What I Bought This Past Week – The Marvel and Dynamite Books (Fearless Defenders #11, X-Men #7, Legends of Red Sonja #1, Red Sonja #5) (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Time for the other half of…

Hey Woolie, “When’s Mahvel”? Right now! XD We got two Marvel comics, two Dynamite comics, a double helping of Gail Simone, two superheroine team books, and just about every well-known woman writer and artist in the biz these days (that was available) teaming up to do a single book, so let’s get started! It’s Ladies Night, starting with Fearless Defenders #11!

Dammit, why is this book getting cancelled next month?! WHY?! We just started a subplot involving Annabelle and Ren, and knowing my luck, it could be months before we ever see either of them again! Seriously, we need to get as many people as we can to buy the trade when it comes out, maybe that’ll convince Marvel to bring this book back. In the meantime, though, it looks like the last two issues revolve around the Amazons and Warrior Woman’s attempts to try to steer them into being a more peaceful race than the army of bloodthirsty warriors they’ve been. Only problem is that the literal mother of all monsters has decided to give them a better deal than Hippolyta is. Oh, and also, Annabelle and Ren had sex…I don’t know how they managed it, given Ren’s little situation with her hands, but they did it. Good issue, just sad that there’s only one more to go.

X-Men #7 was a little odd at first, since I had to get adjusted to some of the changes that occurred during Battle of the Atom. Long story short, Jubilee met a future version of Shogo (the kid she’s looking after), and Kitty and the past versions of the X-Men from All-New X-Men decided to join present day Cyclops because…I guess they like working with obvious terrorists? No, I’m sorry, I’m not over this: Scott Summers is a villain now. I keep hearing people defending, and I don’t know how they cannot argue this point. He got sent to prison for a pretty damned good reason, got busted out, and is now working underground with Magneto and Emma Frost, not to mention the fact that he’s always been kind of an asshole, a point he even kinda admitted to at the end of Avengers vs X-Men when he said that Charles Xavier was responsible for the best in him. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Professor X? Oh yeah, he got MURDERED BY SCOTT SUMMERS! You can’t even say it wasn’t his fault since the Phoenix to possessed him and his group, when he was allowing the Phoenix to come back in the first place! Scott Summers = EVIL!

…What was I talking about? Oh yeah, X-Men #7. So yeah, Jubilee’s gone, and I’m assuming Rogue has stuff she needs to do with the Uncanny Avengers, since she’s not around either. Instead, we have Karima Shapander, the former Omega Sentinel now back to normal and trying to get her life back on track, and Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix…Or just Monet, that works too. o.O Long story short, Ana Cortes, the heir to a billion-dollar company with diversifications in shipping, oil, real estate, and weapons, has uploaded Lady Deathstrike‘s consciousness into her body, becoming a combination of the two. At first, she wants to get ahold of the Omega Sentinel. When a confrontation with Money and Karima ends bad for her, she then learns about something far more powerful that she plans to obtain: Arkea. On a side-note, it seems Jubilee is actually going to be able to legally adopt Shogo without any problems, and we finally get an explanation for the little scuffle between Bling and Mercury in X-Men #1: Bling asked Mercury out, and Mercury freaked out and punched her…Okay, I’ll admit, I’m not very knowledgeable on either character, but I was under the impression that Mercury was supposed to be a bit likeable than that. However, Bling tells Jubilee that it’s alright, because she doesn’t like Mercury like that anymore, and that she likes someone else now…while looking right into Jubilee’s eyes…Um, I feel the need to again point out that I’m not very knowledgeable about Bling, but considering that she’s attending the school while Jubilee USED to be a student and is now simply staying there…Okay, I’ll just ask. How sizeable is the age difference between the two? Because if it’s just a few years, that’s fine, but if it’s more than that, this could get into kinda icky territory. So yeah, somebody in the comments section, let me know what the approximate age difference is so I can move on from that. Overall, though, a good jumping-back-on issue.

