Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Series From DC’s New 52/DC YOU

Well, the New 52 is just about at its end, with DC Rebirth coming up next week and the last of the New 52 books ending over the course of the next few months. And while the New 52 has become something of a punchline for many fans, let’s not forget the good times that came with it. Let’s be honest with ourselves and admit that there WERE good books, as well as the bad. So, with that in mind, I’ve decided that, before I seriously rag on the New 52 one last time, I should really take a look at some of my favourite comics from this era. Now, keep in mind, these are JUST the ones that I read. I’m well aware of the fact that there were other good comics that came out during the past five years under the DC banner that won’t be on this list. As such, if your favourites aren’t on the list, by all means, feel free to place your own in the comments. Also, keep in mind that there are books that, while good, just weren’t the overall greats of this list. So, books like Justice League, while having arcs I liked, also had a bunch of arcs I DIDN’T like, so they just missed the cut…though I DO have a bonus round for them. lol And, of course, books that are not a part of the main line, like Sensation Comics feat. Wonder Woman don’t count. Why we couldn’t have more books like it and Legends of Wonder Woman in the main line, I dunno, but for now, let’s start with one that’s probably kinda obvious to anyone who’s read my blog for a while…

#1 – Superman Unchained

Yeah, not shocking anyone with this pick, I’m sure. Most definitely my favourite of the books starring the New 52 Superman, and it’s one of the reasons I’m actually sad to learn that he’s dying. Yes, he is arguably the most inherently flawed of the mainstream Supermen, but when you have a good writer with a good story writing him, those flaws are used in good ways. We see how this Superman is still an inspirational figure in spite of these flaws by never giving up and continuously trying to do the best he can for the world. So yeah, while I’m obviously overjoyed to see the pre-Flashpoint Superman return to active duty, along with his wife and son, there will always be a little part of me that gets nostalgic for the Superman who didn’t always get it right, but nonetheless kept trying his best, for truth and justice.

#2 – Batgirl

I actually feel bad because I initially was unwilling to give this book a try. Why? Because they’d seemingly undone Babs’ past as Oracle as a means to make her Batgirl again, thus taking the position away from Stephanie Brown, who was nowhere to be seen for a long time. But while all that is true, I can’t deny that this book has had some great moments. Granted, I HATED the Batgirl Wanted arc, and Black Canary’s characterization in the beginning of the Stewart/Fletcher era rubbed me the wrong way, but the rest of it has been highly enjoyable. Some of my favourite moments are probably Alysia’s wedding, the end of the Simone era when Babs called in damned near EVERY superheroine on Earth, ALL of her annuals, the tie-in to Future’s End, that time she and Strix took on vampires, it’s just been a hell of a ride, and I hope that the next volume is just as fun.

#3 – Justice League United

For those that never read this book, I’ll keep the recap brief: Shortly after the collapse of the government sanctioned JLA, which was secretly meant as a fail-safe against the Justice League, three of its members, Stargirl, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow, found themselves teaming with Supergirl, Adam and Alanna Strange, Animal Man, and newcomer Equinox, to form a new Justice League: the Justice League United, set up in Canada, and meant to protect the world from extraterrestrial and paranormal threats. Of course, right off the bat, I was excited, since…well, do you know how long I waited for my country to get their own Justice League? Was awesome. But beyond that, getting to see some of the character interactions without the dread present in the JLA book that came before it was great too (Green Arrow and Animal Man playing off each other made for some decent comedy), and there was a lot of more traditional superheroing. In the later stages of the book’s existence, the team began rotating members in and out in order to deal with different situations, regardless of which side of the law they were on. Anyone from Batgirl to Poison Ivy, Swamp Thing to Vandal Savage, and so on could be brought in depending on what the situation called for. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long before the book’s cancellation, but the JLU has since appeared during the Truth story-arc in the Superman books, giving me hope that they’ll one day return to action.

#4 – Convergence

I should probably note that, when I say Convergence is a favourite of mine, I’m not talking about the main series. This is primarily because…well, I didn’t read it, and from what I’ve read, there’s not really much of anything that good, other than the restoration of the Multiverse. Oh, there’s some stuff involving the New 52 version of Earth 2, but unfortunately, that’s been a SERIOUSLY mixed bag. You wanna know more about that, go check out the blog Helena Wayne Huntress for more details. But no, what I’m referring to as one of my favourites of the New 52 is all the tie-in stuff. Granted, that could be seen as cheating for one simple reason: IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE NEW 52. The Convergence tie-ins are about giving resolution to stories that happened before the New 52, letting the heroes of ages past get one last hurrah, and even setting up for maybe a few of them to return later on. And they’re all awesome! Nightwing and Oracle get married and kick ass (not necessarily in that order, lol), Lian is brought back to life, Stephanie Brown suits up as Batgirl again, Lois and Clark have a child, the JSA return, it’s all amazing! Hell, even Scott freaking Lobdell turns in a good Blue Beetle book! I didn’t even think it was possible for him to put out anything of quality, but I guess mathematically speaking, it had to happen EVENTUALLY.

