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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What I Bought Today – Talon #12 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, I went to Heroes’ Beacon today, and you know what that means. It’s time to look at…

Only one comic this week, so let’s get right to it. Here is Talon #12.

…Yeah, cover’s kind of a lie. Batman and Talon don’t come to blows in this issue…and thank God for that. Getting sick of heroes fighting heroes lately.

So, remember how last issue ended with both Casey Washington and Sebastian Clark seemingly dead? Well, guess what? Both alive and…well, not quite well, but doing alright. Following the assault from Felix Harmon, Casey has lost an eye and had to have her right arm amputated. However, she’s good friends with Morgan Freeman, I-I mean Lucius Fox, who vouches for her to Bruce Wayne and Batman (remember, in the comics, he doesn’t know they’re one and the same…even though he REALLY should) and lets her hide out in the lab for as long as she needs. And while I feel like I should be giving James Tynion a hard time for doing this to the female lead in this comic, I really can’t since, as we see in this issue, she’s still being awesome and witty despite her losses, talking about having to practise being a lefty and trading snarky comments with Fox as they get to work designing a prosthetic for her. Her only concern is the well-being of her daughter, and possibly getting some punches in on Harmon when they find him. Seriously, Casey NEEDS to become either the new Oracle, or a new heroine version of Cyborgirl. She’s just too damned awesome.

In the meantime, however, there’s a bit of a problem, which Calvin Rose and Batman learn upon investigating the Court’s hideout and sending Robats to Bane’s island: The Court of Owls has gone back into hiding, Harmon has officially gone rogue, and Bane and his entire island have disappeared, though readers of Forever Evil: Arkham War can learn what he’s up to. However, Batman and the currently beating himself up Calvin Rose have to get their priorities straight: They need to find Sarah and rescue her from the Court of Owls. Batman hands over what information he has on the Court to Calvin, to fill in any blanks he might have and give him some clues on where to find them, since his experience with them probably trumps his own. However, Batman isn’t completely sold on a good Talon, and makes it clear he has a cryo-tube in Blackgate ready for after Calvin has located Felix Harmon. Granted, kinda untrusting and paranoid of Batman, but to be fair, look at what happened to him a year ago at the hands of the Court of Owls and their Talons. Plus, while I love Calvin, he hasn’t done much to prove himself a good ally to Batman to keep loose.

Throughout the comic, we learn more about where Felix Harmon comes from, how he was brought into the Court of Owls, and how he earned the name ‘The Gotham Butcher’. By the end of the comic, we see that his great atrocity was that he murdered 17 people in one night and set an orphanage on fire. In the present, he returns there to hide out while planning his next move, only to find someone there waiting for him: Sebastian Clark. I kinda have to tilt my head at this, since we last saw him on the boat with Bane getting the frak punched outta his face, but regardless, he’s done some reading from The Secret History of the Court of Owls on Harmon. It seems that Clark, having had all of his plans torn apart and any sense left in his brain punched out by Bane, has come up with a much more simple plan of revenge against the Court, Calvin Rose, Casey Washington, Batman, and everyone else that’s crossed both him and Harmon: They’re going to kill Gotham City!

This issue was pretty good, setting the stage for the next couple of issues as Clark and Harmon get ready for the killing spree to end all killing sprees. If I have a complaint against it, it’s that it feels like it skipped a few details. Why is Batman instantly willing to work with Calvin Rose, even for the short-term? How did Clark get back to Gotham, seemingly so fast? How did the Court of Owls relocate so quickly? How did Casey go from being in danger of dying to just losing an arm and an eye? I feel like there’s an entire issue worth of stuff that was glossed over to get us to this point. Still, I guess we can attribute Casey’s survival to the money and resources available to Batman and Lucius Fox, and the Court disappearing because…well, because they’re the Court. The only remaining thing I feel the need to point out is that, even IF Calvin is put in cryo-stasis, it won’t be permanent, since we clearly see him on the cover of Batman: Detective Comics #27. Still, a good issue nonetheless, and I suspect the next couple to bring conclusion to the current arc in a powerful way.

