Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite LGBT DC Characters

…So, I mentioned this on my Facebook, but I figured I should bring this up on my blog. Yes, I know about the horrible shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Florida. I don’t know all the details. What I do know is this: Around 50 people were killed in this shooting, and about 50 more were injured. I’ve heard that, in the wake of this, some people have chosen to put their own projects on indefinite hold. However, I’ve instead opted not to. On the contrary, I feel it necessary to continue my work as a form of entertainment and escapism for anyone affected by this tragedy. In fact, because the LGBT community has been the target of a lot of hate as of late, culminating in this attack, I’ve decided to do some LGBT related articles, starting with this one. It’s no secret that I love lots of diversity in comics, and while DC has kinda failed from time to time to get it right, there ARE a number of gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, and even asexual characters among their vast line-up. But who are my personal favourites? Well, let’s find out. Here are my 5 Favourite LGBT DC Characters.

#1 – Jackson Hyde, AKA Aqualad

I’ve actually heard that the staff of the Young Justice cartoon claimed that Jackson was “not straight”, and that’s where he made his first appearances, so no, DC Rebirth’s outing him isn’t necessarily a retcon…I think. I’m gonna get into this when I review DC Universe Rebirth #1, but the thing is, the implication some people are taking from his scene in the book is that he’s gay. However, I’m pretty sure the intent with him prior was that he was bi, not gay, so I’m hoping they stick with that. Regardless, I really like Aqualad. His position in the Aquaman stories is complex, but in a good way, he’s got a kickass power-set and a usually level-headed demeanor (at least in the show, I haven’t read much of his appearances in the comics), and I’m glad to see him making his return. I seem to recall hearing once that he was originally supposed to join the Teen Titans in the New 52, but it never came to be, and considering how the team did in that era, might be for the better that he didn’t. Still, this DOES make me wonder if he’ll either join the Titans in the Rebirth era, or perhaps be part of a new Young Justice team. And considering how many people would like to see a return of the Young Justice TV series, honestly, I’d go with the latter as a means to either push that idea or give the fans clamoring for it a consolation prize.

#2 – Pamela Isley, AKA Poison Ivy

Honestly, is anyone REALLY shocked? And yes, for the record, Pamela’s bisexuality has been made canon. Granted, it’s in a book I don’t much care for, and the writers don’t always seem to get her all that well, but I appreciate the fact that they made clear what many of us assumed for a while now. I remember for years thinking it already WAS established canon, actually. But anyway, Poison Ivy is a character who has a lot of layers to her. She suffers from seasonal affective disorder, which can sometimes undermine her better judgment and brilliant mind, and she’s been known to…well, let’s call a spade a spade, she kills people. However, she really DOES care for the planet, as most of her criminal endeavors over the years have been to stop people from polluting or otherwise mistreating it, and to those who think she doesn’t care about human beings, she once protected a park full of orphaned children. No one told her to, she just did it because she identified with their trauma and because it was the right thing to do. She once gave up her powers because she was afraid it might be killing them. So yeah, she IS a good person deep down. Just…don’t ever piss her off, and in the words of Captain Planet, protect the environment, or she’ll fucking kill you. 😛

#3 – Katherine Kane, AKA Batwoman

History’s a funny thing, isn’t it? The original Batwoman was created specifically to be Batman’s love interest as a means of disproving concerns that he was gay for Robin. 50 years later, the character was reintroduced as a lesbian, and is actually Bruce’s cousin. And frankly, all the better in my opinion, as she’s arguably the single most high-profile LGBT superhero in DC’s entire roster, and is currently Batman’s equal in his new boot camp in Detective Comics. Also, her existence provides more of something Batman is lacking: Family. While he’s brought in wards and made plenty of allies, we don’t see a lot of his surviving blood relatives. I think right now, off the top of my head, there’s Kate, her dad, her sister, and Bruce’s son, Damian, and alternate Earth daughter, Helena. That’s it. And while there’s more than a lot different about Bruce and Kate in their personalities and approaches to crime fighting, there’s also a lot that’s the same, which may be the real reason they haven’t always gotten along together that great as superheroes. Oh, and in Batman: Bad Blood, she used guns, and I’m not a big fan of that, but it at least makes sense with her military training, and she DID switch her live rounds for rubber bullets by the end, so I can tolerate it and still like her in that movie, unlike some other things in it, but let’s not go there…

#4 – Miguel Barragan, AKA Bunker

…Okay, I’m gonna admit to something that people might find a bit strange to hear come out of my mouth, and I understand that. Frankly, it baffles me a bit, too. But, having thought about it for a while, and looking back over the character’s history, I’ve come to a conclusion: Scott Lobdell wrote Bunker best so far. He was optimistic, entertaining, and just outright FUN. I don’t know what they were trying to do with him in the new book, but he wasn’t what I’d necessarily call “fun”. In fact, he kinda had an attitude that rubbed me the wrong way, at least in comparison to how I knew him to be prior. I hope if he comes back in Rebirth, he more resembles his previous personality. Also, I gotta wonder about something: As I said before, Aqualad was originally rumoured to be joining the Teen Titans in the New 52. Now, we’ve met Bunker’s boyfriend, and he’s not Jackson, but I can’t help but wonder if the original intent was for Jackson to be Bunker’s boyfriend and be on the team? Food for thought is all I’m saying.

