One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Outsiders #25

GOOD THING: Lots of interesting information on how other heroes are able to interact with the Black Lanterns. Light-generator Halo, for instance, proves to be uniquely suited toward fighting them. And Katana's soul-sucking sword proves to do more damage to her than to the Black Lanterns of her family she tries to fight.

BAD THING: I'm not much of an Outsiders fan, so maybe someone can answer this question for me: are there ANY stories centering upon GeoForce that DON'T focus on him dealing with his feelings regarding his sister being a murderous villain? Just curious. Because I swear this is the second story I've read in as many years centering upon that premise.

The Final Verdict: A damn-sight more enjoyable and accessible than most of the Blackest Night tie-ins so far. I don't really care much about The Outsiders as a team but I imagine fans of the characters must be happy with this book, if all the issues are of this high quality.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Batman And The Outsiders #24

GOOD THING: Not surprisingly, with Peter Tomasi (who also does Green Lantern Corps) writing, this issue feels a lot more like a part of the Blackest Night storyline than just a random tie-in issue. The plot feels more organic and builds nicely off of what we saw in the Blackest Night: Titans special.

BAD THING: Shockingly, this is one of the few Blackest Night tie-ins that doesn't do a lot to introduce new readers to the cast of this book. I was wondering since when Nite-Owl from Watchmen was a part of the mainstream DCU when I first saw Owlman and it took me a moment to remember who Halo was.



The Final Verdict: It doesn't do as good a job as introducing the characters as some of the other Blackest Night tie-ins, but it's still a damn good read.

Looking To The Stars: The Final Word On Batman and the Outsiders #1

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Partly because - this being Thanksgiving week in the United States - my schedule is full of activities with friends and family that do not involve reading comics or writing about comics. And partly because there's only so much breath I'll waste on this particular scandal.

You all likely still remember last week's Batman and The Outsiders #1 and these two pages, which inspired more than a fair amount of annoyance in the comics community this past week.

The GLBT fans were insulted by Batman referring to the lesbian relationship between superheroines Thunder and Grace in such a derogatory manner. Bat-fans took umbrage at the idea that a master detective like Batman would be unable to tell the difference between close friends and lovers. And the continuity cops took offense over the idea that Batman didn't know about the Grace/Thunder relationship despite having clearly been in the room when Thunder and Grace made their relationship pretty plain (the words "girlfriend" and "baby" were used) in Outsiders: Five of a Kind - Wonder Woman/Grace #1. But all of this offense paled in comparison to the annoyance that came later, when Chuck Dixon tried to justify himself on The Comic Book Resources board.

I'll avoid quoting the whole speech here. You can read it for yourself at the link above. However, I would like to make three points regarding Mister Dixon's comments.


1. Deliberately writing a story and then having the preview cut in such a manner as to inspire complaints from people who think you're homophobic doesn't prove that people are out to get you, Mister Dixon. All it proves is that you are out to get your critics. This kind of behavior on a message board would be considered trolling. This kind of behavior in a criminal case would be considered entrapment. This kind of behavior should be beneath an alleged professional writer like yourself.

2. You contradict yourself by saying that "the man doesn't care" regarding Batman's view upon same-sex relationships and then saying two sentences later, saying that you believe "Batman shares my personal views here." Your own personal views, Mister Dixon, being on record as being one who is firmly anti-homosexual. It is one or the other, Mister Dixon. You cannot have it both ways.

3. I have always thought you an intelligent man based on your writing, Mister Dixon. That being said, freely insulting your potential readers after releasing a new title is not an intelligent thing.


In the past, I have always respected you as a writer, Mister Dixon. You have always been a reliable scribe when it came to writing a good action yarn. Your Nightwing series was one of the books that got me into collecting-comics as a serious hobby. And you will always deserve high-praise for having come up with the concept for Birds of Prey.

I find it ironic then, Mister Dixon, that as the man who created Birds of Prey - a book which did so much to bring more female readers into the hobby - that you are now responsible for alienating so many of those same readers with your current behavior.

Are there people who jumped to conclusions following the preview of this book without reading the whole story? Yes.

Are their conclusions born out by the whole story itself? I have to say yes, yes they are. As you say, Mister Dixon - you believe that Batman shares your views on homosexuality. But I believe that Batman - whether he approves of girls dating girls or not - should be smart enough to tell the difference between "close friends" and "lesbian lovers". And I am hard pressed to think of any way - in the context of the story - for the phrase "special relationship" not to be a slam of homosexual unions.

By your actions, Mister Dixon, you may have caused your critics to jump the gun in calling you a homophobe. But by your actions, you have also proven them right and proven yourself a complete jackass in the process. As such, Mister Dixon, I still respect you greatly as a writer. But I don't respect you at all as a human being. And I won't be purchasing any book with your name on it ever again.

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.

Looking To The Stars: The Second Annual Starry Awards

The Golden Globes. Mr. Blackwell’s Best & Worst Dressed List. And now (once again), it is time for The Starry Awards. Because it’s just not the start of the new year without yammering about the best and worst of last year.

