Comic Books Comic Book • Page 193

Lol omg the dinner table scene in Superman this week is perfect. (how can you not love batman!?)

 

@Vivatoto speaking of Batman, here's my review of Batman #20 this week: Batman #20 Review | Comic Book Blog | Talking Comics

 

I am still about...8 issues behind on Superman. Hoping to be caught up soon. Loved the first annual with Swamp Thing.

 

Oh sweet! I'll check it out after I read the issue for myself later today. I've been wondering how you feel about I Am Bane.

 

Such a good series. Feels good to have a Superman series to follow (after gaining my current appreciation of the character during New 52). I love Supes' family dynamic, and his adventures in the series thus far have been a lot of fun.

 

This was probably my favorite Superman issue yet (but it did have some hilarious Batman scenes and a The Thing reference so that probably swung me)

 

Well I won't spoil my thoughts on it so you can (hopefully) enjoy the review.

 

I was disappointed in Superwoman and Supergirl. I had very high hopes, but reading the first few issues of each left me less than enthused.

Superwoman is just too scatterbrained. And Supergirl is tracking far too closely with the TV show for my comfort.

Come to think of it, with the exception of Wonder Woman and Batwoman, I haven't really been too impressed with how DC Rebirth has handled female characters in the DCU. I hope that changes.

 

But then there are also female characters stealing the male solo books, such as Mera in Aquaman or Black Canary in GA. And Jess is the best character in the DCU right now.

(like stealing the show, in a good way.)

 

I only read the first arc of Aquaman, and I didn't really warm to it. The art was too 90s superhero for me. (Which, as an aside, I don't know why Abnett's two books for DC were both given to 90s style artists, but I digress). But I would be so there for a Mera solo book.

I read the first 10 issues of Green Lanterns and Jess was...not my favorite. Really, both main characters were poorly written, IMO. But I also am not a big Sam Humphries fan.

Though I do like Spoiler's arc from Detective Comics. Even if the writing for her was a tad over-the-top. I just wish I liked Batgirl and Supergirl more.

 

Jessica Cruz in Green Lanterns is awesome. The art in that series is obnoxiously inconsistent, and the series has dragged at times, but when everything slows down and the characters get a chance to shine, they really shine, particularly Jessica. The issue about her facing her anxiety every day was one of the best Rebirth issues I've read thus far. I've unfortunately settled on dropping the series next time I go to the shop, but out of every character I've spent time with in Rebirth, Jessica is easily my favorite besides Supes and his fam.

After dropping GL, I'll be down to just Superman and Batgirl, and I'm only keeping up with Batgirl 'cause I love Barbara Gordon and think Hope Larson has a great handle on the character, even though the overall writing and art has been middling at best. Hopefully the third arc of Batgirl is better! The Poison Ivy issue was really good, so I know there's hope for the series.

After dabbling in a handful of Rebirth titles, I'm content to settle back into focusing on Marvel for my monthly superhero needs. Excited for the upcoming Spectacular Spider-Man, Generation X, and Astonishing X-Men series.

 

I like the idea of a superhero battling anxiety. I just found Humphries characterization of that aspect of her to be really awful. But I appear to be in the minority on that one. :/

I don't read any Marvel, so my hopes for superhero stories lie with DC and the occasional Valiant book.

The DC titles I am sticking with:

Action Comics
Batman
Detective Comics
Green Arrow
Nightwing
Superman
Teen Titans
Wonder Woman

The ones I will monitor in case they get better:

Batgirl
The Flash
Supergirl

And I still haven't read:

Batwoman
New Superman
Super Sons

 

Just out of curiosity, what didn't you like about how it was handled?

I have the first Nightwing trade but struggled to get into it. I also don't have a deep history with the character, though, so there's that. Might go back and read Grayson first to see if that makes it easier; what I saw of that series looked really good.

Weirdly, the Wonder Woman series doesn't appeal to me that much. Dunno why. The titles I most want to check out via trade are Batwoman, New Super-Man, Superwoman, and Deathstroke. Also wanna continue Detective Comics, since I really loved the first arc but decided I didn't care about keeping up monthly.

And man, you're missing out if you're avoiding Marvel, lol. So much fantastic stuff there getting unfairly overshadowed by the few major recent duds.

 

I'm 50/50 on whether or not I liked the first Batgirl Rebirth trade. The story was fun enough, but I'm not sure I understand why they gave her a love interest. It just doesn't work for me.