So, that’s it for this week. Next week, we get an in-depth look at Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson‘s history as a duo in Nightwing Annual #1. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Nightwing #24, Red Sonja #4, Fearless Defenders #10 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, other than Batman #24, I did get some other comics, so let’s once again check out…

So, to start with, let’s talk about The Fearless Defenders #10!

Before I start, I should note that this is technically a tie-in to an event going on in Marvel entitled Infinity. And I’m just gonna say this right now: I know precisely jack squat about what’s going on in Infinity. I know it has to do with an invasion by Thanos, and that the Avengers are otherwise occupied, and that tons of characters are involved so we see the various perspectives as the invasion occurs, but I honestly don’t know much else. In fact, this is the second time this has happened recently, as Adjectiveless X-Men is currently involved in a crossover with the other X-Men books. Maybe I’ll pick up the trade if it turns out to be any good, but for now, I have no idea. Otherwise, I just wanna say, DC and Marvel really need to hold back on major crossover events until a comic has at least hit 12 issues. Seriously, this keeps happening. You need to actually have a status quo BEFORE you can shake it up. lol

Thankfully, you don’t really need to know too many details of Infinity, as the opening narration gives just enough that you get the jist of what’s going on in this issue at least: During Thanos’ invasion, Attilan, home of the Inhumans, has blown up in the skies over Manhattan, and now people are turning into cocoons. One such individual is a girl named Ren Kimura, a young girl who has issues with her parents over her love of dance and lesbian lifestyle. Hatching from the cocoon, however, she finds her hands being covered in razor-sharp ribbons that are as strong as steel. Long story short, she gets attacked by one of the Wardogs of Thanos while his buddies are Caroline LeFay’s Doom Maidens, but is saved by the Defenders. LeFay wants the people in the cocoons for herself and tries to take Ren by force, but apparently she can launch out more ribbons at long-range, and using her various dance techniques, she’s able to defeat Scorpia and Shriek, while the Defenders send the rest packing too. Thus, the comic ends with Valkyrie becoming Annabelle, who convinces Ren to join the team, and it seems the two may be somewhat smitten with each other. Overall, fun comic as always, and Ren is a very welcome addition to the team.

Nightwing #24 picks up where the last one ended, with Tony Zucco offering to help. Apparently, Prankster‘s father, Harold Loomis, was the electrical engineer of a train line project the now-Mayor and his brother convinced City Hall to go through with, but Loomis died on Halloween in an accident, and Cole’s brother, William, took the fall for it. Wallace Cole never actually stole any money, and Prankster killing criminals was to make it so that when he told the people of Chicago that Mayor Cole stole $52,000,000.00, they believed him. All he’s really after is revenge for the death of his father. Prankster’s also planted enough explosives in Pilsen Station to cause Chicago’s entire south end to collapse in on itself. Luckily, with a little help from Zucco, Nightwing is able to save the Mayor, send the bombs into the lake to explode harmlessly, and bring Prankster in, Zucco deciding to let himself be apprehended as well. He doesn’t want to run anymore, and wants his son to know he took responsibility for his actions, but it seems it’s too little, too late: Zucco’s wife and son have left him, leaving him with the choice of beating the charges against him and going back to his old life, or going to jail and being a martyr for a life that doesn’t exist anymore…Also, that guy Maxwell is a super-villain.

Red Sonja #4…Seriously, if you love Gail Simone‘s writing but are not getting this book, there’s something wrong with you. We see that Annisia is kinda completely butt-fucking INSANE, as a farmer who tries to break quarantine insists that no one has died of the plague since the king was killed and Sonja was sent away, but Annisia talks to her invisible friends, I-I mean the souls of the dead, if she should offer him mercy, and then proceeds to cut his head off. Ayla and Nias, the twins assigned by King Dimath to be Sonja’s bodyguards, give her some of the elixer created by the king’s son, Timath, and tell her that if they can get her home, Timath can cure her…and Sonja, being Sonja, is more concerned with whether or not they brought alcohol. XD

