Looking To The Stars - 09/10/07 - The Week In Reviews

You all have my girlfriend to thank for this week's brief column. If it hadn't been for the books I was buying for her, I wouldn't have bought any new comics this week.

THE BLACK CANARY WEDDING PLANNER
Company Name: DC Comics
Writer: J. Torres
Artist: Lee Ferguson, Christine Norrie and Karl Story

I'm very torn on this issue.

Even ignoring whatever conflicting feelings I have over wanting to like the idea of a Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen marriage but not being overly happy with how it came about through editorial order and most of the execution thus far... there's still a lot about the book that I love and a lot I loathe.

I like how Ollie and Dinah sound like a real couple, snarky remarks and all.

I like how Ollie is portayed as wanting to be involved in the details and not being the stereotypical indifferent groom and Dinah is portayed as just wanting to get the job done with as little fuss and interference as possible. Very true to their classic personalities.

I like a lot of the little character moments, like how Ollie is portayed as knowing a lot more about gorumet cooking than Dinah. I like this not just for the sake of breaking stereotypes (the man knows what a gastrique is) or because it's funny (especially given Ollie's preference for simpler fare like chili) but because given Ollie's background as the Bruce Wayne before Bruce Wayne... it actually makes sense.

The artwork is, at times, gorgeous. Case in point.

On the other hand, there's a lot not to like here.

While this is comic is supposed to be a bit-more humor heavy to make up for the lack of action, a lot of characters are truly out of character for the sake of making a joke. For instance, Ollie expresses a reluctance to have their honeymoon on a tropical island. Because - ya know - he was shipwrecked on a tropical island once. While I can see this making a sort of sense...

1) They don't bother to explain the joke past Ollie raising an eyebrow and saying "An island, Dinah?" and Dinah saying "Oh... right. Sorry." Granting that anybody reading this probably knows Ollie's background involving tropical islands, that's still the kind of detail I can see a newbie reader being confused by.
2) It really isn't that funny if Ollie truly is traumatized by tropical islands.
3) If I want to go into severe nit-pick mode, I could point out that there is a long tradition of Ollie spending his time on tropical islands with no adverse effects. He did all of his One Year Later training on one. He's even been shown, in one story by Scott Beatty, to frequently strand himself on islands on purpose so as to keep his hunting instincts up to par. I suppose a case could be made that Ollie just associates tropical islands with training and would find it hard to relax on one. But if you have to reach that far....

Finally, while a lot of the artwork is gorgeous, some of it is just awful. Case in point...





Since when does Ollie use Aquanet on his beard?

And did I mention there's cheesecake?

Now, I'll admit to being a bit unfamiliar with the operations of your average sexy underthings shop, but I've always been under the impression that they don't allow you to try things on, for obvious sanitary reasons.

That being said, I do like seeing a portrayal of Wonder Woman that allows her to be one of the girls. I just wonder where the heck Zinda and Helena (aka Lady Blackhawk and Huntress - Dinah's teammates and Sin's aunts from The Birds of Prey) are in all of this as Dinah's relatively more recent comrades from the Justice League are helping her shop.

In the end, this book is everything the comic promises. It is Dinah trying to balance her duties as a soon-to-be-bride with her job as a superhero, on her own, with varying degrees of success. Provided you don't take it too seriously and just go with the flow, it's not all that bad. It's not all that good either, but it's not the things of mass protests either.

GRADE: C


XENA: DARK XENA #4
Company Name: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Noah Salonga

While I'm not quite so enamored of this series as the infamous Chris Sims, one cannot deny the sheer awesome power of this mini-series. And not just for the usual reasons involving Bruce Campbell cameos or the fact that we can always use another comic involving women kicking serious butt with little effort.

Heck, this series isn't even great for high metacomedy moments like the one where Gabrielle disguises herself as her own evil twin and then builds her credibility for NOT being a good guy in disguise. How? She points out just how common good/evil twins are and how two other people in the party of villains she is joining have good twins running around somewhere.

No, this series is great because it is a story in which Xena's sidekick - the Battling Bard Gabrielle - is able to talk Cthulhu (who is not so much in his house at R'lyeh dreaming as he is in a cave bitching about being overthrown by the stupid Titans) out of his slow war on humanity by virtue of the fact that everyone he really wants revenge on is already dead.

That's a +20 DC to Diplomacy Check moment, let me tell ya. (Ah, I love making gamer jokes in a comic magazine...)

