What I Bought Today – Red Sonja #6, Harley Quinn #1, Batman and Robin #26 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Thank goodness Mom and Dad decided to go out tonight, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to tell you all about…

‘Cuz it was a freaking snow storm out today, the second one we’ve gotten in the past few days. Nonetheless, let’s talk about the three books I got this week (X-Men wasn’t there due to a mail order error of some sort), starting with Red Sonja #6.

The finale to Gail Simone‘s first arc on the book, this issue managed to wrap up all the plot points of the previous five issues pretty well. I don’t wanna spoil too much, since there’s one or two major twists. Suffice to say, Annisia won’t be a threat anymore, and I think the kingdom is left in decent hands. And when all was said and done, when the comic ended, and one of Red Sonja’s bodyguards asked if there was anything they could do to repay her, all that Sonja could say in response was “Re-open your taverns, dear one, because I’m going to get drunk in legendary fashion.”

Seriously, if you haven’t read this book yet, go and find it. If you can’t find all six issues of the initial run, it’s going to be collected in trade paperback in February as “Queen of Plagues”. Gail Simone and Walter Geovani more than earn your money with this one.

Harley Quinn #1 sadly did not have any fourth wall breaking, but it DID have a ton of dark humour and insanity from Harley, over-the-top violence and mayhem, roller derby (thus explaining the costume), a little stuffed beaver buddy that talks to Harley in her own mind (I’m so not kidding), and tons more. It’s still not quite Harley Quinn as I remember her, and it does go a bit too over-the-top at times, but it’s still a ton of fun. I will say this, though: If yer not a fan of dark comedy, this probably isn’t for you. Fortunately, I DO have a sick sense of humour, so I’m able to enjoy it thoroughly. ^_^ I will say that, for those complaining about the lack of plot in #0, you can relax. The plot here mostly revolves around Harley getting a new place in Coney Island, but learning that, to keep it, she needs to collect pay from the tenants in all of the other apartments, and get a job. To further complicate matters, it seems that someone has put a bounty on her head, meaning there’s gonna be assassins looking to take her out. And yet, for all her psychotic faults, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Chad Hardin manage to capture Harley’s more vulnerable and loveable side, so you kinda want her to make it through all of this. A good read, and I think will probably stay on my pull list from here on out.

Batman and Two-Face (really Batman and Robin #26) was great, and I love how they’re telling the tale of Erin McKillen, her sister, and their history with Harvey Dent in reverse order, where they tell what happened, and then discuss WHY it happened. My one complaint, however, is that, as great as this arc has been, this entire book has suffered a lot from changes occurring in other books, tie-ins, crossovers, etc. Here, it’s clear that the book was originally gonna lead into a story where Carrie Kelley was gonna become Robin while also telling a story about Two-Face and Erin. I’m fairly certain of that, especially considering that, since the hints started popping up that Damian was coming back, Carrie just kinda faded into the background and hasn’t been seen since. Maybe she still will become Robin and the hints are just a fake-out, but even if that is the case, it’s clear this was supposed to happen earlier and it got forced back. Still, this IS a good story that Peter Tomasi is writing. However, I really hope this book gets back to being about Batman and Robin, fast.

Anyway, that’s all for this week. Next week, I get to tell you all about What I Got For Christmas, though I may wait until I can use whatever gift cards I obtain first. Ja né!

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Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite DC Kisses

Well, the weather outside is a tad bit frightful, so I thought I’d light a fire a little more delightful to warm everybody’s hearts. Here are 5 of my favourite kisses from DC Comics, cartoons, and whatnot, be they romantic, platonic, or otherwise. (You’ll see, lol) Just a warning, there are same-sex kisses here. If you aren’t a fan of that, might wanna leave now.

#1 – Selina and Bruce, ‘Batman: Hush‘

Remember when a bat loving a cat was one of the most romantic things in the freaking world? I know I do. And of all the kisses, the sex, etc. between these two, I think most people can agree the single most romantic scene between the two was in Batman: Hush. They were kinda reduced to just being groin buddies in the New 52, but recent events have suggested that they’ll be growing toward a more romantic coupling soon enough. Personally, I’m COMPLETELY for this.

#2 – Kara and Pam, “Supergirl #0”

Okay, I HAD to throw in a funny one, leave me alone. lol So yeah, if you don’t know, here’s the scenario: Supergirl is breaking up a robbery by Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, so Ivy decides to try out a Kryptonite lipstick and see if she can mind control Kara. Not only did it not work, but Pam wound up becoming Kara Zor-El‘s first kiss. I don’t know if they ever played up on that, by having them be awkward adversaries, but I know it would’ve made for some hilarious stories.

#3 – Maggie and Kate, “Batwoman #17″

Continuing with the lady-love theme, here’s the one that actually got me to squee. No, really, go back in my blog to before I was even officially reading Batwoman. I completely squee’d for this kiss. Sadly, DC decided to pull the plug on the marriage, but the two are still together, so perhaps the relationship can last long enough for the higher-ups to change their minds.

#4 – Harley and Bruce, “Harley’s Holiday”

…Okay, I lied, I had to have two funny ones. XD After Harley has probably one of the worst days of her life, where she was, and I quote, “Sick of everyone tryin’ to shoot me, run me over, and blow me up!”, Batman saves her life, then delivers the new dress she bought earlier to her at Arkham, at which point she kisses him not once, but twice, much to the amusement of Robin and Ivy. She then tells Batman to call her, although Batman suggests that she doesn’t push her luck, but I can’t help but wonder what ‘Mistah J’ might’ve been thinking if he’d either seen it or heard about it. XD

#5 – Lois and Clark, “All-Star Superman”

Remember how I said Batman and Catwoman’s kiss in Hush was one of the most romantic things I’d ever seen? With the glow in the moonlight? Y’know the one way you beat that? By actually being ON THE MOON! And of the many kisses Superman and Lois Lane have shared, this was easily the greatest one, at least in my opinion. And I guarantee, with the number of Lois and Clark moments they’ve been replicating with Superman and Wonder Woman in the New 52, I just know that, at some point, they will try to copy this. My advice? Don’t. In fact, I don’t get why you’re copying all the Lois and Clark moments thus far. If you want people to like the Diana and Clark relationship and stop freaking BEGGING you to bring back Lois and Clark, the LAST thing you should be doing is copying that relationship. You need to give them something new, different, and likeable, and with maybe one exception, I haven’t seen that yet.

So yeah, those are my 5 favourites. However, there are a lot of other good ones, some shared by the same people shown here, some not, and I know a lot of people probably have some favourites that aren’t seen. So, just for the hell of it, here’s a bunch more of my favs. 😀

…Man, for two people who were suggested to be gay for each other years back, Batman and Robin sure do get around a lot with the ladies. XD Anyway, lemme know if there’s a favourite of yours that isn’t present, or just talk about your favourite DC kisses in general. Ja né!

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