Anyway, they begin their trek back to the quarantined kingdom as Sonja has flashbacks to her time with Annisia in the colosseum, where the two fought as sisters for their survival. However, along the way, Ayla and Nias are attacked by men of the deep (basically fishmen), led by Toda the Tormentor, a slave-driver. Toda’s men are about to kill Ayla, but Sonja recovers enough of her strength to take them all down, despite having to be blindfolded earlier to keep her eyes from being harmed by the sun. And so, the comic ends with Sonja removing the blindfold and declaring that she’s coming for Annisia. Again, GREAT issue. 🙂

So, that’s it for this week’s comics. Now, as you all know, I have a certain purchase to make this weekend. However, instead of a What I Bought Today, I will instead be giving updates on my Twitter, as well as talking about information officially unveiled upon the game’s release, and giving an overview after I’ve defeated the Elite Four. I might do day-end updates on my progress in the game on here, too, haven’t decided yet. In the meantime, though, check in next week when I look at Batman and Robin #24 and Supergirl #24. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Batman #24 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, I was at Heroes’ Beacon today (the shop where I buy my comics), and I got some awesome books, so let’s take a minute to talk about…

Now, as I tend to do many times when one book in particular is just a huge flipping deal, I’m gonna cover it on its own, and then do the others in a second post. With that said, let’s take a look at Batman #24!

…Okay, I gotta ask, does anybody else totally hear Padmé’s Destiny from Star Wars Episode III when they look at this? Y’know, from when Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Anybody? o.O

This issue kinda marks the halfway point for Zero Year. Not necessarily that it’s halfway done in terms of number of issues, but from a storyline perspective, the first half is done, that being dealing with the Red Hood Gang and becoming Batman. And yes, we do see Bruce Wayne in his first (in the New 52 canon, anyway) Bat suit, in all of its purple-gloved glory! XD And snark aside, I felt they really did a good job of bringing back the classic Batman costume and modernizing it. In fact, the reveal is done in a two-page spread, where Batman is swinging with a Red Hood in a pose meant to harken back to the cover of Detective Comics #27, AKA Batman’s first appearance.

In the Batcave, Bruce and Alfred begin piecing together a plot by Red Hood One, which seems to be slightly rushed with the appearance of the Batman. However, they’re still lacking on some details, so Alfred suggests Bruce go to see Philip, who is overjoyed to see Bruce alive. Philip admits the Red Hood Gang got to him, and while he’s had enough of Red Hood One’s shit, when he wanted to go to the police, the gang kinda branded RH347 on his chest, thus linking him to them. However, he does give Bruce access to the information he needs, and he and Alfred quickly deduce Red Hood One’s plan. However, while Alfred says Batman has to stop them, Bruce replies that Batman can’t, that there’s only one man who can stop the Red Hood Gang this time: Bruce Wayne.

Bruce decides to reveal himself as being alive…again, this time through an impromptu press conference, Commissioner Loeb deciding to send Jim Gordon down to check it out, and here’s where we get something awesome. Bruce asks everyone watching at home why they love Gotham City. And really, when you read Batman comics, you have to wonder why ANYONE would love Gotham. Even without the super-villains, it’s still Hell on Earth. There’s gangbangers, the price of living comfortably is insane, there’s too much rain, and it just seems to bring out the worst in so many people. So why would anyone stay there? For Bruce, the answer is simple: People come to Gotham to become something MORE. Gotham City challenges the people living there to make themselves more than they are. It dares them to become better, and does everything it can to stop them, and if one can take all it can dish out, they become something more as a result.