Welcome back, dear reader, for those of you who caught it the first time. For those dear readers who didn’t, that’s what the scroll bar at the bottom of the page is for.

In any case, welcome to what has become a yearly staple of 411 Comics: The Starry Awards for Excellence and Disgrace in Comics Writing.

(NOTE FROM DARON: It isn’t a yearly staple! He did this crap last year and he’s doing it again cause he didn’t have anything else to write this month!)

Of course it has been pointed out that the comic industry already has the Eisners, the Harveys, the Eagles and… gods above help us… the Wizard Awards. Why on Earth 2 then, these alleged people ask, do we need another damned award?

(NOTE FROM DARON: Because he’s an egotistical madman who likes to feel important.)

The Starry Awards were started so that I, the ever humble author of this column, might dispense awards to those I felt were most worthy of praise or damnation based on their works in the past year.

(NOTE FROM DARON: Ha! Told you! Humble my sweet bippy!)

The Starries name ten stories in total. Stories, for the purpose of this award, can be single or multiple issues of one book or multiple books relating to one plot-line. The Starries are based solely upon the personal opinions of Matt “Starman” Morrison and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else.

(NOTE FROM DARON: They REALLY don’t reflect the opinions of anybody else. Really. You want to complain, e-mail him. I’m still sorting through all the hate-mail from his last review…)

Five Staries are awarded to stories which, more than any other stories this year, made me stand up and cheer, burst into tears or just stopped me in the middle of reading to say “This is damn good stuff.” Five Staries are awarded (if you can call it that) to stories that, for some reason, I found disappointing. Stories that left me feeling that a mark had been missed and missed badly. Some of them are stories that, in fact, I think are just plain terrible!

That said: Here are the winners and losers!

The Best of 2003

Best Moment All Year: Mary Jane and Peter; Together Again.

As told in Amazing Spider-Man #49-50

Marvel to break up the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson marriage. For the most part, the reasoning was that it killed Peter’s history as a loveable loser and Marvel used this excuse to justify some rather lackluster sales during the nineties. Thankfully, saner minds prevailed… eventually. And after someone pointed out that the reason nobody liked Mary Jane any more was because she was being written with little of the characterization that had made her so likeable since the good ol’ days and had been turned into a trophy wife who did little more than “comfort” Peter after a long day of saving the world, most of the talk of killing her off or arranging for a divorce ended.

Still, this left the Spider-Man books in an awful mess of nuclear waste. Thankfully, thanks to the efforts of several writers over a score of books, our favorite Wall-Crawler came back to the respected level he so surely deserved. And once Peter was fixed-up, the task of bringing back Mary Jane and deciding where to go with her fell upon the shoulders of Amazing Spider-Man scribe J. Michael Stracynski.

This harrowing task was slowly done over the course of JMS’s run, culminating in issue 49 where, after what can only be described as some very rocky waters involving near death, Peter’s fidelity and the question of “Can I really count on you to put me above the rest of the world?” that all women want answered, we get to see just how much these two characters love each other.

The two each decide to fly to see each other and declare that they are sick of being separated and want the other one back because they are so truly madly deeply in love that it hurts. The thing is, they do so without calling the other and wind up at each other’s apartments on the same day, with no inkling as to where the other is. To add insult to injury, Peter tries to call home to see if maybe “the special guy” he was told by her doorman she was leaving to see was him, only to find that in typical Parker-luck fashion, his phone has been disconnected.

What follows is the two looking around each others living space, noting all the funny little details you memorize when you love someone as they wait and hope that the other will walk through the door any moment. After a night, they decided the other person is off somewhere with someone else and that things are truly over. The only thing that saves the relationship is a chance accident and twist of fate that puts the two in the same airport at the same time, where a much needed talk is had… even as the world and the walls are collapsing around them.

Never in recent memory, has any comic so strongly portrayed the depths of two popular characters’ love. And that is why this story wins Best Moment of the Year.

Funniest Read All Year: Lord of the Hirelings: Return of the Bling-BlingAs told in Nodwick #23

The author and artist of the best comedic fantasy webcomic around gives us his comedic take on “The Lord of the Rings”. While this be very lame with name parodies and recreations of epic battles with pie-fights or some such (ala the over-hyped National Lampoon’s “Bored of the Rings”), Williams manages to fit the definitive fantasy epic around his own unique characters and keep things just twisted enough to be amusing even for those of us who have memorized the books and movies completely.

For instance, the town of Nazgul are now Nazgoths… beings who dress all in black and seek “This One Ring” as a fashion accessory, for such a cursed and evil thing would surely make them all the envy of all who hang out at that club which is only open one night a week. Williams even gets a tribute in to Igor of “Dork Tower” with his “Smeagor” character, who seeks “This One Ring” as the ultimate rare collectible. Funny stuff all around.