Legends of Red Sonja #1, the name pretty much says it all. It’s about a bunch of people telling their own stories of the exploits of Red Sonja. However, to me, the true appeal of the Legends of Red Sonja series is the fact that Gail Simone has gathered an all-star team of female writers, authors, artists, and more to put this book together. Names like Carla Speed McNeil (Finder, Queen & Country), Marjorie Liu (Astonishing X-Men, Tiger Eye, X-23), Nancy A. Collins (Swamp Thing, Jason Vs. Leatherface, the Final Destination tie-ins), Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel, 30 Days of Night, Blue Dragon, Fruits Basket), Molly Mahan (Vampirella, The Mocking Dead, Codename: Action), Devin Grayson (Batman, Catwoman, Black Widow, and even Linkara’s favourite comic book series of all time, The Titans), and many more. Women who love comics, feminists who love comes, you owe it to yourselves to, at the very least, give this book a look.

Speaking of Red Sonja, Red Sonja #5 gives us even more bloody barbarian brilliance. We get some more awesome dialogue between her and her bodyguards, where we see she has actually become MORE pissed off by Annisia shutting down one of her favourite taverns. By the end, the late King’s son uses leeches to cure Sonja of the plague, and she takes on Annisia in the arena where they battled together for their lives as slaves. However, this seems to have worked out in someone else’s favour, as they are cornered by the forces of the man who made them slaves, King Bazrat. And just that name, Bazrat, makes him insanely evil to me. lol But yeah, the conclusion comes next month, and I can’t wait to see how Gail Simone wraps up her first arc with Red Sonja.

Anyway, that’s it for everything I bought for this past week. Check in next week as we see what our favourite Talon, Calvin Rose, is up to. Ja né!

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What I Bought This Past Week – The DC Books (Batman #25, Batman/Superman #5, Batman and Robin #25, Harley Quinn #0) (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, I’ve been to Heroes’ Beacon the past couple of Wednesdays, so I guess it’s time to talk about…

 

…And since I bought a LOT the past couple of weeks, I thought I’d split it up between DC and Marvel/Dynamite. So, let’s start the DC books with Batman #25.

Y’know what I realised this is? This is the comic book equivalent of the Ultima VII cover! XD

Well first off, the Zero Year Batmobile is a frakking hot rod. AWESOME! 😀 Second, before we get to Riddler, apparently we got a Doctor Death/Poison Ivy arc, which is pretty cool. I like the fact that Zero Year has three phases, the first being the Red Hood Gang, second being Death and Ivy, third being Riddler. Also, apparently there’s something the military digs up in Nigeria that’s supposed to be important to all of this. Got a little bit of a problem with Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon being antagonistic towards each other because of something that happened over the murder of Bruce’s parents. Just feels unnecessary. Also, Lucius Fox does a heel turn at the end, I’m going to assume he’s being brainwashed or it isn’t really him, considering how trusted an ally he is to Batman later on. And finally, nice little back-up involving Harper Row and her brother, talking about everyone that’s helping in the blackout (Batman, Superman, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, John Stewart, Barry Allen, and the rest). Overall, a great issue, albeit one that kinda feels a bit disconnected from all these tie-ins, considering we only hear about the storm coming in the main story, while the tie-ins and the Harper back-up are about the different characters surviving it.

Oh, Snapple…Sorry, guys. Hang on a sec…

…There we go. Yeah, as you can tell, Batman/Superman #5 was a little weird to read, because it was utilizing a different style where you have to turn the comic on its side for the entire book. In other words, Linkara‘s nightmare taken form. XD There was a moment where Superman is able to tell that, and I quote, “In Metropolis, New York City, all up and down the eastern seaboard, the average human heart rate just increased by about three percent”. And I was like “…He can hear that???” and then I had to slap myself and go “Of course he can, you idiot, he’s Superman”. I was a tiny bit offended (not a lot, just a little) by the gamers playing Toymaster’s game not being able to tell that something wasn’t normal, and how when it’s revealed to them that they’ve been actually interacting with the real world, they think it’s just some meta story-within-a-story. C’mon, I know Jimmy Olsen is one of the players, but even HE isn’t THAT stupid. But I will give it a pass for the freaking horrifying reveal at the end: Mongul hacked the game so he can turn online gamers into his own personal army, since they spend billions of hours playing first person shooters and war simulators. THAT is actually kinda scary, and the fact that Mongul is doing it makes it all the more horrifying.

Okay, I’m just gonna say real quick that Batman on this cover makes me think of Batman: The Animated Series, so this book gets points just for that.