Anyway, once the speech is over, Bruce points to the building he’s been standing in front of all along, and reveals it to be the Red Hood Gang’s hidden base: A.C.E. Chemical. Red Hood One is creating a flesh-eating poison that they’re going to unleash upon the city, Having given away their position, the Red Hood Gang decide to take out Wayne, but in the confusion of them shooting rockets at him and the GCPD getting involved, Bruce manages to get inside. Red Hood One finds him and holds him at gun-point, but Bruce literally tells him he’s “so full of #$%”, that his concept of ‘life is meaningless if you can die at any time’ is crap, since what matters most is what you do in the time you have. Red Hood One has heard enough and is ready to kill Bruce, but the lights go out, and as can be seen from above in a GCPD helicopter, the whole area has blacked out, the outline of which now resembling a bat. Sure enough, as the lights come back on, Batman kicks the crap out of the entire Red Hood Gang, all the while Red Hood One watches from the shadows, his eyes fixated on the Dark Knight.

While Batman deals with the grunts, and impressively so for a guy only in his first year as a crime-fighter, Red Hood One takes aim at him, but is caught by a bullet from another Red Hood bouncing off his helmet. Red Hood One straight up executes Red Hood 347, which Batman realises to his horror is Philip, just as the police finally manage to bust in. Granted, while they DID have charges, considering the chemicals in the building, they obviously couldn’t risk it. Unfortunately, the deflected bullet causes one of the tanks to leak, which in turn creates a chain of explosions, so I guess it didn’t matter in the end. The police try to arrest Batman, but you can probably guess how well that works…as in, not at all. lol

Batman catches up with Red Hood One, who is trying to escape in a helicopter, but they tumble back into the building, there’s another explosion, Red Hood One is dangling over a vat of chemicals, Batman tries to save the poor bastard, but he just says it wouldn’t be any fun, and…well, you can probably guess how this ends. However, there is a twist. A while later, we see that Bruce and Alfred have updated the Batcave a bit to look a little closer to the more modern take we see nowadays. Bruce suggests it’s only a matter of time before people start piecing together that he’s Batman, and jokingly offers to share a cell with Alfred. Pennyworth, however, says that at least the Red Hood Gang is defeated and he can move on from them…However, it seems Bruce can’t. The body of Red Hood One was never found, and while Red Hood members all pointed to a man named Liam Distal as the leader, HE was found dead the day before.

Distal’s corpse was mostly dissolved in lye, so that it’s impossible to tell exactly when he was murdered. So, now there’s a mystery regarding the identity of the man he fought…Okay, I’m just gonna say it, it’s The Joker. Either Joker killed Distal weeks ago and took his place, or he was a patsy reading lines for Distal and only made the switch recently. It’s also possible someone else killed Distal, and then switched places with ‘The Man Who Would Be The Joker’ before Batman caught up with him on the roof at A.C.E. In the end, without more evidence, there’s no way to know……..Scott Snyder, you redefine what it means to troll your readers. XD

Huh. So THAT’S how he got those scars…Badumtish. 😛

At any rate, Alfred finds it unlikely people will figure out Bruce Wayne is Batman, relating back to his days as an actor. He used to try too hard to make the characters he performed just perfect, and leave no trace of himself in it, as to avoid seeming like a faker. However, what he learned is that the audience WANTS to believe in the actor. They want to forget who is under the mask, and become enthralled by the character, because the actor put so much hard work and passion into it. Add in the fact that Batman can pretty much make the rules of logic his bitch, and the everyday ordinary people of Gotham won’t WANT to know who Batman is.

Alfred and Bruce decide to make up after their most recent issue, but are cut off by a broadcast from Edward Nygma, who had become The Riddler. He delivers the second riddle of the Sphinx: ‘There are two sisters; each gives birth to the other. Who are they?’ Bruce, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon all recognize it, just before Nygma calls for the ‘dark, dark night’, and our comic ends as he sets off explosions that cause a massive blackout all over Gotham City.

This comic is frigging awesome. The modernizing of Batman’s original costume is great, as is the little Easter Egg of the words “BK was here” on the roof in the two-page spread where Batman is revealed for the first time. Also, the result of his confrontation with the Red Hood Gang went VERY well. While I’m all too willing to say that the individual dressed as Red Hood One is the Joker, since it all but outright says that, the fact that we don’t see the transformation still leaves some ambiguity. And even if it IS him, we still don’t REALLY know who he is, and that’s how the Joker SHOULD be. As he himself said, “If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!” The ending where Riddler appears DOES seem kinda rushed, but I think that’s the idea, where Batman has defeated the Red Hood Gang, and yet only NOW is the shit getting real.

