called a voiceover box, but please cut me some slack, I don't know the lingo.

**Minotaur buddy? That's pretty awesome.

Signal Watch Reads: Wonder Woman #1 (of the New 52)

Wonder Woman #1
The Visitation
writer - Brian Azzarello
artist & cover - Cliff Chiang
colorist - Matthew Wilson
letters - Jared K. Fletcher
associate editor - Chris Conroy
editor - Matt Idleson

I am not a fan of too much of the work of Brian Azzarello.

I still associate Azzarello with his work on Batman: Broken City, the multi-issue epic that drug out over a year and somehow never managed to tell a story, and Superman: For Tomorrow, which derailed Superman for a year with unrelated and uninspired plotpoints, and a nonsensical conclusion.  And, of course, his Joker graphic novel, which was more or less a testament as to why we don't treat super-villains like actual criminals and psychotics in comics (its not particularly fun reading), but unintentionally raised the question as to why the Joker wasn't put down by a twitchy henchman on his second outing.  And his Luthor series just doesn't hold together as an actual story.

In all honesty, I get the feeling from his work that Azzarello more or less holds a lot of contempt for superheroes, but he knows that's where the money is.  And as long as there are young men looking for "more realistic" superheroes (ie: more blood), then Azzarello is going to be able to move comics and get hired.

Between you, me and the wall, I don't think Azzarello actually knows how to tell a story.  I think he knows how to provide a good set-up, and he knows some interesting beats he wants to put into those stories, but he doesn't seal the deal with either tying the narrative together or with taking the characters through an arc, so much as making them bystanders to a series of events he puts in motion.

Maybe his crime comics do a better job of this, but I don't know.  I still haven't read the 100 Bullets trade I picked up a while back.

So when it comes to Azzarello approaching Wonder Woman, I'm more than a bit skeptical.

DC Comics New 52, Week 3 - Part 2

• I'm breaking this week up week 3 into three parts.  In Part 1, I reviewed Supergirl #1.   I'm of the opinion that Wonder Woman #1 warrants its own post.  

So, this is Week 3.

• FYI - I did not pick up:
• 
  
• BIRDS OF PREY #1 - I wasn't interested in this rebooted team, characters or creative
• CAPTAIN ATOM #1 - waiting for feedback and will tradewait
• CATWOMAN #1 - no, and now that I've heard so much about the issue, I know this isn't for me
• DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #1 - I completely forgot to get this, but Austin Books is doing a great job of getting what they can from the warehouse and ordering 2nd prints.
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1 - trade waiting
• NIGHTWING #1 - no.  I'm not a die-hard Nightwing fan, but I figured if the notices were good, it'd be a fun trade
• RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1 - no

So, onto my Week 3 reads.

Signal Watch Reads: Supergirl #1 (New 52)

Supergirl #1
Last Daughter of Krypton
writers - Michael Green & Mike Johnson
penciller - Mahmud Asrar
inkers - Dan Green with Asrar
colorist - Dave McCraig
letterer - John J. Hill
cover - Asrar & McCraig
editor - Wil Moss
group editor - Matt Idleson
this review is of the print edition

So.

Firstly, because I see no way to avoid discussing it:  I think the new Supergirl costume is absolutely great, at least from the top of her head to her navel.  And then, somehow, as you head south the rest of the outfit is a bit of a trainwreck.  At least how its being drawn in this comic.

I bring this up because, as a reader, I became utterly distracted by how much I could not not notice how terrible I found Supergirl's new get-up.  Why is she wearing a strange red patch over her, uh, lower abdomen?  I assumed I just wasn't getting how this would work in the preview art, but no...  I don't care what planet she's from - that just seems poorly conceived.  It really looks like some sort of awkward medical device or improvised covering when she had to run out of the house with no pants on.

Laura Hudson's Post Re: Sex and Women in Comics

Look.  So, yesterday the comics internet decided to explode in one of its usual firestorms of outrage over something I do, actually, take fairly seriously.   This is such a usual occurrence that I think its, from time to time, worth looking at what is being said versus what is happening.  And so I talked a bit about the "controversy".

I absolutely do not share everyone's views, and/ but I am not dismissive of negative representations of women in comics.  Or the under-representation of women in the industry.  I do think we're going through growing pains as women have joined the ranks of readers in the past few years in numbers that I find truly surprising and welcome.

Like any critical read of a work of "art", there's always more than one point of view.  Any kind of reading from a feminist perspective is constantly undergoing convulsions as the narrative of gender roles is no longer defined by the mores of the 1970's culture movements. 

Yesterday via Twitter, Comics Alliance EiC Laura Hudson declared her fury regarding the comics we talked about yesterday.  In fact, its how I became alerted to the issue.

Today Hudson wrote a post that I think addressed some of what I was discussing (though not at me, because it is extremely, extremely unlikely anybody but NTT and myself actually read yesterday's post).  But enough people must have raised a hand in question that she went ahead and put together a thoughtful post that went well beyond the usual Gender Studies 101 rhetoric that usually defines these conversations.  I appreciate her honesty.  I don't agree with everything she says, and I'd actually argue her one example of an "acceptable" approach is open to the same criticism she ladles elsewhere, but I very much recommend reading her post. 

You can find it at Comics Alliance.

The trouble is:  I think Hudson is hitting a cross-roads that a lot of us are hitting.  DC just relaunched.  Its seeking new readers.  Its counting on old readers to stick around, but there's a calculated move going on to appeal to a very certain demographic.