Batman and Robin #25…Okay, before I get to the review, I gotta address something. Remember how it was becoming ever-so-clear that Carrie Kelley would become Robin? Well, guess what? No sign of her for a few issues now. The apparent connection that was suggested in the solicit for this issue to what’s going on with Two-Face and Erin McKillen? Not here. And now there seems to be a lot of hints and suggestions that Damian might actually be coming back. So…what the crap is going on? Was Carrie Kelley just dropped in favour of bringing Damian back? Is this maybe just misdirection to just throw us off? And when is this book gonna go back to being titled Batman and Robin instead of Batman and Whoever-The-Frig-Else-Is-In-This-Book?

But yeah, getting back to Batman and Two-Face, it’s fine. The new revised origins for Two-Face are given a bit more development, and I do like the symbolism involved, that Harvey took away Erin’s better half, so she did the same to him. I also really like the return of Matches Malone. There is one panel in the book I have to just shake my head and laugh at, though. Not for being bad, because it isn’t, but because…well, you’ll see.

American Batman! Stay away from me!
American Batman! Mama let me be!

Wow. Subtle, guys. Really. lol

Harley Quinn #0…Y’know what, I don’t know if I’ll be picking up the series to follow it or not, but I will say this: This one issue is worth every penny you pay for it. In fact, for what I paid for it, I almost feel like I was ripping THEM off. This is the funniest comic I have ever read. And before you ask, no, I haven’t read Deadpool. Considered it a couple of times, may end up doing it in the future, but not as of this moment in time. If you don’t know, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t if you’re into comics, this issue is all about Harley Quinn wanting her own comic, and she’s breaking the fourth wall and talking to Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti as they write the book, talking about the different artists and basically judging which ones she likes best. They even make jabs at themselves and the different artists, so you know they were fully embracing the silliness and not taking themselves too seriously. Favourite moment was probably seeing Harley in her classic costume and drawn by Bruce Timm. The point where I had to put the book down for a second because I was laughing too hard was when they made the remark about Jim Lee’s quarterly royalty payments. XD Seriously, if you like Harley Quinn, or you just like comics that are funny and random as all hell, PICK THIS BOOK UP. I cannot recommend it any further, you guys.

Anyway, that’s it for the DC books I bought lately. Check back in later to learn all about the Marvel and Dynamite books I got in the past couple of Wednesdays. Ja né!

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Why I Won’t Be Buying Earth 2 Anymore (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, tomorrow is Wednesday, and I plan to go to Heroes’ Beacon to buy some comics and talk about what I bought then and last Wednesday. However, before I get to that, there’s something I need to address, concerning a book I used to buy monthly that I am now dropping: Earth 2. This might come as a surprise, since Earth 2 was one of my favourite books, and while there are a lot of things I like about the initial run by James Robinson, there were problems as well, and those are only made worse by new problems. This is not a slam on Tom Taylor, who is taking over the book. This is just me saying why I am not buying the book. And for the record, as always, I’m not judging anybody for buying it. If you like it, great. Me, I cannot like this book as it is.

Earth 2 Red Tornado

So, let’s start with one of the biggest things I do not like about where this plot is going: Red Tornado is actually Lois Lane. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that this means DC once again killed Lois Lane. Although, I suppose if she’s had her mind placed in an android’s body, at least she’s still active, and I’m actually not TOO against the idea of her as a superheroine. At least as a temporary thing. My hope is that they’ll eventually find a way to clone a new body for her and bring her back to normal. However, not only does that not seem likely, but it doesn’t matter much, as before that can happen, we get the clash I DO NOT WANT. AT ALL.

Earth 2 Superman Indoctrinated

You might recall me mentioning at the end of my look at the last issue of Earth 2 that I bought that Brutaal, one of Darkseid‘s most powerful soldiers, was revealed to be Superman. Again, Superman being indoctrinated into working for Darkseid wouldn’t be as big a deal (at least to me, anyway), if not for the fact that this is now the fourth time, possibly more, we’ve seen Superman, be it in comics, video games, or movies, either turn evil or do something morally ambiguous or downright WRONG. And all of this in his 75th Anniversary. But, again, if not for that, I would’ve been fine with this…until the reveal of Lois Lane as Red Tornado. Now, it’s painfully clear that, at some point, Lois and Clark are going to fight, quite possibly to the death. And that is wrong, dammit. Clark Kent and Lois Lane should NEVER fight like this.

The New Earth 2 Batman
(Noticing a serious red trend here?)