Anyway, that’s it for Batman this week, but we still have Nightwing, the Fearless Defenders, and Red Sonja to go through, so check back in a few when I talk about them. Ja né!

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New Upcoming Fanfiction – Birds of Prey: Dark (WARNING – SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION AHEAD)

So, I’ve once again decided to do a fanfiction based on an idea I posted in How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch. This one, however, will be a bit longer with no real planned ending, much like a comic book series. So, with that in mind, my next fanfiction will be…

Yep, instead of a story about one of DC’s leading ladies, I’ve decided to do a story that involves just about ALL of them. While it’ll focus primarily on a team of four of them, you’ll see a LOT of them cameo and rotate in and out as the plot requires them. Speaking of which, the plot will centre around a mixture of Birds of Prey, Justice League Dark, and Raven from Teen Titans. I decided to set the story in Platinum Flats instead of Gotham City, even though three of the four main characters are most commonly seen in Gotham, since it was home to the Birds for a time before the New 52, and I wanted them kept separate from Batman’s operations so they can tell their own story. For now, though, let’s take a look at the four main members of the Birds of Prey: Dark…

Dinah Laurel Lance, AKA Black Canary

Daughter of the original Black Canary, Dinah Lance is an asskicker the likes of which even Batman wouldn’t want to square off against. With her impressive martial arts skills and steel shattering Canary Cry, she protects Platinum Flats from criminals, only to find one day during a routine chase with some criminals that she may have found herself in a situation where she needs a little help. Oh, and before you ask, NO, I am not planning to involve Green Arrow, at least not in person.

Helena Bertinelli, AKA The Huntress

An expert marksman trying to suppress the desire for vengeance against the Mafia, the Huntress has often been seen as a close friend/occasional rival to Black Canary. As such, when Dinah runs into more trouble than she can handle alone, Helena is more than happy to jump in and help with a friendly jab or two ready. Also, while I said before that I’d make her a mixture of the two Huntresses, her and Helena Wayne, I’ve kinda heard the argument against that, and I get that it’s not a good idea. If I’m gonna be writing Helena Bertinelli, she has to be Helena Bertinelli.

Katherine Kane, AKA Batwoman

A former army brat and heiress to one of the wealthiest families in Gotham City, Batwoman was inspired by Batman to become a super-heroine. I decided to have DC’s première lesbian super-heroine move from Gotham to set up shop on the west coast, which ultimately leads to her running into Black Canary and Co. and funding the team. Otherwise, she’s also investigating the ties between various mob bosses and criminals, uncovering conspiracies, and seeking the members of the Secret Society. So, she’s kinda pulling double duty, doing The Question’s job, minus the insane amounts of paranoia. lol

Rachel Roth, AKA Raven

The daughter of a demon from another dimension, Raven escaped to Earth to get away from her dark, oppressive father, Trigon the Terrible. As a result, Trigon sent her brothers to bring her back and kill anyone that get in their way, intentional or otherwise, thus setting the stage for the first arc of the story. Personality wise, she’d act like she does in the comics, but also with some traces of her dry sarcasm from the Teen Titans animated series, just for fun.

Trigon the Terrible

As I said, the team will be a mixture of Birds of Prey and Justice League Dark, hence the name of the fic, ‘Birds of Prey: Dark’. Basically, they’re a group of superheroines battling mobsters, secret organizations, and the more dangerous paranormal/supernatural foes in the DC Universe. Recurring villains will include Trigon and his sons, as Raven will be a full-time member, but expect plenty other well-known demonic, mystical, or extra-terrestrial bad guys to appear.