Seriously, this is a good fun story. And the best part about it is that the ending opens the field up completely for an on-going Xena series. Which, with this writing and art team, would be a fine thing indeed.

GRADE: A

Fast Thoughts - The Week of 7/18/07

AMAZONS ATTACK #4: Am I the only one disturbed by the fact that a series that is supposed to center around strong female characters is doing everything in it's power to make the foremost female heroes of DC Comics look incompetent?

* Superman airlifts Wonder Woman out of battle in the first scene.

*Wonder Woman tells Batman how much they need him running the show and how he can't go running off to Gotham because of problems there when a nation is at stake.

* Black Canary - the alleged JLA Team Leader - is seen standing in the background as Diana, Clark and Bruce argue about what to do but doesn't have any lines, though Black Lightning does.

* Supergirl and Wonder Girl need Superman to save them from a group of soldiers protecting the President.

You know it's a bad story when the only female character who appears semi-competent is frigging Grace from Outsiders...

On the bright side, someone finally asked why the normally peaceful Amazons are acting like this and they confirmed BOTH of the leading theories. Namely, that some of the troubles are related to the militant Bana-Mighdall Amazons who never rejoined their sisters on Themyscira and some of them are related to a Not Dead Yet Circe.

Which would be fine if Circe weren't already responsible for...oh... every bloody thing in Wonder Woman since the reboot...

Only three months until Gail Simone goodness takes over.


BIRDS OF PREY #108: And speaking of Gail Simone goodness...

How to sum up this issue?

Oracle kicks some ass.

Dinah kicks ass without kicking any ass.

And we get the best damn four-and-one-half page fold-out splash ever... and not just because they actually printed it on 5 pages instead of on an actual cumbersome fold-out sheet.

BLACK CANARY #2: The biggest qualm I had about this series last time? Gone. And what is more, not only has Tony Bedard explained away my main nitpick from the last issue, he has gone on to explain away some of the more troubling pieces of continuity regarding The League of Assassins in recent years.

My problem last time was that the main baddy of this piece, Merlyn The Archer, was apparently only interested in Dinah and Sin as a means of getting back at Green Arrow. This issue explained that while Merlyn IS interested in sticking it to Ollie ABD Dinah (who both had a hand in his first failed mission), he is working with a group of highly-ranked League of Assassin members who are trying to unify the group after a wake of splintering following Ra's Al Ghul's death, using Sin (the next Lady Shiva in training) as a rallying banner.

See, that makes sense. Not just that the organization would fall apart to internal conflict after their leader for hundreds of years snuffs it - but that it goes on to explain why Talia Al Ghul, Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva have all been "leading" The League of Assassins in various titles over the last few years.

Does that mean all is forgiven? Oh, not quite. For while I applaud anyone who tries to keep DC Comics continuity in working order... I still have to question Dinah's place in this, her own mini-series.

There is amazingly little Dinah in this issue and none of what few scenes she has it has depict Dinah in a moment of action, apart from a flashback where Ollie tells Mia about when he first got a hint that Dinah was starting to like him. Apart from this scene, Dinah's presence in the comic is limited to a scene where she is dropping Sin off for her first day at school and then later as she, Ollie, Mia and Sin are having dinner together. All the rest of the book is Merlyn plotting Sin's abduction and the actual League of Assassins assault on Sin's school.

What bothers me even more than Dinah's absence is that she is being set up to look the fool. She chides Ollie for being jealous and suspicious of her ex-husband showing up and having connections to a good school despite his loser past. But we, as the reader, know that Ollie is right to be suspicious since we know Dinah's ex is working with Merlyn to get Sin out from Canary's nose for a few hours a day. And while Ollie has always been a worrywart when it comes to "his lady" and has always taken to checking up on her whenever he was worried... this time, as in Longbow Hunters, his worries are justified.

Which I wouldn't object to, it having been so long since I've seen Ollie depicted as being competent and a good bullshit detector... but not at Dinah's expense.


BRAVE AND THE BOLD #5: I'm not usually one of the school of thought that Batman could beat anyone in an on-the-fly battle. With time to plan, yes. Against someone he had fought before (or fought with), yes. But not against a large number of unknown quantities in unfamilar ground...

... and yet...