Then there’s the new Earth 2 Batman. The warning alarm was already going off in my head upon seeing that he killed people. But, I let it slide because it’s supposed to be Earth 2, the world of the Golden Age comics, and in the Golden Age, Batman killed people. So, I let it go. And then the leak happened. If you don’t know what I mean, basically, DC failed at social media and showed off an advertisement for the new Earth 2 figures on Twitter. And, for the figure for the new Earth 2 Batman, it listed him as Thomas Wayne. Now, I don’t know if it’s Thomas Wayne Sr. or Jr., but considering how a lot of the character who appear in the present of Earth 2 have no counterpart on the main DC Earth, it’s probably Thomas Wayne Sr.

…Okay, I’m aware this next sentence is gonna sound really hypocritical at first, considering my own works of fiction regarding Batman, but I will try my best to explain it. Thomas Wayne as Batman is a BAD idea here. Flashpoint was alright, as it was telling what might have been, and The First Batman was also okay, as it told a story of Thomas Wayne as Batman BEFORE Bruce while dressed in a costume for a charity ball. However, the idea of him REPLACING Bruce is just…no. Also, I would just like to point out that, following the leak, I contacted James Robinson on Twitter and asked if this was his idea or DC’s, and he took responsibility for it. So, make of that what you will.

And lastly, it’s been made clear in interviews that things won’t always end well for the good guys in Earth 2. In fact, things will often-times end VERY badly. Hell, it’s been suggested that Alan Scott MAY have been killed, not sure. This is HIGHLY problematic for me. I don’t like reading stories that leave little in the way of an optimistic future. Just my own little pet peeve. And before anyone says Batman, I will simply reply that you’d be surprised sometimes how much more optimistic Batman stories can be than others in the New 52. Things have gotten THAT BAD.

But yeah, those are my thoughts. I will say, though, that this probably works out for the best. Marvel has three new books, all with female leads, starting next year, and I’m gonna need to make some space for ’em. So, dropping Earth 2 will probably help a lot, as well as Fearless Defenders getting cancelled, and one other book I MIGHT be dropping (we’ll see). For now, leave a comment below about what you think of this direction with Earth 2, and I will see you tomorrow when I talk about…

…Ja né!

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Pulling Out Of NaNoWriMo 2013, But Wonder Woman Fic Is Still On The Way

So, as I tweeted earlier, I’ve decided to officially and graciously bow out of National Novel Writing Month. Why? For a number of reasons. First and foremost, however, the story I’m writing is reaching its natural conclusion, and I’m not even at the halfway point for the word count. While I’m way behind, I’m sure I COULD reach the 50,000 word minimum by the end of the month, but I’m already pulling filler out of my ass to extend the word count as much as humanly possible, so I don’t think the quality of my work would be any good.

Reason #2 kinda spins from the first one, in that I’m really NOT good at working with a deadline, be it a date and time, word minimum, or in this case, all the above. I’m a very ‘my pace’ kind of writer. It’s obviously something I’ll have to work on in the future, it just isn’t something I can overcome RIGHT NOW.

Reason #3…Well, to be honest, I kind of decided to just jump into it spontaneously this year. I had only just heard of it when I decided to officially enter. Now, that having been said, I can tell you I’ve enjoyed the heck outta this, and it’s definitely something I wanna try again next year, once I’ve thought about what went wrong this time and I’ve had some more time to improve.

And finally, reason #4, I wanna get back to blogging regularly and writing the other stories I was plotting for Infinite DC soon. Birds of Prey: Dark hasn’t been updated in forever, my blog hasn’t been updated very much at all, there’s a really great Batman and Robin story I wanna do, I STILL need to get back to editing me and DorkynProudOfIt’s Thor: The Dark World vlog, and then there’s Justice League that I wanna get to. However, before I do all of that, I still need to finish Wonder Woman.

So, with all that being said, this does not mean you won’t be seeing Infinite DC – Wonder Woman. In fact, because I’m not writing it for NaNoWriMo anymore, I can begin the process of posting chapters of it to Fanfiction.net right away. So, expect the first chapter to be posted before the day is out. I hope you all enjoy it, as I put a lot of work into this.

So, this gives me a year to ponder what I will be doing next year. I will think hard about that over the next 12 months or so. Rest assured, though, one way or another, you can most definitely expect to see me entering NaNoWriMo 2014. Until then, look out for Infinite DC – Wonder Woman on Fanfiction.net, and plenty more blog entries on here. Ja né!