#5 – Batman

…Yyyeeeaaaahh, suppose this isn’t much of a surprise to anyone. lol While I wasn’t a fan of the story where Jim Gordon was Batman, and I found Joker to be WAY over the top in terms of unstoppable villainy is concerned, it’s really hard to not consider this book one the best of the past five years. Snyder and Capullo have simply been on fire for this era, and it’s sad to know that, at least for a while, that team of theirs is over. Although as hard as it is for me and other readers, I gotta imagine it’s even harder for them. But yeah, you guys should all know all of my favourite moments from this book, and if you don’t, I made a list of them just before the Superheavy story-arc. Point is, if you’re a Batman fan and you’ve been avoiding this book for the New 52 branding, don’t. It’s at least worth your time to check out.

So those are my favourite books of the New 52 in terms of overall quality. And now, the bonus round for all the arcs of books that I liked.

Worlds’ Finest

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Huntress and Power Girl fighting a giant Irradiated Man in a Japanese harbour! All it needed was for Godzilla and Dragonzord to show up to make it the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen! XD

Justice League

…Not to self: Review Darkseid War once the entire storyline is finished. It is easily my favourite story of the New 52 Justice League. Also, I thought Origin worked as an introduction to this new timeline, and the Amazo Virus was pretty awesome, too, and marked the point in which Geoff Johns finally found his groove with writing Wonder Woman’s character.

Batman/Superman

Cross World was great, and presented one of my all-time favourite images of Wonder Woman, and the stuff with Mongol and Toymaster is admittedly dumb fun that resolved in an awesome team-up involving Supergirl, Batgirl, Steel, Red Hood, and Krypto.

Batwoman

Y’know, DC, right after the engagement, I was totally gonna stick with this book. Then you called it off, the creative team left as a result, and then you did the stupid vampire thing. Just saying, you had a great thing gift-wrapped for you. I sincerely hope, though, that since Rebirth is apparently nixing the whole heroes-can’t-be-married thing, with the old Superman who is married to Lois Lane being back and Aquaman and Mera being engaged, that Batwoman finally is allowed to get married in Detective Comics.

Talon

Ultimately proved to be hit and miss, but I liked it for the most part. Could’ve done without Casey being damned near torn apart, but watching her make her badass comeback with a cybernetic arm-cannon was awesome. I mean, yeah, it’s another case of extreme violence against women in a comic, but it’s hard not to watch her in the hospital bed right after losing her arm and eye and not grin ear-to-ear when she’s still being like “Aw, fuck it, just put a giant arm-cannon on me, and I’ll fuck these guys up! And Calvin, you better make sure you haven’t completely screwed things up by the time I show up, or your ass is grass!” XD

Nightwing

I unfortunately can’t really justify putting Nightwing on the top 5, but that’s less to do with the quality of the stories told in it and more to do with the constantly changing status quo that was really only a thing strictly because of stuff happening in the other Bat Family books before ending due to events in Forever Evil. Oh, and as a side-note, SO glad to see that Nightwing is in blue again, but not sure where this is going with him as a member of the Court (or Parliament, I guess) of Owls.

Supergirl

I can’t say enough how much I adored the team-up with Power Girl. Was just great.

Starfire

I feel like I MIGHT’VE put this on the list if I’d read through the entire thing and it didn’t delve into the cheesecake quite as much as it did, soooo…Eh, call it sixth, I guess. lol

Earth 2

Again, DC, you had me right up until Evil Superman working for Darkseid, and Thomas Wayne as Batman. Then you completely lost me. And THEN you pissed me off with World’s End and the first arc of Earth 2: Society. Seriously, like I said before, go read Helena Wayne Huntress’ blog for more details, but suffice to say, it’s been a MESS, one that I hope gets cleaned up soon. I DO recommend the Tower of Fate arc, though.

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death

Problematic for me personally at times, but still enjoying it, and glad it’s here. 🙂

And that’s all my favourite stuff of the New 52. Like I said before, if you’ve got a book that you really liked from this era that wasn’t on here, by all means, leave your own list in the comments, and be sure to check back in the future when I go over the worst of this era. Ja né!

How To Drop The Ball In Comics: Worlds’ Finest

Hello, and welcome to a new spot on the blog I like to call ‘How To Drop The Ball In Comics’. This is where I take a look at what I thought was a legitimately GOOD idea in comics, why I felt that way, and how it eventually kinda fell on its ass. With that said, let’s take a look at Worlds’ Finest.

