Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Double Review of Titans East Special #1 & Batman and the Outsiders #1



Many of you are probably wondering why I'm reviewing these two books together. Is it because of some compare/contrast essay I wished to pen? Was I trying to create a sort of Zen balance by reviewing one book each by one of the most outspoken liberal writers in comics (Judd Winick) and one of the most outspoken conservative writers in comics (Chuck Dixon)? Did I wish to compare Winick writing an entirely new team book to Dixon taking over the team book Winick left?

These are all very valid guesses, but they are wrong. The main reason I'm combining my reviews for these books is because I can't be bothered to write a full review for both of them. It's more than I can take.

So granting off the bat that both of these books contain a level of hack writing that is becoming increasingly commonplace at DC Comics and that the artwork by Ian Churchill and Julian Lopez is woefully sub-par, which of the following points should we comic fans be most insulted by?


a. Judd Winick and/or his editor failing to do the basic research to learn that Hawk is Dove's younger sister - not her older one. A fact easily discovered after 30 seconds on Google.


b. Cyborg apparently knowing about Power Boy's "run-in with Supergirl" (i.e. the stalking, kidnapping and attempted rape of Supergirl) and not having any problem with this guy being on his team.





c. Yet another Judd Winick one-shot ends in death, in order to promote a new series.






d. Batman making an unprovoked disapproving remark about Thunder and Grace's lesbian relationship.



(The Following Transcript was provided by a man who has asked only to be identified as 'Roy'. He had the issue in question but no scanner, but was none-the-less willing to give me a transcript of the next page of the comic.)

THUNDER: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GRACE AND ME? Have you been spying on us? You like watching, freak?

BATMAN: You have too many issues competing with your primary role in this group. You have skills. You may be even be gifted beyond your powers. But you're not ready. The simple fact that you would interfere with me while your teammates are in the field proves that. And I surmised that you and Grace were good friends by observing your body language when you're together. I didn't know it was more than that until you told me.

THUNDER: Oh.

e. The idea that the World's Finest Detective is unable to tell the difference between close female friends and lesbian lovers.



f. The return of generic 'Batman is a dick' characterization.



g. All of the above are so equally offensive, it's hard to pick just one.


Me? I've got to go with G. I'm giving both of these books a 1 out of 10 rating and welcoming you all to record your votes at the Comics Nexus boards . You will need to register to vote, but if you've never been it is a fun little forum with more intelligent conversation than most comics news boards.

13 comments:

  1. Man, you really have just completely lost it. Offensive? That's just a tad over the top.
    Batman is a dick is somehow offensive? Maybe you don't know what the word means.

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  2. of·fen·sive (ə-fĕn'sĭv) - adj.
    1. Disagreeable to the senses: an offensive odor.
    2. Causing anger, displeasure, resentment, or affront: an offensive gesture.
    Given that I'm sick to death of various hack writers writing Batman as a complete dick given all the effort that has been made since Infinite Crisis to make the character stop treating his friends and allies like puppets at best and annoyances at worst... yes, I do think Dixon's portrayal of Batman is offensive.

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  3. I just assumed that Batman's comments to Thunder were Chuck Dixon's inner monologue about how he didn't know that the girls were lesbians until someone in the editorial team told him about the internet.

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  4. I still say you're taking this way too seriously.

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  5. And I still say you're a cowardly little troll who is too chicken-shit to sign in so I know who you are.
    I also say this is the last time I'm going to bother replying to one of your comments.

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  6. Or the editor hadn't actually been reading the scripts before publishing them and didn't know Grace and Thunder were a lesbian couple either.
    It would explain a lot of what gets published by DC and Marvel lately...

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  7. Batman is the guy who studies EVERY SINGLE HERO meticulously, watches everything they do, and even found out when ppl wiped his memory! >:O There's NO WAY HE WOULD KNOW. :\
    Why isn't Powerboy in jail? Why are SOME ppl treated with kid gloves when they commit crimes (Jason Todd for example) and others captured and punished harshly even if they had good reasons for doing what they did? :\

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  8. Why is it wrong to be offended by bad writing that either underestimates or writes down to its readers?

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  9. Ah, looks like it's Rationalmadman (http://rationalmadman.blogspot.com/) being a dick again. And he wonders why he keeps getting banned everywhere he goes.

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  10. Batman is the guy who studies EVERY SINGLE HERO meticulously, watches everything they do, and even found out when ppl wiped his memory! >:O There's NO WAY HE WOULD KNOW. :\
    And THAT was my point. Thank you. Even I, who was routinely stumped by Encyclopedia Brown books as a child can tell the difference between close hetero female friends and a lesbian couple.
    And without saying/doing things that would get me slapped, even! :)
    Why isn't Powerboy in jail? Why are SOME ppl treated with kid gloves when they commit crimes (Jason Todd for example) and others captured and punished harshly even if they had good reasons for doing what they did? :\
    We don't really know WHAT happened to him after Supergirl because Joe Kelly went off the book before we got a resolution to half his story arcs. I had hoped that he'd simmered for a while plotting revenge... but no. It seems that Kara never told anyone about the guy and that he just came back to Earth and pretended it never happened... all while he's going after any woman he can talk into dressing like her.
    God only knows what he did when he couldn't find a woman like Hawk who was into playing like that...

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  11. Ah yes. I thought that stench of cowardice and desperate writing style seemed vaguely familiar.
    It is said that you can judge a man by the enemies he attracts.
    It seems that I am well-judged then.

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  12. Of course we’re wrong to be offended. Now get back in the kitchen before the roast burns. Amanda Says: August at pm *whines about being in moderation* I promise I’m not a spammer, y’all.

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