... somehow, this entire story, which is basically Batman vs. The New Legion of Superheroes (i.e. the one written by Mark Waid, not the one in the recent JLA/JSA Lightning Saga), in which Batman is a fugitive in an unfamilar future fleeing the Legion works.

Even though Batman fights the entire Legion to a stand-still, it works. Just because of one simple fact.




Batman carries a pea-shooter in his utility belt!

Because you never know when you might need to take down a heavily armed shrinking person.


CONAN #42: This second chapter of Tim Truman's adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Rogues In The House brings about the union of the titular Rogues - Conan (thief, warrior and most recently assassin), Nabonidus (priest and blackmailer) and Murilo (spy and traitor). And it is, as usual, a masterful adaptation with amazing visuals.

I may stop reviewing this book. You can only say "This is a great book and a worthy tribute to Robert E. Howard's legacy" so many times.


COUNTDOWN #41: This is, for me at least, The Final Countdown.

I've overlooked the sudden change in characterization of Jason Todd because I honestly like this new Jason better.

I've ignored that suddenly Donan Troy and Jason Todd are fast friends and that everyone - including Batman - seems to be okay with Jason Todd being a vicious killer.

I've even ignored the fact that Jimmy Olsen gaining super powers is somehow... DULL.

But this I can't ignore. A disparity in story and artwork so great one has to wonder if the artist is even reading the script all the way through. For while the opening scene in which Trickster and Piper fall to their deaths as Trickster roots through a bag looking for something to save them finding his Air-Walking Shoes just in time is high drama...





... SHOULDN'T SOMEONE HAVE TOLD THE ARTIST NOT TO DEPICT TRICKSTER WEARING SAID SHOES BEFORE HE FINDS THEM IN THE BAG?!?!

I'm done.


DARK XENA #3: You either hate Xena, are indifferent to it or you love it.

My girlfriend loves it and she's the only reason I picked up this book.

Me? I'm indifferent. I thought Xena was ammusing the few times I caught it and I did make a point of trying to catch all the episodes with Bruce Campbell as the King of Thieves. But I've never really been what you could honestly call "a fan".

I mention this because if you're a fan of the show, you'll love this book. If you're not, you either won't care or will find this book to be more of the same combination of over-the-top action and over-the-top comedy that kept you away from the show.

Still - you have to appreciate the quality of story flow in any story that starts with Gabrielle bargaining with the Elder Gods to bring Xena back from the dead, merges into a Faustian tale as Gabrielle realizes that she has screwed the world over with Xena being brought back as her bad-self BEFORE she reformed and continues, in this issue, into one long sight-gag about just how many Xena stories involved an evil twin.


DEADPOOL GLI SUMMER FUN SPECTACULAR: Dan Slott, thank you.

From the heart of every Speedball fan in existence, thank you for having found a way, in continuity no less, to bring back our favorite hero someday.

Thank you for pointing out just how utterly, utterly silly the "serious" Marvel Universe is when Iron Man can kill people on TV while drunk and later become Leader of SHIELD and yet Speedball is despised by all for an accident that could never have been his fault.

And thank you once again for a very good, very funny comic.


JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11: Dear sweet merciful mother of all that is good and plenty!

Can it be possible?

Yes... yes, I think it is. It is an SINGLE-ISSUE STORY!

You know, I'm so overjoyed by the fact that in this era of decompressed storytelling someone has written a comic that is not part of a series, not "Part 4 of A Bunch!" or part of a never ending and increasingly tiresome crossover (I'm looking at you Amazons Attack!) that I can't even bring myself to savage this book for being yet another piece of Brad Meltzer fan-wank for Roy Harper.

Fast Thoughts - The Week of 5/02/07

Expect a Spider-Man 3 review before weekend's end.

Oh, and in totally irrelevant to the comics industry news, I'm finally working full-time in my Secret Identity as mild-mannered librarian Matt Morrison.



52 WEEK #52 - Here it is. The moment we've all been waiting for.

Is this a perfect story? No. Did all the questions we need answered get answered? No.

Do I care in a story where we find out that old Captain Marvel villain Mr. Mind is a baby Cthulhu capable of devouring all of space and time? HELL NO!

So... yeah. The DC Multiverse is back, 52 Worlds strong. Which 52? Well, I'm sure this will get mapped out eventually but here's the ones we know about for sure.