As for other heroines involved, like I said, expect plenty to make appearances. Obviously, since it’s the Birds of Prey, I gotta have Barbara Gordon show up at some point, and I guess Lady Blackhawk would have to be a must at some point too. Hawk and Dove would probably be neat, and I KNOW Zatanna and Madame Xanadu would be awesome to get involved. So yeah, plenty to work with. As for the male heroes of the DC Universe, while I intend to keep the team’s path separate from Batman, hence the move to the west coast, expect him to cameo or at least be referenced to. And again, I don’t plan to have Green Arrow show up, but I suppose Black Canary talking about him from time to time is alright.

What do you guys think? Are you cool with this plot? Who would you like to see show up? Vote below, or leave a comment saying who you would like to see show up, and with any luck, Birds of Prey: Dark will be coming sooner than later. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – The Fearless Defenders #9, Batman: The Dark Knight #23.1, Red Sonja #3 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Yep, it’s Wednesday once again, which means it’s time to check out…

Thankfully, this week turned out to not be as expensive as I thought it would be, and I probably won’t be getting any more comics for this month. Reason being, I’ve made the decision not to buy any more of Villains Month (aside from what I got today since it was minus the 3D cover and had been set aside for me anyway), and I don’t really have any interest in Battle for the Atom (seriously, what is it with comic book crossovers involving books that aren’t even a year old yet lately?). So, with that in mind, let’s start with Cullen Bunn before we move on to the one-two punch from Gail Simone, here’s Fearless Defenders #9.

This issue was just straight up funny in all kinds of ways. First off, just the cover. HILARIOUS. Second, the Defenders having their friendly banter between themselves and the criminals they’re fighting (The Enchantress, Chondu, Arthur Nagan, Ruby Thursday, and Quicksand). Third, their (sorta) boyfriends getting together to plan an intervention for the women at the Luck O’ The Irish Pub, saying it’s because they lack guidance as a team, only to have Molly Fitzgerald dress them down and cut to the meat of the matter: They’re jealous they aren’t on the team, and don’t believe an all-girls team will work. Fourth, we get a little insight on how Valkyrie and Annabelle are handling their little “time-share” situation, especially as it pertains to their individual love lives. And, of course, when the two groups meet up to beat down the baddies and the men get told to piss off and let them do their jobs. Also, that Clea wants a divorce because Doctor Strange is kind of a twat. Anyway, good stuff, and with the kick-ass action to accompany it, just tons of fun.

Batman: The Dark Knight, AKA Ventriloquist, AKA Why The Hell Isn’t This Batgirl, Especially When She Actually Gets Mentioned In This Book And Batman Isn’t? This book’s already been out for a week, so there’s not much to say on it that hasn’t already been said. Thus, I will keep it simple: Ventriloquist’s origins are kinda cliché (another jealous sibling story?), but at least she remains thoroughly messed up to the point that some ambiguity is still present for her. Overall, it’s good, but I’m hoping this isn’t the last we see of her, ‘cuz if it is, then she’s not really going out on so much of a high note.

Red Sonja, holy shit, this book continues to be awesome. And I love that every time I think I know where this book is going, it slaps me in the face and goes “No you don’t.” We get a little look at Red Sonja’s origins, which I honestly don’t know if they’re revised or not, since the only thing I saw of Red Sonja before Gail’s book was the sorta shitty movie (thought I will admit it’s not as notoriously bad as Arnold claims it to be). Either way, we learn a bit about how Sonja got to be the person she is, the tragedy of her life, and in the end, we’re teased with the possibility of her being dead, just before her ‘bodyguards’ return with news of a cure for the plague she’s been infected with. Overall, great stuff, can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Anyway, that’s it for this week. As I said, probably won’t be buying any comics for the rest of the month, but there MIGHT be a game I’ll be buying this month, we’ll see. Ja né!

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Should DC Sell Superhero Adult Novels? (Yes, this is an actual question asking for feedback, JUST HEAR ME OUT lol)

So I’ve made a number of jokes as of late, saying that if DC really wants to tell stories about their heroes hooking up and having sex, they should just drop the pretenses and release adult novels for their heroes. Now, while I was mostly kidding when I said things like that, I started thinking recently…SHOULD they? WOULD that sell well? WOULD it be beneficial to them, and to readers?