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Infinite DC – Who Is On The Justice League? (FEEDBACK REQUESTED)

So, as I’ve mentioned in the past, several of my Infinite DC fanfics are eventually leading up to a Justice League story, in particular the ending to Man of Tomorrow. Now, while the main plot of this story is pretty much decided in my head, one thing that keeps changing bit by bit is who I want on the Justice League. Five members I know for a fact will be on the team are Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Batman, and Green Lantern. The sixth slot will go to either Martian Manhunter or Cyborg, the seventh slot is still completely up in the air, and now I’m beginning to wonder if I really wanna do the standard Magnificent Seven with the group, or include an eighth slot for whoever didn’t get the sixth.

As you can see, I’m in need of feedback. Before you give it, though, let’s talk about the seventh member. The criteria for the hero that fills seventh slot is as follows:

1. They have to be a woman. I don’t want Wonder Woman to be the ONLY superheroine on a team full of dudes.
2. She cannot be a member of the Birds of Prey: Dark. Ergo, she can’t be Black Canary, Huntress, Raven, or Batwoman. There will EVENTUALLY be mingling between the two teams, just not yet.
3. She cannot be part of the extended hero teams of the other members, so not Power Girl, Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Jesse Quick, or Miss Martian.
4. She has to have some sort of power or ability that is unique to the team. So, no one who is just a strong woman who can fly.

Anyway, with that said, here are some of my most considered options for the seventh hero, as well as reasons why I might not choose each one. Keep in mind, I’m aware I could change the stuff that gives me pause to add them, but some of these things lend to possible stories I can tell later, so I don’t know that I’d want to change them.

Beatriz da Costa, AKA Fire

Fire was one of my first choices, in fact the one I’d initially decided on, for a number of reasons: Her ability to turn into and control fire, her characterization being in stark contrast to Wonder Woman’s, her Brazilian heritage giving further international flavour to the team, and the fact that, while she’s served with extended versions of the Justice League and the JLI, she’s never really been on THE team of 7 or so heroes. This would give her a unique presence to the team. Reasons why I wouldn’t want to add her is generally due to the fact that she’s known nowadays for being a tag team of sorts with Ice, so having one on the team without the other might feel odd, and her name is sadly HORRIBLY generic, not to mention can be confusing when there are other heroes with ‘Fire’ in their name, like Starfire or Firestorm.

Kendra Muñoz-Saunders, AKA Hawkgirl

Hawkgirl was again another obvious choice, given her repeated presence on the Justice League (in particular being part of the Big 7 in the DCAU League), and her incredible strength in both armed and unarmed combat. Like with many things in Infinite DC, I’d want to make her a mixture of the more commonly known Hawkgirl and the Hawkgirl from the New 52‘s Earth 2. She’d probably wear the Earth 2 costume, but rather than wield a Nth metal mace or her crossbow blaster, I’d giver her an Nth metal crossbow blaster that turns into a mace. Why? Because mêlée weapons that turn into guns are awesome. Reasons why I might not add her is just how typical it would be, and an admitted temptation to have her be on the Birds of Prey: Dark instead.

Tatsu Yamashiro, AKA Katana

Okay, I’m kinda breaking my own rules here, but I feel that Katana isn’t necessarily part of the Bat Family team, or is at least independent enough now that she could be a member. Heck, she IS a member of the Justice League of America in the comics these days, and she would bring international flavour to the team, along with that frigging badass sword. Reason why I would be hesitant to having her on the team is because she’s one of the DC characters who is probably a bit more prone to slashing people, which could conflict BAD with some of the others on the team.

Zatanna Zatara

Zatanna, because hey, the Justice League could use a little magic, right? Not to mention fishnet stockings. lol But yeah, Zatanna would be the magical expert of the team, wearing her usual stage-magician attire, and minus her relationship with assface, I-I mean Constantine. Reasons why I might be hesitant to let her into the Justice League are because, like Hawkgirl, I’m tempted to make her a member of the BoP (especially since she was a member of the Justice League Dark in the New 52, which is where Birds of Prey: Dark gets its name), and because having to write her spells backwards, while not the worst thing in the world, could be a bitch to spellcheck. XD

Mera

*GASP!* Mera and not Aquaman?! Can this be?! Well, I kind of have plans for Aquaman later on that require him to be off the team, but that doesn’t mean Mera absolutely cannot be on it. Her ability to control water, no matter where it is, would make her a major player in the Justice League, a team that I don’t think she’s ever formally joined, despite having worked with them several times. Oh, and to be clear, she would just be Mera. Not Aquawoman, not Water Woman, and the one I find most insulting, not Aquawife. Reasons why I might not include her is due to her trademark anger issues and shaky history with Wonder Woman.