No, not that one. THIS ONE:

What Is It?: Created for The New 52 as part of a branching-out to tell stories involving characters from Earth 2, Worlds’ Finest specifically looked at Huntress (Helena Wayne), daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and Power Girl (Kara Zor-L/Karen Starr), cousin of Superman. However, the twist was that, after surviving the final battle of a war that claimed the lives of their respective families, the two found themselves accidentally exiled to Earth 0, the primary Earth of the DC Multiverse since the Multiverse’s rebirth in Infinite Crisis. As such, we had cases where, in this and other books, they’d encounter other-dimensional relatives, like Robin, Batman, and Superman, and even Power Girl’s alternate universe self, Kara Zor-El, many of which were pretty awesome. As another twist, it was revealed that, in this continuity, Power Girl and Huntress started their crime fighting careers as their world’s Supergirl and Robin (bringing the female Robin count up by one). So, let’s take a look at what I liked about it.

How Did It Have Potential?: Well, for starters, it was a book about two badass superheroines. Second, Power Girl and Huntress’ history, given certain reboots and retoolings to the DC Universe and its history, can be…confusing. For example, most people that started reading comics after Crisis On Infinite Earths, or have watched Justice League Unlimited, are probably more familiar with the Earth 0 version of Huntress, Helena Bertinelli. This was a good way to bring in Helena Wayne and distinguish her from her counterpart. Mind you, this led to some confusion as well, given that Hel apparently passed herself off as Bertinelli for five years, except that in the New 52, Helena Bertinelli is black, but whatever. This helped explain a few things about the characters for people that weren’t in the know about them. Also, as I’ve established before, the initial arc ended with them and the military fighting a giant villain in a Japanese harbour. If Godzilla and Megazord had shown up at that moment, I would’ve squeed so hard, you could’ve probably heard it IN JAPAN! lol And as much as some people got ticked about Karen’s new costume, I actually kinda liked it…until it proceeded to get torn and burnt up over and over, to where Power Girl was actually more decent in the old boob window costume, which is part of the reason why I was glad she switched back to it.

How Did It Drop The Ball?: There’s a few reasons. First…I don’t know if it was an issue with editorial, or if Paul Levitz, the man who frigging CREATED Huntress, forgot how her character worked, but the characterization for Hel and Karen feels off in this book. Hel’s a bit too much of a buzzkill, and at one point called someone a “little bitch”, and Karen is WAY too flirty, and once witnessed a bunch of kids being sucked into a Boom Tube and was pretty much like “…Huh. That was a thing”. Also, in my opinion, they spent WAY too long on Earth 0, only managing to get back to Earth 2 when things were at their darkest, lowest point, and when their place as the rightful heirs to Superman and Batman’s positions had been usurped in their absence by two men: Val-Zod (who I actually don’t mind, save for when he’s Karen’s blatant love interest), and Earth 2 Thomas Wayne (who was revealed to be alive, a frigging bum, a drug addict, and an overall horrible character altogether). And once they made it back to Earth 2, did the story become about how the two worked together as last-minute surprise reinforcements to turn the tide against Apokolips? NOPE, the book instead completely shifted gears to tell a prequel story about Earth 2 Superman and Batman, will apparently be cancelled along with the other Earth 2 books (not counting the one that’ll start post-Convergence), and Huntress and Power Girl were instead treated to World’s End, where Karen flirted with Val, lost Kal-El AGAIN, and got a Superman logo on her suit (completely missing the point of the boob window), while Huntress was subjected to body horror, torture porn, and drugs. If you are a fan of either of these characters, by all means, send your grievances about such decisions to the head-writer of Earth 2: World’s End, Daniel H. Wilson…Seriously, here’s an example of his very lame attempts to justify his decisions regarding Helena.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about the matter. If you’d like MORE on the subject, as well as the overall mistreatment of Earth 2, women, LGBT characters… … …Really, anyone that’s not a straight white male in The New 52, be sure to check out http://helenawaynehuntress.tumblr.com/ and http://helenawayne.blogspot.ca/. Ja né!

What Other Superheroes Should Be Getting TV Shows?

So, with the news breaking that Melissa Benoist has been cast in the lead for CBS’ upcoming Supergirl TV series, as well as news that Vixen is apparently getting an animated web mini-series with ties to Arrow and Flash that could result in a full television series (or Vixen being cast on either show), both of those series being renewed for another season, Agents of SHIELD still doing good, the Marvel Netflix exclusive series coming up, and with Agent Carter apparently doing well right off the bat, it’s becoming clear that more heroes of various walks of life in the DC and Marvel universes are hitting it off well with television audiences. We’re seeing a much greater variety than just Superman, Batman, or Spider-Man for the umpteenth time. People want more and the various networks and companies are giving them what they want.