Ah, for the good old days when the Bat and the Cat was the most romantic thing EVER.

Now, before anyone calls me a pig for this, hear me out: As we all know, DC is obsessed with the idea of telling a romance story involving Superman and Wonder Woman. Some people like it, and some people (myself included) hate it. So I had a thought: What if instead of constantly bringing that up in the comics, why not just tell that story in an adult novel? Or hey, people got kinda bothered by the stories of Batman and Catwoman having rooftop “meetings” in the early days of the New 52 Catwoman books. Well, if comic book readers dislike that, why present it for them? Why not sell it to an audience that might enjoy that sort of thing? Or heck, Grant Morrison can’t talk about the upcoming Earth 1 Wonder Woman story without mentioning her sex life or making references to sex. If he’s that fixated on it, why is he writing a comic for her? Why not an adult novel?

Be honest, you know some people would read a book about these two.

Basically, my point in a nutshell is that they would be keeping that sort of storytelling that delves into sex and romantic scenarios that not everyone is going to get into in comics in a completely separate genre for people who WOULD enjoy it. Like I said before, despite HEAVY bitching about the Wonder Woman/Superman pairing, there are fans who enjoy reading it. While a lot of fans see overuse of sex in comics as annoying, some probably like it. And hey, it’d be a completely different form of media, so they could do whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted. Some could be in canon with the current comics, and some could be VERY non-canon. Fans wanna see Clark Kent and Lois Lane together again? Easily done! People wanna know more about the relationship between Alan Scott and Sam? Not a problem! Heck, Gail Simone could finally write a story about the Oracle/Black Canary pairing she wanted to do for Birds of Prey.

…C’mon, Gail, you know you wanna. lol

Anyway, vote and/or comment below whether or not you think this would be a good move for DC, and let’s hope someone who works for them is listening. Ja né!

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Superman: Hero of the People My Fuzzy Ass

Y’know, part of the reason I haven’t been reading the Superman titles is…well, for one thing, I’m admittedly more of a Batman fan than a Superman fan, but in addition to that, I just find that Superman isn’t very well portrayed in either comic. One excuse I hear is that in Action Comics he’s supposed to be more a hero of the people. Well if that’s the case, clearly no one told the writer for the Superman comic wherein, during issue #13, we see Superman do THIS.

Now I know that might seem strange that I’d get upset over that sort of thing, because Batman might spy on people’s text messages and violate their privacy too, but usually to SOLVE A FUCKING CRIME or if he thought someone was in trouble, not to keep tabs on someone he’s got the one-way hots for. Also, really this is the most recent example of the issues with Superman’s personality as of the reboot. In addition to that, they’ve basically been turning him into Spiderman, and why you would ever wanna do that post One More Day, I will never know.

Look, you wanna retcon the marriage with Lois Lane? Hey, they spent a LONG time not involved before they got married, not as a big a deal as people treat it. You wanna get him outta the red undies? It’s 2012, we’re living in a day and age where fighting in armour as opposed to tights makes perfect sense, although with Superman I suppose it doesn’t really matter since he’s bulletproof anyway. You wanna hook him up with Wonder Woman? Hey, just because no comic I’ve read that had them as a couple worked doesn’t mean it CAN’T. But the one thing I ask of writers is that, for all those changes, they stay consistent with the core concept of the character: Decency, compassion, willing to help people with their issues both large and small, and standing up for truth, justice, and the American way. And by the way, I’m Canadian, and I STILL find his patriotism admirable.

Speaking of which, that’s another thing: STOP doing storylines that pretty much beat us over the head that Superman’s an alien. We KNOW he’s an alien. The thing is though, is that he was raised on HUMAN values and ideals, which I don’t think he’s upholding very well when he’s SPYING ON LOIS’ TEXT MESSAGES!!!

Next year, Scott Snyder will be writing a new Superman comic. I hope that he takes all of this into account when writing the character. Either way though, that’s all from me. Ja né.