So yeah, vote which of these women you’d like to see in my Justice League below. Or, if there’s one not listed who fits the criteria and who you’d like to suggest, feel free in the comments. Also, lemme know if you think Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, or BOTH should be members, and we’ll see what happens. Ja né!

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Updates on Progression of Infinite DC – Wonder Woman + Trailer + Special Sneak Preview

So, I thought I’d give an update on what I’m doing with my Wonder Woman fanfic that I’m writing for National Novel Writing Month. I’ve posted a few here and there on Twitter, but I thought I’d give a bigger one here, plus a special sneak preview of the fanfic! So, let’s get the ball rolling.

So, first and foremost, at the time of writing this article, I have written 12,789 words so far. So I am a little behind, but I will catch up, I’m not too worried about that. Still plenty of time to get caught up, and it actually helps a bit that I currently have little to no life. lol Anyway, for those that don’t know about the subject matter, here’s a trailer I did on YouTube for the fic…

All images belong to DC Comics, and the music is Those Chosen By The Planet – Remastered, originally by Nobuo Uematsu, and the Wonder Woman theme, performed by The Boomsters. Anyway, here’s the synopsis that you can read on my novel’s page on NaNoWriMo…

Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta, and princess of the Amazons. She was granted life by the Greek Gods of Olympus themselves, and gifted with abilities that made her the greatest of her people. Now, she is an ambassador to the world of men, and a champion of equality, truth, and justice. She is Wonder Woman.

However, she’s rapidly running out of time, as a vision from approximately two weeks in the future tells the tale of a zombie apocalypse that is set to begin in Washington, D.C. Sure enough, the dead are beginning to rise again, from zombies of the worst men the world has ever produced, to undead beasts stitched together as crude, nightmarish creatures. If the events of her vision come to pass, there’s nothing she can do to save the capital of the United States. Thus, Wonder Woman must find the cause of the apocalypse and stop it before it happens, or the land of the free will fall.

So yeah, it’s technically another zombie apocalypse story…sort of. Where it’s different is that most zombie stories take place during or after the zombie apocalypse. This is about Wonder Woman trying to stop the zombie apocalypse before it happens, which will include an actual time and date at the beginning of chapters and after break lines to reference the ticking clock leading to the events of her vision. And for those wondering how Wonder Woman fits into a zombie apocalypse story, it’s very simple: Her sources. She has regular contact with people who work with the government, she can speak with the Greek Gods, she’s even been to the underworld to talk with Hades, which is where the souls of the dead go. So really, when you think about it in those terms, she’d actually be one of the first DC superheroes to respond to a plague of zombies.

In addition to the powers I listed previously, I’ve decided to have her bracers limit her overall strength and speed, and that removing them grants her the full potential of her power, though without the berserker stage that’s in the comics

As for other characters aside from Wonder Woman that will be appearing, as you could gather from the trailer, antagonists will include Grundy, Giganta, and Captain Nazi. As I alluded to on Twitter, Adolf Hitler and Josef Mengele will be brought back as zombies, as it’s all part of Captain Nazi’s plan. Given that this is a zombie story involving DC Comics characters, you can probably guess who one of the major villains is. Steve Trevor and Etta Candy will be giving aid to Diana by giving her information through their government connections. Hades will be begrudgingly helping Wonder Woman, as it’s the only way to regain control of the underworld (seeing as how looking over said underworld is kind of his job, and if the souls of the dead stop going there, he’s kinda screwed). Hippolyta will be making appearances, as will Artemis and Philippus. By the way, seeing as how Gail Simone wanted to have those two get married in the comics, and Dan Didio was actually on board with it (Yeah, I know o.O), Artemis and Philippus will be a married couple in my fic. Superman and Batman aren’t so much in the story as they are alluded to a few times, though I have considered having them appear in nightmare fuel visions (by the way, I have considered making this a Rated M story for FanFiction.net, just so you know). And there will be other characters who pop in from time to time, but I think I’ll keep them to myself for now. ^_^

Hades, as he will appear in my story

Anyway, with that all out of the way, here’s a sneak preview of what’s to come. Just remember, I’m constantly making additions and revisions, so this might change by the time it’s ready to be posted, but here’s a look at Chapter 2 of Infinite DC – Wonder Woman.