Earth 1 - New Earth (i.e. where most of the DC Comics take place)
Earth 2 - The JSA Earth, where Huntress is Batman's daughter.
Earth 3 - The Evil Earth Prime. Home of Crime Syndicate of America.
Earth 4 - Charlton Comics
Earth 5 - Old School Captain Marvel
Earth 10 - Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters
Earth 17 - Unknown, save the Knights are riding weird white monster mounts through the rubble of another civilization.
Earth 22 - Kingdom Come
Earth 50 - Wildstorm Comics (Gen-13, WILDCATS, Authority)

One more thing: I want more adventures of Ralph Dibny: Ghost Detective!



ASTONISHING X-MEN #21 - The one X-Men book I'll read, and not just because it seems to annoy the piss out of the people who read all the other X-Men books. Like Grant Morrison before him, Joss Whedon is dragging the X-Men concept into new territories. About the only thing you can guarantee with each new issue is that there will be something to make you go into squeeing fanboy excitement at the sure coolness or appropriateness of the moment.



GIANT SIZE RED SONJA #1 - A value for the price, though I would have favored more of the new material and less of the remastered and recolored reprints of classic Roy Thomas tales. Not that I hold anything against Roy Thomas - far from it - but I had read some of these tales before and apart from one story I believe was originally told in the old Savage Sword of Conan magazine, none are particularly hard to find. Still, it's worth getting just for the one new story... a continuation of the story from the Red Sonja #0 issue, with the barmaid who aided Sonja's enemies in an ambush against her setting upon her own path of revenge.



GREEN LANTERN #19 - You know, I should be worried that they are taking the Emotional Color Wheel concept that begat Parallax and are running with it. I mean, it's a silly, old-fashioned concept... unworthy of the great concept of a man with a ring that let him do anything... except affect things that are yellow.

Nah, unlike many of my brethren I actually LIKE the concept of an emotional spectrum with Yellow as Fear and Green as Willpower. It's completely and totally unsound scientifically but... it's comic book physics.

So in this issue, we find out that long-time Hal Jordan villain Star Sapphire is also connected to this color spectrum. Billions of years ago when the alien Guardians who created the Green Lantern Corps, a number of females (dubbed The Zamarons) from their species struck out on their own. The exact reasons for this have never been fully explained... until now.

Basically, they were concerned about the Guardians taking a Jedi Order approach to their plans to police the universe (no fear, but no love either) and they set out to create their own guardians using the Violet light manifested by the Power of Love and (Cue the Huey Lewis music) and the

But the power proved all-consuming to any connected to the crystals, so the Zamarons relied upon deceit to control the women the crystal possessed, making them think they were to be Queen of their homeworld. They also gave the crystals only to the girlfriends and wives of male Green Lanterns in the hopes that The Guardians would see their good works and realize their folly.

Problem is, apart from the connection to all-consuming love tends to make most women crazed dominatrixes (I've had that happen a few times) that the means by which a world gets "saved" by a Star Sapphire involves everyone being frozen in amethyst.

So it all gets explained. Why The Star Sapphire only possessed two (now three) of Hal Jordan's girlfriends out of all the women on Earth... why their powers seemed so similar to those of the Green Lanterns and... oh yes... why the Zamorans are now gathering up an army of women to bond to their Sapphires.

I trust in Geoff Johns to pull this off. I just fully expect a revamped Rainbow Raider once this is all said and done.



TEEN TITANS #46 Duela Dent isn't dead. Much happiness.

And yeah... while this doesn't even begin to fix all the damage that has been done to Slade's character in the last year, it's a good first step.

Can we believe that Slade Wilson would honestly set up an evil Titans team and lead a fight against the latest incarnation of the group, purely so that his own children would fight against him, remove any doubt of where their loyalties stand and give them the family he couldn't provide?

The Slade of five years ago, sure. But not the Slade of today. Too much twisted evil has been done in the name of a character who was a killer and a mercenary, but one who still had something of a code of honor.



XENA, WARRIOR PRINCESS - DARK XENA #1 -The Cthulhu tributes continue this week, with this "What If?" (I think) story about Gabrielle meeting one of the Old Ones and bargaining to bring Xena back to life and put things back "as they were before". The catch being, of course, that Xena comes back as the ruthless, amoral warlord she was before she met Gabrielle and... well, hilarity occurs.

I saw the twist coming a mile away (the story title is Dark Xena, for crying out loud!) but the story is an ammusing tale regardless. I'll definitely be picking up Issue 2.