#5 – Harleen Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn

Again, like Ivy, Harley Quinn has been confirmed to be bisexual by the writers of her book, so she counts. And, like I said before, I honestly thought she already WAS confirmed to be a while ago, and I have no idea why it took anyone from DC so long to finally let that particular cat (or hyena, as it were) out of the bag. Now, maybe it was a concern that such might be controversial, but lemme ask you something: Which is the more controversial thing to do with a character? To have Harley be bisexual, or to have her be in a long-term abusive relationship with a killer clown, and have her get the shit kicked outta her multiple times, once or twice even in a cartoon show? And I’m not saying they shouldn’t have done that, as it was an intriguing look into abusive relationships and twisted psyches, while also serving as a cautionary tale. I’m just saying, once you’ve crossed that line, how is this any worse? Regardless, it’s out in the open now, with no going back, though I have my doubts they’ll reference that in DC Super Hero Girls. lol

Hmm, y’know, while I like this list, I feel like there are others I should at least mention… … …Ah, screw it, here’s a collage of some of my other favourite confirmed LGBT characters in DC Comics, so no Wonder Woman since DC’s never made it 100% clear about her. lol

Anyway, be sure to leave your own favourites in the comments, OR let me know if there’s anyone else you’d like to see officially come out at DC these days. Ja né!

Poison Ivy: Cycle Of Life And Death #2 Preview #PoisonIvyLeague

…Okay, why are some of the commentors bringing up her yoga pants like they’re a creation of the devil or something? lol Whatever, here’s the preview for Poison Ivy #2.

• Murder in the lab! As the police investigate the death of her mentor, Dr. Pamela Isley suspects poisoning! But by whom, and why? Before the cops suspect her alter ego, Poison Ivy, Pam needs to find the true murderer. Meanwhile, her DNA experiments are about to pay off!

http://www.avclub.com/article/exclusive-dc-preview-poison-ivy-gets-caught-plant–232261

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death #1 Review #PoisonIvyLeague

Sorry this is coming out a day late, but it was kind of a busy night. Comics to read, fundraisers to go to, yada yada yada. Regardless, I wanna give my thoughts on Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death #1. Given that I’ve been a member of the Poison Ivy League for quite some time now, I figured I’d go ahead and let everyone know if it met my expectations.

So, this book is awesome. lol I’m sorry, it just is. It does a great job of returning Pam to her…well, for a lack of a better term, ‘roots’, and letting her be Super-Awesome, Super-Sexy, Brilliant Science Woman. And while she doesn’t explicitly kill anyone, she does give a fair amount of assholes trying to have their way a good beating, so there’s plenty of her being a badass, too. She even rides a sweet-ass motorcycle (or crotch rocket, as a friend of mine on Twitter called it), although…maybe it’s just because I watched Batman TAS as a kid, but I always figured her vehicle of choice would be pink. 😛 And yes, for drooling fanboys (and drooling fangirls, let’s be honest, you exist, lol), there is a scene of her naked, although it is…erm, semi-tastefully done. Most of the book, though, focuses on her being a scientist and getting a second chance at working in a legitimate lab without being judged for her criminal behaviour, and while she insists that she’s better off alone, you can tell it’s having a positive influence on her. She is completely in her element here, and it’s a joy to watch.

If I had one minor issue that kinda rubbed me the wrong way, though, and I fully admit that I could be reading too much into this, but it felt like, much in the same way the Harley Quinn book disregards Ivy’s growth as a character, this book seems to neglect Harley’s growth and that she’s been living a life away from Joker and outside his influence for some time now. I get that Harley’s growth occurs in a VERY problematic book, especially for Ivy fans, and for those of us who found the implications at the end of the Harley/PG team-up offensive as all hell, and that continuity between books at DC right now is loose as all hell. However, that just makes me think of a bigger problem. Really, it just annoys me that, while I’m glad the writers are allowed to do whatever stories they want now, the fact that there’s little to no continuity from one book to another just means that the editors have one less job to do that they’re being paid to do and instead have more time to pretend to be writers. Honestly, I just wish we had a solid continuity where everyone was written and treated fairly, and that we didn’t need to have apparently separate universes in order to have a well-written Poison Ivy.

Regardless, though, this book is frigging awesome. Granted, from a story perspective, it’s all pretty much set-up for the rest of the mini-series, but it’s all well-done, with the exception of a character death that I probably would’ve seen coming even without being spoiled by the solicitations. But, it’s still great, I can’t wait to see where Amy Chu goes from here with the book, and I hope that, when it’s over, we get the ongoing solo series we’ve been wanting for years now…although, with said series, might be a good idea to simply call it Poison Ivy. Otherwise, it’s kind of a mouthful. lol

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the book. Lemme know what you think of it, and we’ll see how things go from here on out. Ja né!

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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