Having said that, and it brings me joy to be able to say this, there’s STILL a bunch of untapped characters and settings that could be adapted into their own TV shows. Granted, some of these characters have appeared in previous series before, but not on their own. And I’m not gonna get into casting and whatnot either, since everyone’s opinion on that is different. I’m just going to make my cases for each character or characters and let people decide if they agree or disagree with the idea of them getting their own show. So, let’s start off with probably the most logical choice after Supergirl…

#1 – Nightwing

Okay, I’m aware of the fact that there IS apparently a Titans live action series in the works, which would probably involve some incarnation of Dick Grayson, but since I haven’t heard anything about it in a while, I’m just gonna put this here for the heck of it. Like what I hope they do with Supergirl, they should keep Batman out of Nightwing’s story, save for his obvious existence in his back-story. In fact, with that in mind, one thing I would love to see is for CBS to do Nightwing as well and have him cross-over with Supergirl from time to time. As for setting, the obvious choice is Blüdhaven, though in the absence of that, Chicago would also work, as Nightwing has operated out of there as well.

#2 – She-Hulk

I still can’t believe that when selecting the various heroes to be in Marvel’s Netflix series, they didn’t go with She-Hulk. Look at it this way: She’s the Hulk’s cousin, which means more potential use of that character since he apparently doesn’t have his own movie coming up, and she’s also a lawyer, meaning the show would effectively be a superhero show meets a Law & Order-esque series, and you know how well shows like that do. Plus, there’s just the nature of Jennifer and the She-Hulk’s duality and how it works in a way that’s very different from the Hulk’s. Plenty of potential exploration and analysis that can be made there.

#3 – The Justice Society of America

Seeing as how Captain America did so well, how about a show about a whole team of superheroes that operated during World War II? I think I’d want the emphasis placed on the lesser known heroes, excluding the trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in favour of the likes of Mister Terrific, Wildcat, Black Canary, Sandman, The Atom, Doctor Fate, The Spectre, and Hawkgirl. Also, I’d probably include Alan Scott, but under his Sentinel alias (as to avoid confusing fans more familiar with the Green Lantern Corps), and one of the other speedsters in favour of Jay Garrick (again, to avoid confusing fans of the modern Flashes). And lastly, while she didn’t exist in the comics back then, I’m sure Aquawoman from the New 52 Earth 2 comics would be a welcome addition.

#4 – The World’s Finest, Power Girl and Huntress

Yeah, this would get confusing while Supergirl is on the air, so perhaps an idea best kept on the back-burner until Supergirl’s run was over. Rather than involve the existence of Earth 2, I would just play it straight, with the daughter of Batman and the cousin of Superman having to carve out their own legacies while working as a team. And much like with She-Hulk, I would introduce plenty of court show drama elements with Helena Wayne being a lawyer.

#5 – Spider-Woman (Gwen or Jessica depending)

This one would be tricky, since I’m not sure who owns the rights to Spider-Woman. If she’s owned by Marvel Studios, Jessica Drew would be a welcome series set in the MCU as a former HYDRA agent turned SHIELD. If she’s owned by Sony, it’s Gwen Stacy or bust. Either one would be welcome, honestly. Also, while I said I wouldn’t talk casting, with Spider-Gwen, she’d HAVE to be played by Emma Stone. She IS Gwen Stacy, in my opinion.

#6 – Martian Manhunter

Probably the biggest name in DC Comics right now to NOT be involved in the DC Cinematic Universe, likely because DC and WB are basing that Justice League off of the New 52 version…which is a bad sign right off the bat. It’s not even that I have a problem with Cyborg, either. I love Cyborg. But they’ve kinda been amping him up a bit, whereas Martian Manhunter’s been kinda put down a few pegs. And J’onn could hold a show on his own, as the alien brought to Earth by accident and becoming a private investigator/superhero. And again, I know I said I wouldn’t talk casting, but here, I have to. I’m just gonna say five words and walk away: Morgan Freeman as Martian Manhunter. Goodbye. lol

Anyway, that’s it for the shows I can think of, but what about you? Leave me a comment letting me know which comic book heroes you’d like to see get their own shows, and we’ll see if any of them ever materialize. Ja né!

Favourite DC Superheroes – The Honourable Mentions

So, I took a look back at my favourite DC and Marvel superheroes from my birthday last month. While I still agree with those lists, I do feel as though there were a number of characters that deserved to be honourable mentions for DC. So, that’s what I’m gonna do now. Here are 10 heroes I think deserve to be mentioned with honours. lol

Kara Zor-L, AKA Power Girl

I believe I already covered what it is I like most about this character (no not THOSE…though they ARE nice, lol). For those who didn’t see, I particularly like how Power Girl not only has the abilities of Superman, she also is the head of her own business. Combine that with a never-say-die attitude and…well, THOSE, and you’ve got yourself a winning formula in Power Girl, who I DEFINITELY wouldn’t mind seeing in the Man of Steel movies someday. Kara’s also one-half of the Worlds’ Finest with Huntress, though sadly that book doesn’t present the best depiction of the character. Still, we do occasionally see them as a powerful duo.