Looking To The Stars - The Week In Reviews for 1/22

HEROES returns tonight! I am a happy little fanboy. So while I am busy cuing up every recording device I have and strapping myself down to the couch lest I be washed away in the waves of pure awesomeness that are sure to follow, why don’t you read some reviews?


52 Week #22
Company Name: DC Comics
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid
Art: Various

The cover gives the secret away, but it appears that we have finally learned who Supernova really is. And it appears, also, that the death of a big-name character last issue was naught but a red-herring. But what really sold this issue for me was a brief, two-page scene between Black Canary and Green Arrow that is everything their relationship should be. I’m not sure if the rumors of an impending wedding in 2007 are true – but if they are, I’d say this scene with an Ollie who wonders aloud about how it is possible to love a woman enough to let go of her is a fine way to start moving toward that end.

Grade: A





Birds of Prey #102
Company Name: DC Comics
Writers: Gail Simone
Art: Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood

Okay, if you’re a Manhunter fan – buy this book. It will help ease the withdrawal symptoms as your favorite character sinks into oblivion until the next time they try and reinvigorate the franchise. There’s a lot for the rest of us to enjoy as well, including a battle of wits between Lois Lane and Barbara Gordon and Big Barda teaching the lesson of why it is always important to be sensitive about a woman’s figure even if she isn’t capable of shot-putting an SUV. The one downside? The new Judomaster is still very much a cipher and I sill miss Black Canary’s presence on this book.

Grade: B





Conan #36
Company Name: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Paul Lee


A sequel of sorts to the very first published Conan story, The Phoenix On The Sword, this two-part “flash-forward” story tells us a tale from Conan’s days of the King of Aquilonia as he fights a threat to his kingdom. While I have been rather looking forward to the next chapter of the adapted chronology of the Conan history (Rogues in the House is my favorite Conan story of all time) and was a little upset at this digression, I cannot fault this story for not being worth the time of telling. Truman continues to wield Busiek’s sword and matches him for style and quality. And the artwork, by Conan and the Demons of Khitai artist Lee is a most worthy temporary replacement for Cary Nord.

Grade: B





Fantastic Four #542
Company Name: Marvel Comics
Writers: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: Mike McKone, Andy Lanning and Cam Smith

I used to think there was no more thankless task for the writer of a regular comic-book series than having to shift your entire story-line around a big company event. I now think there is one worse thing – having to start your run on a regular comic-book series while shifting your stories around a big company event.

Thankfully, Dwayne McDuffie (the genius behind Static and most of the best episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited) not only proves capable of hitting the ground running - he sets the world record for the 100 yard dash.

In this 90% talking-heads issue, McDuffie takes some of the more ludicrous attempts to justify some very out-of-character behavior during Civil War and turns them on their head. Perhaps the best example of this is Johnny Storm calling Reed Richards on his bullshit speech about “the importance of following the law, even if you don’t agree with it” by pointing out that the adventure that created the Fantastic Four began with Reed stealing a spaceship and wondering just how many times Reed has violated international law by interfering with the affairs of state in other nations. We also get a much more in-character motivation for Reed going along with the Pro-Registration side that he didn’t think anyone would understand or believe.

Note to Joe Quesada: Do not make the same mistake DC Comics did. Give McDuffie more work. Give him as many titles as possible. I don’t think any one writer can single-handedly pull you out of the pit that you’ve gotten the company into... but McDuffie can be the first to start pulling you up.

Grade: A



Green Lantern #16
Company Name: DC Comics
Writers: Geoff Johns
Art: Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Judging by the Comics Nexus Forums, I am one of the few who is enjoying this title. And yet, even as a die-hard Green Lantern who is pleased to see Hal Jordan back, even I think there is way too much going on in this book right now. Between the formation of a Sinestro Corps to counter the Green Lanterns, the return of the Manhunters under the command of the Cyborg Superman, the resurrection of a now legal Arissa, John Stewart being off “on a mission undercover somewhere”, intergalactic bounty hunters looking for Hal Jordan, the POW subplot, Hal’s crush on fellow pilot Cowgirl, the reformation of The Rocket Reds, a new branch of the Global Guardians harassing Hal in the wake of some treaty that forbids superheroes from operating outside their country of origin and the upcoming creation of an all new Star Sapphire – it is too much.