 

It's the start of a pattern, the new Batgirl arc is about a love interest too.

 

Loved reading the old Amazing Spider-Man's. also reading those honestly made me laugh that everyone is such a stickler about Peter Parker being a shy nerd and everything. Feel like people have false memories of those simply because he's in a sweater and has glasses haha. he was just a nerd of those times, but i also found that Peter Parker was kind of a dick haha.

 

Those couple pages of Jessica Jones were so freaking sweet. Do Marvel fans know who the women who got shot is?

 

The current arc is centered around another kinda sorta love interest/potential antagonist... who is the son of the Penguin, lol.

I don't mind the whole romantic thing. I'd have a problem if it were a dude writing these arcs, but if Hope Larson wants to have Babs dating around, more power to her. I just don't think these couple main arcs have been particularly engaging thus far. The current one is definitely worse 'cause the social media angle is like a much weaker version of what the previous creative team did (and what Wilson's currently doing in Ms Marvel), though I am at least glad to see Frankie and Alysia back into the mix.

If Larson started taking more cues from companies like Marvel, Archie, and BOOM! Studios, Batgirl would be a much better series. She's got the characters down, which isn't surprising when you consider her background in indie comics, but I think she's struggling to create engaging traditional superhero arcs. If DC is alright with the civilian relationships taking more of the focus than whatever threat Batgirl is facing, doing so could pump a ton of life into the series.

Yeah, the timid and awkward dweeb interpretation of Peter is a much newer iteration than people really realize. I always talk about how fast he became super cool during the Romita years, but even during the original high school Ditko years, it's really only Flash and a couple of his nameless friends who looked down on him. Pre-spider bite, he was a shy outcast, but not long at all after becoming Spider-Man, his outcast status was 100% due to the impossible balancing act of both identities, not because of any remaining social anxiety.

I'm not getting this week and last week's pull until next week, so I can't help you out, lol.

 

Damn that was such a great issue. I completely agree with everything you said, the stuff with his mother was so great. And you're totally right about seeing the pain in every single facial expression. That was brutal.

 

Ah drats, ha. There isn't much information to go on, I'm guessing it's a new character but she also has a sort of power that might be recognizable. It's a full on character issue, I think you'll enjoy.

 

Glad you enjoyed it! And glad you agree with the review. Sometimes I wonder if my thoughts on things make any sense to anyone else so good to know they do.

 

I last read Green Lanterns months ago, so I can't provide anything specific, but I just remember feeling like she was more obnoxious than anything. To be fair, she is much better than Simon, who I couldn't stand. It just wasn't a book I enjoyed at all.

When it comes to Marvel, that just isn't my preferred company. Haha. It never has been. My love has always been for the DCU. That said, there are a few characters I enjoy, but most of them are the X-Men, and as I have said earlier I really hate the direction the X-Men have been in for the last few years. I also read Marvel when there are writers there that I love (so I read King's Vision, and when Hickman was writing I would read anything he had his name on). As it stands now, the only writer working for Marvel right now that I enjoy is Jason Aaron. And I hopped off his Thor book because cancer stories really bum me out for personal reasons.

I have Marvel Unlimited, so I occasionally try some new stuff to see if I like it and thus far it has been a big goose egg. Just not making books for me. (Ms. Marvel is probably the only real exception).

 

Also, the line up of creators at C2E2 this year looks awesome. I am going to be hounding Artist Alley for 3 straight days.

Also, hopefully I can get tickets saturday morning so that I can finally go back to SDCC. I haven't gone in 4 years due to law school, and I would really love to go again.

Anyone else got any conventions coming up?

 

I knew we had this discussion before! Haha.

EDIT: sorry of triple post.

 

I only go to the local cons in Pittsburgh (one is this weekend), which are fun but don't typically have any cool comic book creator names. It's nice having multiple per year with great deals on comics, but I wish we'd get people that excite me. At least we're getting Mark Waid next month. I'd kill for a local con with a bunch of artists I really like, though.

lol.

After the recent issue on living with anxiety that I loved, I partially go back on that. I want her to continue to become super competent in battle, but it'd be terrible to lose this cool character representing genuine anxiety. Having her magically overcome that struggle would be bad writing, but establishing her as someone who faces that mental health struggle every day and still performs willpower-based superheroics is super important. Simon has been slowly learning to understand Jessica's struggle and support her in it, and I think others could come to understand anxiety a little better through the character, too.