John Stewart. AKA Green Lantern

And…

Alan Scott, AKA Green Lantern

I mentioned these two before as being tied as the unofficial #11 in my 10 Favourite DC Superheroes, and I still stand behind that. Though personalities and the manner in which they gained their powers couldn’t be more different, both bring honour to the name Green Lantern, and they are my personal favourites to hold that title. Also, VERY glad to see that John Stewart is now a DLC skin/voice swap for Hal Jordan, though I’d kind of like an Alan Scott one too.

Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing

The original Robin all grown up. Be he in blue or red, be he in Blüdhaven or Chicago, Dick Grayson will always be a special kind of hero to people. He’s been through having his parents killed before his eyes, leaving his mentor to become leader of his own team, having his wedding broken up, having the love of his life leave him (and the planet for that matter), having to become Batman after Bruce was thought dead for a time, having his old circus troop destroyed, and now having helplessly watched his partner murdered. And yet, in all of this and more, he continues to try to have a positive attitude on the job…Still though, he REALLY needs to go back to blue. lol

Mera

Okay, while I don’t read a lot of the books she appears in, Mera gets on this list for a few reasons. First off, that she neither has nor requires an alias. Second, she’s Queen of Atlantis, which takes up most of the known ocean. Third, much like her husband Aquaman, she has the same natural advantages that he does having operated out of the bottom of the ocean (advanced strength, speed, durability, and sight). Fourth, as I’ve mentioned before, while the power to control water might not seem threatening at first, considering how much water makes up the average human body, that actually conjures up some rather frightening visuals of what she could do if she lost her cool. Speaking of which, while she’s usually a kind-hearted woman, the kind that you could easily get along with, she DOES have an on-again off-again struggle with her sanity. In other words, be as nice as humanly possible to Mera when you see her.

Damian Wayne, AKA Robin

The latest Robin to appear, Damian brought something new to the role. Having the genetics of Bruce Wayne, the skills passed down through the League of Assassins, and many skills and personality traits seen in Dick, Jason, Tim, and Stephanie, Damian could be considered the perfect Robin in a lot of respects…except that he kept killing people. I mean, he meant well, you could tell he cared, but he kept killing bad guys. That just bothered me to no end, though it almost became a running gag wherein if he said “I will kill no more”, he was usually five minutes away from killing someone. Alternately, if he said he WAS going to kill someone, they usually had a good chance of escaping with their lives for some reason. Apparently, he’ll be returning soon for a mini-series that looks at the alternate future where he becomes Batman, and it’ll be awesome to see him again…but dammit Damian, stop killing people. lol

Victor Stone, AKA Cyborg

BOOYAH!…Yeah, I know. lol Anyway, as of the New 52, Cyborg is now a founding member of the Justice League. While this robs him of his history with the Titans, it IS nice to see Vic standing among the big seven that make up Earth’s greatest heroes. Cyborg’s only real flaw is his personal issues, trying to find the balancing point between the machine and the man. Otherwise, you better be packing some serious power when going up against him, or he will flatten you.

J’onn J’onzz, AKA The Martian Manhunter

This one’s mostly based on his DCAU appearances, though I have checked him out elsewhere and been left confused by something: Martian Manhunter has heat vision in the comics, they’re missing from the cartoon. I’m not really sure why, other than so that two members of the Justice League didn’t have heat vision. However, this brings up something even more confusing: J’onn is vulnerable to fire. Shouldn’t using heat vision hurt him? Well, whatever, he’s still an awesome hero, though he REALLY needs to chill out in the New 52.

Khalid Ben-Hassin, AKA Doctor Fate

Okay, other than a couple of cool moments in Justice League Unlimited, I wasn’t really all that sold on Doctor Fate. Then Earth 2 happened. Now I know better. lol The second most badass individual to have the word “Doctor” in their name, Doctor Fate has a mastery over magic beyond that of any of the other magic-based heroes of the DC Universe. In other words, if he really wanted to, he could kill Superman just by wiggling his toes. His only real weakness, at least for Khalid in Earth 2, is that wearing the Helmet of Nabu can have some negative psychological effects. Otherwise, he might just be the greatest of Earth 2’s heroes, and is all too deserving to be a founding member of the JSA when it eventually forms.