Even though some of this does get put on the path to resolution this issue, with Geoff Johns finally doing something with a villain who had perhaps the most inspired idea as well as the worst execution during the Kyle Rayner years, it still seems like there is enough drama here for a whole Corps of Green Lanterns much less the one Green Lantern of Earth. Still, you can’t say that Johns does not try to do justice to all these stories or that he indeed fails. I just wish we could actually go somewhere with one group of villains before he introduces another one.

Grade: C




Red Sonja Annual #1
Company Name: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Michael Avon Oeming
Art: Stephen Sadowski

I refuse to believe that the Michael Avon Oeming who wrote this issue can be the same Michael Avon Omeing who writes the regular Red Sonja series. Because the story in this annual, I’m sorry to say, is several sorry steps down in quality from his usual stellar work. The plot, in brief, involves a buxom 40-something barmaid who is inspired by the legends of Red Sonja to free herself and the girls in the brothel/inn her husband runs from their virtual enslavement.

Now this, in of itself, is a great idea for a story. After all, some of the best stories in comics are those in which we see the positive changes a hero brings about through their inspiration, not direct action. But the action in this issue defies belief, with a woman killing her husband and a few other men, burning an inn to the ground and then waking up, along with the girls, unharmed in the smoldering wreckage the next morning.

How did they survive- divine intervention? And where was the city watch in all this? Even by the lax standards of your average lawless Hyborian town, you’d expect at least one guard to show up and make sure the fire didn’t spread. And when Sonja herself shows up to give her nod of approval to the whole venture, it’s as cloyingly sweet as the ending of your average Mr. T cartoon. And no, that’s not a compliment.

Still, all silliness of the story aside, this issue does have to factors that redeem it. First, the artwork by Stepehen Sadowski is excellent, resembling a less-posed and more realistic Joseph Linsner. Secondly, the back half of this annual is taken up by a complete chronology of all of Red Sonja’s appearances – in her own titles, Conan and the Savage Sword of Conan magazine - complete with annotations, notes of continuity conflicts and exact issue numbers making this issue a must-have for any Sonja fan who has wished to collect her past adventures without having to buy up entire runs of comics.

Grade: C overall. A for the chronology, B for the artwork and F for the actual story.



Xena Warrior Princess Annual #1
Company Name: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Keith Champagne
Artists: Noah Salonga


If this is the kind of work we can expect from Keith Champenge in the upcoming World War III books from DC, I think I’ll pass on the storyline, thanks.

Perhaps it is wrong to expect a serious attention to detail from a book as silly and self-mocking as Xena. Then again, when a casual fan of the show like myself can spot continuity errors - such as Gabrielle swearing by The Prophet Jebus - I mean Eli, despite the fact that her costume is that of the earlier-seasons Gabrielle before that storyline ever took place – I doubt it will please the die-hard fans of the Warrior Princess.

Still, ignoring all issues of show history and where this story would fall into it, this issue is still a real mess. The story, which introduces aliens into the world of Xena, destroys the thin veneer of seriousness that makes Xena work as a concept. Yes, some of the characters are goofy and yes the action is over the top. But in a world full of magic and gods who are actively screwing with the cosmos, it makes an odd sort of sense. Bringing in creatures from outside this world – literally, in this case – breaks the fourth wall that makes the entire concept work.

It doesn’t help matters much that the art, good as it is in portraying the characters from the show, makes the aliens Xena fights here resemble Predator – adding an unintentional comic aspect to the whole story of Xena mercy-killing a shipwreck survivor as he tries to tell her that he’ll be fine once its’ mate, a medic, returns and said mate going on a rampage to avenge the death of its’ loved one.

Grade: D

Looking To The Stars - The Week In Review

Quite a lot of news this week. And yet, I read more than a few comics this week. And it has been ever so long since Unca Stars has treated everyone with a batch full of reviews.

Lucky you. I’m Super-Sizing your column this week, free of charge!

Okay, it’s always free. But you’re getting more bang for the buck you aren’t giving me. Should anyone feel that I am worth a buck, please e-mail me for Paypal instructions.

And now that I am done with my joking and likely pointless shilling, LET THE NEWS REVIEWING BEGIN!