Diana wanted so badly right now to have some sort of gag for her ‘companion’ as they approached the location of one of the few known gates to the underworld, hidden in the hills outside of Washington, cloaked by magic against anyone with the vision to see through it, or the knowledge of its presence. Adolf had not shut up the entire trip there, and while Wonder Woman had been blessed upon birth by Aphrodite with a near-endless amount of compassion, the former leader of the Nazi regime was testing it. A LOT.

“Peh, ‘warrior women’,” Hitler spat. “You are inferior beings created by pagan ‘Gods’. If you had been at war with my regime, we would have left you a bloody smear on your little island hideaway, which is the ONLY reason you still exist today, in the wake of our righteousness.”

“Yes, the Nazis were VERY righteous,” Wonder Woman replied sarcastically. “Which is why you’ve been rotting away in the deepest, darkest corner of Tartarus for the past 70 years or so.”

“Make no mistake, small Amazon,” Adolf growled, “I WILL have revenge for the indignities I’ve suffered in both my life and my afterlife, including on you.”

“First of all, I’m nearly twice your size,” Diana countered. “Second, revenge isn’t exactly befitting the supposedly righteous. Third, SHUT UP!”

“Or what?” Hitler mocked. “You’ll knock my head off my shoulders? I’m dead, what do I care? I’ll bite your feet clean off, and let you die from the infection!”

Diana scowled as the gate came into view. Normally, this gate would require a blood sacrifice in the light of the full moon to pass through. However, due to Wonder Woman’s status with the Gods, she was allowed free passage whenever she wanted. It wasn’t a problem with any of them for her to be allowed free entry, since the underworld wasn’t exactly a place she liked to traverse to regularly.

As she came within a few feet of the gate, however, the ground began to shake. It caused the ground to crack slightly, and Diana knew in her gut that this was NOT a tremor. She looked around for the cause as Hitler stumbled about clumsily. Picking the undead Nazi up, she found a stone slab and tied him to it with the Lasso of Truth.

“Hey!” Hitler yelled. “What do you think you’re doing?! I’m completely helpless here!”

Diana shrugged with a smirk. “You’re dead, what do you care, remember?”

Adolf was about to snap back, but soon found himself shrieking like a child as a giant monster burst out from the ground. It looked like a gigantic black spider with its eight legs replaced with at least a dozen massive, slime-covered tentacles, huge red butterfly wings attached to its back. It let out a loud, shaky shriek that sent chills all across Diana’s bones.

“Oh, it WOULD have tentacles,” Diana observed as the beast hovered off the ground. “And somewhere right now, Supergirl is giggling at me, I’m sure.”

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this brief preview of Infinite DC – Wonder Woman, and with any luck, I should be done in time for the end of November. Ja né!

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What I Bought This Past Week – Nightwing Annual #1, Superman Unchained #4, The Movement #6 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, been to Heroes’ Beacon a couple of times in the past week or so, and got some comics, so I’m taking a break out of writing Infinite DC – Wonder Woman for National Novel Writing Month so we can take a look at…

First off all, before anyone asks, NO, I did NOT buy the Zero Year tie-in issues of Green Arrow and the like. Why? Well, because there’s only maybe one or two of the non-Bat Family titles involved that interest me with their stories, and the Bat-Family titles involved…I thought we’d already established their back-stories, how they connect to Batman, and so on during their #0 issues. And frankly, at this point, I’m more than a little sick of massive crossover events involving books unnecessarily. I get that it’s done to get more readers on certain books, but for those that already are, it’s interrupting the stories they had going at the time, and for the ones that don’t, you’re not giving enough reason for them to start reading. Hate to break it to ya, DC, but I do not care what Jason Todd was doing during the blackout that The Riddler caused, AT ALL. The only ones I’m SLIGHTLY tempted to buy are the Action Comics tie-in (it’s Superman vs. a giant storm, leave me alone), Detective Comics (James Gordon taking on a gang working for the Black Mask), and Green Lantern Corps (John Stewart is one of those characters I like, but don’t know TOO much about their back-story before becoming a superhero). Either way though, someone has to tell the major comic book industries that the massive crossover events have to be used sparingly, and that tie-ins to other stories have to do more to entice readers, and there just has to be more of an effort placed into them. Want an example of a good tie-in book to another story? Let’s look at Nightwing Annual #1.