Helena Wayne, AKA Huntress

There have actually been two women to predominantly go by the name Huntress. Prior to the reboot, Huntress was a woman named Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of a mafia boss who became Huntress to fight the very same kind of crime her family once created, eventually becoming a member of the Birds of Prey and getting this weird belly window for her costume that carried over into Justice League Unlimited. In the New 52, much like the original pre-Crisis interpretation of the character, Huntress is one half of the Worlds’ Finest with Power Girl, and is Batman’s daughter from Earth 2, though thus far, he has yet to show that he has any knowledge of this. Personally, I think she should just talk to him, especially given recent events. It might get him to cool down a little to know he still has family. Both are hardcore asskickers armed with crossbows, and both are deserving to be on this list.

So there ya go, 10 (sort of 11) honourable mentions. Along with Batman, Superman, Stephanie Brown, Wonder Woman, Wally West, Raven, Red Robin, Supergirl, Barbara Gordon, and Hawkgirl, they are my favourite DC Superheroes. Who do YOU think should’ve made it to this list? Lemme know in the comments, and I will see y’all next time. Ja né!

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Tales of AWESOMETASTICNESS – The One True Power Girl Has Returned! :D (SPOILERS FOR SUPERGIRL #19)

So a lot of people know how I’ve been complaining A LOT about Power Girl‘s representation in World’s Finest. Specifically, how her character is an overzealous and shameless flirt (think Brock from Pokémon), she isn’t all that nice a person, and her new costume continuously gets burned, blasted, or ripped to shreds in damned near every issue. It pretty much made it near impossible to enjoy the book the further it went on, not helped by the fact that nothing in the story seemed to be getting resolved, and frankly I feel as though there is a much better potential for stories with her and Huntress (Helena Wayne) if they were on Earth 2 instead of Prime Earth.

And then Supergirl #19 happened!

Behold! The uber-boob has returned!

THIS is the Power Girl a lot of people have waited for since World’s Finest began. Now granted, she was in last month’s issue as well, where we saw a bit more of her life with her corporation, but this issue is where we get the one true Power Girl back. After rescuing her alternate reality younger counterpart, Power Girl and Supergirl began to sync, experiencing each other’s memories and curing each other (temporarily) of their recent Kryptonite poisoning. After the two take out a brute of a flunky who’s working for Lex Luthor, and Power Girl gets her costume torn for the billionth time, Supergirl collapses from the poisoning taking affect again. Karen takes Kara down to Sanctuary at the bottom of the sea (does Aquaman know about this?), and Karen remarks how she’s become under-dressed AGAIN, leading to the computer offering her new clothes that she immediately gravitates to: Her pre-reboot costume.

Does anybody else totally hear Song For Ten in their head reading this? lol

But it’s not just the costume that is back for this: Her personality is far more reminiscent of her pre-New 52 character in this comic. She’s compassionate, protective, confident, and legitimately witty for the first frakking time that I have seen in the New 52. And I couldn’t be happier for it. In fact, I will make a promise right here to DC: Clearly, Paul Levitz has failed to properly represent this character in World’s Finest. If Power Girl’s better personality is more accurately represented (and by the way, her old costume does return to that book next month), more specifically, if Supergirl writer Mike Johnson takes over the book, I will buy the book again. HAPPILY.

So that’s my two cents on the matter. Leave your comments below, and I will see y’all next time. Ja né!

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Is Damian Going To Die? + Possible Power Girl Developments (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So I recently read an article on Gotham Spoilers, wherein my Twitter friend FHIZ suggested that Damian Wayne is going to die. Of course, I was sceptical going in…and then he started to list his evidence, which includes solicits from April and May issues that were revealed recently. I’ll go ahead and throw up the link to it now…

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• Get your crowbars ready… (gothamspoilers.com)

So, what are my thoughts on it? I really, sincerely hope that FHIZ is wrong here. All of the evidence he listed seems to suggest that he is correct, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he is, but I hope he’s wrong. Despite my nitpicking, Damian as of late has truly grown on me. Yeah, he’s still a little dick, but he sincerely wants to do well and have his father be proud of him. So I’m hoping that he doesn’t die here, or at least dies and they find a way to bring him back and soon.

That aside, there’s something else that really got my attention: May solicits for Supergirl and World’s Finest. You’ll recall I finally had to drop World’s Finest after the bunk that they’ve been doing with Power Girl. Basically, she’s been an overzealous flirt, she didn’t care about kids that got boom tubed away to who knows where, she went on a rampage in a foreign nation that should totally have the Justice League on her tail, and her costume (which everyone refers to as ugly but that I actually don’t find much wrong with) continues to get torn off, blown off, and just plain burnt up so we can see PG naked in damned near every issue. Well, recently CBR revealed the May solicits for DC, and a couple of interesting bits regarding Power Girl. First, there’s World’s Finest #12…

As Power Girl returns to her classic look, DeSaad wreaks havoc on her tech empire—and PG and Huntress find themselves hunted by the talented torturer from Apokolips.