Marvel reverses labeling policy for gay characters

I’d be more impressed with this most progressive news if…

a) Marvel had bothered to put out more than ONE title with a gay/lesbian/bi-sexual main character in all the time the MAX line has existed.
b) Marvel’s two main teen-books (Runaways and Young Avengers) didn’t have three openly gay members between them.
c) Joe weren’t quite so proud about declaring gay hero Freedom Ring the star of Marvel Team-Up… which is due for cancellation, so who cares if people complain about it before then?
d) Marvel weren’t desperate for any kind of good publicity in the wake of the massive delays on Civil War announced last week.

IMAGE PROVIDES RETAILERS WITH FREE COPIES OF “STRANGE GIRL” #10

Retailers drop free copies in Quarter-Bins to save time, make money faster.

TONY HARRIS ENTERS THE QUICKENING: AWARD-WINNING ARTIST NOW REGULAR HIGHLANDER COVER ARTIST

Matt Morrison enters state of bliss: Tony Harris Fanboy now giving Highlander a shot.

“DARKMAN VS. THE ARMY OF DARKNESS” RAGES ON

I’m going to have to start sending my paycheck to Dynamite Entertainment at this rate. Between this, Highlander and the Red Sonja and Xena comics my girlfriend collects, seems like half the books I actively collect are by DE.

Well, it may SEEM like it. But it’s not quite true, as this week’s batch of reviews will clearly show…

52 Week #16
Company Name: DC Comics
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid
Art: Various

This issue wasn’t bad but it didn’t thrill me as much as past issues of 52. After the bang-up ending last time (sorry…sorry), this issue just felt a little flat. The Question/Montoya doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and Black Adam’s whirlwind romance is coming off as being a bit rushed. Still, who am I to question the wisdom of gods? The sight of Mary Marvel being alive and well was an uplifting note, at least.

Grade: C

Birds of Prey #97
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Paulo Siqueira and Robin Riggs

Glad as I am to see that at least one writer has not abandoned the idea of The Society (being played for chumps by Luthor aside, it DID work really well for the villains) this issue came off a little forced. Emo-brat Black Alice was always shown as being a little more canny that she comes off here. And I am looking forward to seeing this new Batgirl storyline resolved even though I know we are being massively played on what we are supposed to expect.

Grade: B

Daredevil #88
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists:Michael Lark and Lee Bermejo

A one-off issue centering upon the now-in-hiding and thought dead by the world (and Matt Murdock) Foggy Nelson this one is a Brubaker bread-and-butter special. We get some nice factual information on what life is like for someone in the witness protection program. And ninjas fighting the Mafia. Everything goes better with ninjas!

Grade: B

Jack of Fables #2
Writers: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Artists: Tony Akins and Andrey Pepoy

Jack was my favorite character from the original Fables series, so no surprise me loving this one given that I’m also a sucker for any story with a trickster hero. Throw in the fact that the villain of this piece, who we meet in this issue, is a librarian dedicated to a most literal form of censorship (pretty much the epitome of evil for a librarian like myself, who believes that information is meant to be free) and you have one rollicking good read for a mythology librarian geek like myself. But I think that the rest of you will enjoy it too.

Grade: A

Justice League of America #1
Writers: Brad Meltzer
Art: Ed Benes and Sandra Hope

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Brad Meltzer since Green Arrow: Archer’s Quest. I love most of his characterization and dialogue but I hate his plots and 11th Hour plot twists. Still, I will say two things about this book.

1. He made me care about Red Tornado.

Not an easy feat given I’ve never liked the Pinocchio Syndrome cliché and I think the old Avengers comics with Vision pretty much handled the subject definitively. But damn me if the parts featuring him in this issue didn’t make me start to give a damn about “John Smith”.

2. This is, by far, the most ethnically diverse Justice League ever.

Indeed, it is a Justice League made up entirely of minorities.

I know this is a minor point but given all the talk of racism and religious-bias in comics I’ve seen on this site and others of late, I thought this worth noting. And I expect this to be highly debated but consider the following.

Superman – Granting that he was raised WASP, the man is still the poster-boy Alien Immigrant. And with two female Kryptonian cousins, he is now a minority in a minority.

Batman – Okay. He’s a rich White guy. But given that most of his writers agreed that Batman is Catholic, Anglican or Episcopalian – all relatively small denominations in the USA – he’s a rich, religiously repressed White guy.

Wonder Woman – Greek Mythology pagan.