Although really, I kinda wanna call it Nightwing and Batgirl #1

This is actually a tie-in to Batgirl Wanted, a storyline that I’m actually skipping. However, since Kyle Higgins doesn’t delve TOO much into the part of the story that makes my brain hurt the worst (namely Commissioner Gordon being written like a dumbass), instead focusing on telling a good Nightwing/Batgirl story that just happens to take place during this tough time in Babs’ life, it works. We also get a villain that I feel isn’t highlighted very much as the main antagonist: Firefly, complete with a new person behind the mask with a new back-story that…well, isn’t as good, and comes at the direct expense of the old one, but is still decent, and comes complete with a new, badass-looking costume. We also get a touching, at times tragic look at Dick and Barbara’s history and how it always seems to be wrong place, wrong time with them, but how they always will care deeply for each other and have the other’s back when they need it most. It’s a good read, especially for Dick/Babs shippers who want a dose of ‘the feels’.

The Movement #6 was pretty good, and I feel makes up for a problem we had last time with Tremor. It turns out that she told Katharsis that she wanted to quit because it was becoming clear that the group wasn’t doing enough to help people, particularly poor Burden, and after Vengeance Moth and Virtue break up the fight between the two, Virtue actually orders the two to go have, as Tremor calls it later, ‘Dessert Diplomacy’, while she deals with Burden, doing what she can with her powers to alleviate him of his inner fears. But he’s not the only one afraid, as it turns out that Tremor is scared, too. She’s scared for Katharsis’ soul and how stained it’s gotten, and it turns out that so is Katharsis sometimes, so they call a truce and make up. A good issue to develop the characters a bit, which is something I feel this series needs more of. After all, if DC and Gail Simone want people to buy this book, then obviously, step one HAS to be to get them to care deeply for these characters…Oh yeah, and Mouse got the shit kicked outta him, which’ll lead into the next major story arc as the team tries to take on The Graveyard Faction.

Look out! He has a paper doll, and he’s not afraid to use it!

Superman Unchained #4, THANK GOD IT MIGHT NOT ONLY BE A 9-PART SERIES! I’m sorry, I know I keep harping on this, but Goddamn it, this is the best frigging Superman story going right now, if for no other reason than it actually FEELS like a Superman story. The characters are as they should be: Superman does what he can to stop the bad guys, but will alter plans to keep as many people safe as possible, even at risk to himself. Lois Lane is smart and quick on her feet, able to survive the worst scenarios thrown at her using her own natural abilities and without the need of any powers, abilities, or a mask (yes, I will be ranting about THAT soon). Jimmy Olsen is Superman’s pal who, despite being a little annoying, I actually feel some connection to in this series. And Lex Luthor is…well, Lex Luthor. He’s the evil genius that’s at least a step or two ahead of everyone else, and is just that perfect blend of insane and brilliant. Add in Wraith, who is the government fail-safe against Superman that still wishes to help him, and Ascension, the high-tech criminals out to bring the world to its knees (and for the most part seems to be succeeding), and this is a hell of a story. But like I said, it MIGHT not be a 9-part series. I’ve been hearing conflicting reports, but from what I can piece together, Jim Lee is only in for 9 issues, and Scott Snyder is currently playing it by ear how long he wants to stick around for. If he decides 9 is enough, then they’ll probably either assign someone else to it, or cancel it. So, what does the future hold for this book? I don’t know, but for now, I’m hoping Snyder sticks with it, because this is the Superman book we’ve needed since the New 52 started. Still, if it doesn’t, at least something AWESOME came out for Supes for his 75th Anniversary.

Anyway, that’s it for what I bought this and last Wednesday. Check in next time in a couple of weeks for more comics. In the meantime, I gotta get back to writing Infinite DC – Wonder Woman, as well as blogging on a couple of other issues that have come up for me recently. Ja né!

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