And then there’s Supergirl #20…

Supergirl is dead—Long live Supergirl! Or so it seems as the strange connection between the Karas has Power Girl becoming Supergirl again.

…Okay, these two seem to directly contradict each other. The only thing I can figure is that Supergirl’s ‘death’ is metaphorical and that Power Girl becoming Supergirl is temporary. As for Power Girl getting her classic look back, I’m sure people will be pleased, but I’m honestly unsure how this makes sense within the context of the story, unless it turns out she used to patrol in this costume and finds herself having to dress in it for a mission and decides to stick with it.

At any rate, I’m hoping this also equals a bit of an attitude adjustment and her character reverting back to a more noble persona. If she does, I might just decide to start picking up World’s Finest again, since Power Girl was my biggest issue with the story. I’ll keep y’all posted. Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Earth-2 #8, World’s Finest #8, Detective Comics #16, and Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection (Warning – Spoilers) + What I Did NOT Buy Today

So yeah, it’s Wednesday once again, so let’s go ahead and check out…

This one’s kinda long, since I finally got around to using the money I got in Christmas cards. However, the last one I’m just gonna briefly touch on so I can give a legit review of it later. So let’s start off with Earth-2!

…So why is her lasso red? Does it make people tell lies? Maybe make people enraged? Does it burn those tied in it?

Well, the bad news is, the last Amazon of Earth-2 isn’t Donna Troy. Dammit. Also, I’ve heard that this comic is actually getting some heat because she IS apparently an established character from pre-Flashpoint Earth-2 named Fury, and here she’s been taken in by Steppenwolf at an early age to become his personal guard and killing machine. I can’t really say as it bothers me too much because I honestly don’t know who she is, and there’s plenty of time to do something cool with her later. Sadly, not a lot happens here, it’s more build up, showing that Steppenworlf has taken over a country to be his own kingdom on Earth-2, but he is moving on from there to take over the world. This’ll probably be the next big threat the JSA has to deal with.

Don’t look her in the eyes! DON’T LOOK HER IN THE EYES!!! :O

World’s Finest…Yeah, I think I’m dropping this book. The stuff involving Huntress is great, and if you’re a big fan of the character and don’t necessarily care about what they’re doing with Power Girl, I say pick it up. Myself, I can’t get over the crap they do with her, this issue showing her to be an overly vengeful type who invades a foreign country over an assassination attempt on Huntress, and most likely creates a massive international incident. I might go back to it if they change writers or if it becomes just a Huntress book.

And my pet peeve is in full effect since nothing even remotely close to this happens. In fact, Joker never appears in this despite it being billed as a tie-in to Death of the Family.

Detective Comics was okay, but kinda false-advertising. This one seems to be build up too, showing how Emperor Penguin, Penguin’s head goon, is currently taking over in his absence. He’s also killing off various enemies of the Penguin’s empire and pinning it on the Joker, who never actually appears in this comic. Instead, we see Batman running around and stopping a group of Joker copycat extremists called The League of Smiles. Yeah, remember those Joker cult freaks that gathered outside of Arkham Asylum after his face was found? Well, when he returned, they all formed various groups, the worst of which being The League of Smiles. I’m guessing they’re a New 52 modern day variation of The Jokerz. Still, that seems like a pretty weak way to tie into Death of the Family. The story itself isn’t bad though.

Okay, this cover is awesome, but what is up with the little “AH!” to the left side? lol

And then there’s the big one, Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection. As you may or may not be aware, I didn’t get into Gail Simone‘s Batgirl until VERY late into it. As a result, I’m now trying to get caught up, starting with this book, which is the first 6 issues collected. I’ll eventually get into giving it an in-depth look, but for now, let’s just say that I LOVE this book. This is the power of Gail Simone: She took this terrible idea of Barbara Gordon dropping the Oracle mantle (or possibly never having it, that part’s still unclear) to replace Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, and she made it work, AND be frigging awesome.

It’s amazing how this comic makes a good case for Ultimate Spider-man and why it’s a FAR better story than the mainstream Spider-man stories.

So yeah, that’s all I bought today… … …which leads me to what I did NOT buy, rather just read at the comic shop: Superior Spider-man. Y’know, far be it for me to disagree with Linkara, but Spider-man is not dead. Why? Well, because Marvel decided to put Spider-man on life support so that they can continue to punch him in the groin over and over again and leave him unable to just die with dignity, which continues into this comic where we see Doc Ock in Peter’s body dating Mary Jane (EW!) and almost killing a villain before he apparently stops himself…only to have it revealed to the reader that he was actually stopped by the invisible ghost of Peter Parker…Yeah, this comic sucks. I’d say buy it if you’re low on toilet paper, but toilet paper costs less and likely feels a lot better.