Green Lantern (Harold ‘Hal’ Jordan) – Hal’s never been portrayed as a spiritual character with a stated religion, but there is a belief by some fans that Hal is Jewish. Indeed, his appearance in 1959 was based on Jewish actor Paul Newman and he once wished Barry Allen a Happy Hanukkah.

Black Canary – Never stated any religious belief as far as I know. But she’s a woman so she still counts as a repressed minority regardless.

Arsenal – Roy was raised Navajo and has been shown to subscribe to their beliefs and to be considered one of the tribe. I think that’s enough to qualify him as Native American for tax purposes.

Black Lightning – do I really have to explain this one?

Vixen – African. Not African-American. African Tribal.

Hawkgirl – Half-Latina who may worship ancient Egyptian gods.

Red Tornado – If sentient robots with souls aren’t a minority group in the DCU, then Dr. Morrow and Dr. Magnus have been putting in some overtime.

All arguing of semantics aside, this book was enjoyable enough. I’ll be anxious to see how the first arc ends (Meltzer is weak on endings, IMHO) but so far, so good.

Grade: A

Red Sonja #13
Writer: Michael Oeming
Art: Mel Rubi

The artwork is gorgeous as ever and I do like this clearer retelling of Sonja’s origin that makes it clear, once and for all, if she was honestly blessed by a goddess or just hallucinating in the pain and confusion of what happened to herself and her family. I’m still a bit confused as to what the “mystery villain” who was brought back from the classic Sonja Marvel Comics has to do with the action right now but I am content to sit and find out.

Grade: B

Supergirl #9
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artists: Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund

Blind optimism has kept me glancing at this book in the store hoping that it would finally achieve the potential it had when Jeph Loeb first brought back the classic Supergirl. Blind optimism finally paid off. Freed from trying to finish off whatever Greg Rucka abandoned during his brief tenure on the title, Kelly is starting to turn this book into his own creature, by setting Kara up on her own and having her talk about her displacement issues with the new Captain Boomerang – who also has some issues with his parents and his place in a world he is just now learning to be a part of. It’s quirky but it works. And the set-up on the last two pages seems a natural progression for two characters who should honestly have been put together as natural friends by now.

Grade: B

Ultimate Spider-Man #99

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Mark Bagley

Well, this is better than the original Clone Saga. But if that’s not damning with faint praise, I don’t know what is. Honestly, this issue is crammed full of so many shocking twists that it isn’t the least bit shocking. Nearly everyone who was dead isn’t dead anymore and the only thing that’s for sure is that Peter is somehow going to get blamed for all of this. 10 to 1 Norman Osborne shows up in Issue #100 as the mastermind behind all of this. At least Bagley’s art is still ‘a might pretty.

Grade: D

Wonder Woman #2
Writer: Allan Heinberg
Art: Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson

You know, I really would like to be able to care about this book. But I don’t. Much as I am glad to see Nemesis alive and well (and the in-joke about his Catwoman appearance where he ‘died” is priceless), I just can’t get all worked-up about this book. I can’t get excited about Wonder Woman as Lara Croft in her secret identity. I can’t get excited about Donna Troy’s appearance here given that we know Diana is alive and well and active. And I really can’t get excited about her doing the spin and change into costume thing at the end of the book. The Dodsons do their usual job where all the female characters looking buxom and all the male characters looking just plain weird. Seriously. Look at Robin. Weird.

Grade: D

Xena: Warrior Princess #2

Writer: John Layman
Art: Fabiano Neves

Dynamite seems intent on reviving a lot of forgotten movie and TV properties with comic-book tie-ins of late. The only thing saving them so far (apart from some cunning marketing) is the fact that as cheesy as some of the properties they’ve invested in are, they are fun. And whatever else may be said of Xena – it is a fun book that truly reads like one of the better episodes of the TV show.

The plot, such as it is, is that the Egyptian Gods and Greek Gods decide to settle their personal war by having two champions fight to the death. Through a bit of a fluke, Gabrielle winds up being chosen to be the representative for the Greeks. Thankfully, the rogue Autoylcus (played by the great Bruce Campbell) is able to convince the gods that having just one pair of mortals fight for their glory is a bit of an understatement. Unfortunately, they just open up the playfield drafting the incompetent Joxer and the psychotic Callisto for the Greek team along with Xena and the sneaky, but not a fighting-man Autoylcus.

The artwork captures the likenesses of all the characters from the show well and odds are that if you’re a fan of the show or comedic fantasy in general, you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did.

Grade: A

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

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