Best Team-Up: Superman/Batman

As told in Every Bloody Thing Jeph Loeb Wrote This Year

Whether it be for a brief scene in the middle of the epic that was “Hush”, or in the pages of their new team-up book together, Jeph Loeb has shown us for nearly half a year why these two heroes are still called “The World’s Finest” some 70 years after their individual creation. Though it did not take much time, relatively speaking, for the two heroes to be teamed-up, it was only recently (within fifteen years) that the divide between the two would be deepened to mark the contrasts in their style and approach to heroism. Light and Dark. Power and Finesse. Training and Natural Ability. They are both the Yin and Yang that complete each other, forming the perfect-two man team.

Best Make Over : Birds of Prey

As told in Birds of Prey 56-62

Much has already been written about how writer Gail Simone and the former Supergirl art team of Ed Benes and Alex Lei took this book, which had fallen on hard times in the wake of longtime writer Chuck Dixon leaving it and a long series of substitute artists and writers. Throw in its tie in title only to an action show that it had nothing to do with, and you had one title that looked like it was slated for the bargain bin.

Such was not to be. For artwork that showed beautiful women in tight costumes without being exploitative coupled with stories that balanced action, drama, plot, characterization and comedy to create one of the best books on the market.

Best Retro Tale: Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure

With Doc Ock starring as the main badguy in the upcoming Spider-Man 2, Marvel has been heavily featuring him in several recent mini-series and will keep the good doctor busy until July 4th. It would have been all too easy for them to have a couple of stories hacked out and stretched out to last from now until next summer. Thankfully, it appears that most of the stories featuring the bad guy I always thought of as Spidey’s most dangerous enemy are of exceptional quality. This is especially true of “Negative Exposure”.

Distinguishable as a retro tale only because of its reference to Peter’s dating a cute blond, being in college and still working at The Daily Bugle to pay the bills, this mini-series by Y: The Last Man scribe Brian Vaughn has proven to be quite the surprising treat. Each issue has used many levels of humor, from the traditional Spidey insults (the “Scooby Doo” comment to Mysterio in particular, was a classic) to a bit of dark humor from Doc Ock himself. Throw in some good action scenes, an old-fashioned super-villain smackdown and a central focus who views Peter Parker as a big winner while HE is a the unlucky loser make this story something special and unique.

The Worst of 2003

Most Likely To Cause Continuity Robots Heads To Explode: Judd Winick’s Writing

As told in Green Arrow & Outsiders

I detailed the specifics of this case in Of Cons and Continuity, so I shall recall them briefly here.

In short, Judd Winick displeased Black Lightning creator Tony Isbella with how the character, always a fiercely conservative and family-oriented man, was going to have a child out of wedlock. Throw in problems with a niece (Jefferson Piece was an only child), his severely out-of-character casual murder of a corporate executive and the fact that Winick apparently spoke to Isabella about how to properly handle the character before-hand and you had the makings for a big creator slap fight. Add in a spattering of characterization that, according to many fans and creators, didn’t jibe with what had happened in the past (particularly among fans of Nightwing and Green Arrow) and you have one big mess that says this; Judd Winick is a good writer when he is working with his own characters, but he just plain stinks when he has to share his toys.

The “What The Hell Just Happened?” Award: JLA: Scary Monsters

The award name says it all. Did anyone like or understand this series?

The “I Waited For This?!?!” Award : Ultimate Adventures

One of the three books in late 2002’s “U-Decide” contest, this was to have been run monthly for half a year alongside Peter David’s “Captain Marvel” (rebooted into its fifth volume) and Bill Jemas’ “Marville”. The best selling of the three books would continue on as an on-going series. The other two would get the chop.

Today, Captain Marvel just had its 18th issue come out. Marville, the U-Decide contest and Bill Jemas himself have gone the way of the buggywhip. And issue six of Ron Zimmerman’s Ultimate Adventures JUST NOW came out. Exactly one year late.

This would have been anti-climactic, even if the book itself were worth reading. Sadly, had this contest taken place without delays on the part of two of the books, I doubt that Marville and UA could have overcome a writer like Peter David, who has a good deal of experience and a fanatically devoted fan base.

Incidentally, Mister David? While I have criticized most of your recent comic book work, I loved your book “Knight Life” and recommend it highly to all fans of Arthurian legend.

Worst Makeover: Aquaman

Speaking of Arthurian Legend, what fresh hell was this book?

I’ll give them credit for an inspired idea; tying Arthur Curry in with King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake was neat. But the magical water hand that cannot be used to harm others added a mystic element that has never really suited Aquaman. Mix with some rather lackluster artwork and is it any wonder this book is being retooled again?

The Worst Comic Of the Year Award : X-Men: Phoenix

No X-Men. No Jean Grey. No mutants at all.

So what DOES this book have?

Lots of mangaesque artwork of buxom redheads with armor made of equal parts heavy plate and dental floss, bending into improbable positions as they duel sit in saunas and battle nasty shadow tentacle monsters.

And to think… some men wonder why women have a negative view of us comic reading males.

A total rip off for the X-fans. An insult to all things good and decent in humanity. Gratuitously sexual, even for a hentai comic. The worst thing released all year, without a doubt.

And considering the competition, that is REALLY saying something.

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.