So yeah, had my brain damaged by a really, REALLY stupid comic, but the awesomeness of Gail Simone balances things back out for me. Still, I wouldn’t recommend trying it, especially since I feel like I opened Pandora’s Box when I opened Superior Spider-man. Next week, Death of the Family continues with Batman, Batgirl, and Batman & Robin. Let the nightmare fuel keep on rolling! Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Earth-2 #7, World’s Finest #7, Detective Comics #15 + Info Regarding Batman #18

Ah, the beginning of the month comic-wise, always so awesome for me. Why? Because I get to take another trip to Earth-2! 😀

This one seemed sort of the odd one out, but I think I know why: It doesn’t really focus much on the JSA. There’s a few pages dedicated to GL and Hawkgirl, explaining more of her backstory and showing that she’s trying to encourage Alan to join their group, but the rest seems more focused on showing that Terrance Sloan is the bad guy…even though I kinda figured that when he tried to nuke Washington D.C. Also, Mister Terrific appears again, and we get a glimpse of this world’s Red Tornado, who appears to be in the form of a woman.

“Yesterday it was zombies, today it’s Wolfman, tomorrow killer clowns! This place is CRAZY!” XD

World’s Finest…Okay, lemme just get what I liked a lot better than last time out of the way first. I like that Power Girl managed to go an issue without losing her costume or being sexy and/or provocative in any way, I like that we see her being awesome with her powers, I like that the dynamic between Huntress and Robin seems to working REALLY well, and I like that it’s clear that this story is building to something big. What I did NOT like was that a bunch of child soldiers wielding what appeared to be weapons from Apokolips got dragged into a Boom Tube and Power Girl was completely indifferent to it. And I’d make a joke about how this comic must not be very “PG”, but I’ve looked online and people have already beaten me to it. lol So yeah, once again Power Girl represents what’s wrong with this comic. She’s gotta be fixed and fixed soon, and we gotta see more about why these two are best friends, because otherwise I can totally see the book dropping the Power Girl and Huntress subtitle and just becoming a Huntress book.

Detective Comics, we find out just what in the fuckingest of fucks was going on with Clayface being married to Poison Ivy, and how they could’ve possibly gotten married in Vegas and pulled a bunch of crimes around the States when Ivy’s been lying low lately. I’ll give you the short answer: They couldn’t, and when Clayface finds out, he is NOT happy. We also see more of Penguin and Joker and their apparent deal from the end of Batman #14, and that his head goon seems to be looking to take over his organization in his absence.

Okay, this cover just SCREAMS the Bale voice. XD

Speaking of the Joker, some info has been released regarding Batman #18. For one thing, Greg Capullo is taking the issue off so Andy Kubert can fill in for him. Second, the description suggests that Death of the Family will not end well…

And I quote…

“In the wake of unspeakable tragedy, Batman is in danger of losing his humanity!
Fan-favorite character Harper Row returns — will she be able to pull Batman back from the brink?” So yeah, definitely keeping an eye out for more info on this. Until then, this is what I bought today. Ja né!

What Comics Do I Collect?

So as you’ve noticed, I’ve been giving short text reviews on the comics I buy every week. Now, I realise that there’s always the chance this could change, but for now, this is the line up of comics I buy every month. And before you ask, NO, I don’t buy any Marvel right now. Will I? Possibly, eventually, but not right now, no.

“You take the ugly one!” “No, YOU take the ugly one!” “Which one is the ugly one?!“

This comic continues to amaze me with just how good it is. It’s pretty much the JSA in a modern setting on an alternate Earth. To add to the uniqueness, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are all dead after saving the world from Darkseid, and these new heroes have to pick up the slack when the Earth comes under attack again. It actually retells the origins of Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, and others in ways that I actually find far superior to their Golden Age origins. Also, Mister Terrific has arrived on Earth-2 by accident and will be getting caught up in the events here, which should make Linkara happy since I know he liked that comic a lot. It’s a great comic with a lot of action and great storytelling, it’s just great overall.

“Yeah, I know there’s a giant Penguin engulfing the moon. I don’t need to look back at it. You know why? Because I’m BATMAN!“

I actually didn’t buy Detective Comics prior to issue 13, except for the tie-in issue with Night of the Owls. Why? Eh, the style just didn’t agree with me, and I also thought it was really gruesome the way that Joker lost his face. Plus, I was already buying Scott Snyder‘s Batman, which was WAY better and still is, I didn’t need to buy this. The newer arc with the new team working on it has proven to be worth my time, but I still maintain my opinion that Detective Comics should probably go to Red Robin. I think this team writing Red Robin solo stories would be awesome.

“Crap! If that plane burns up any harder, it could burn Power Girl’s costume off…AGAIN!“

This is a book that I’ve been enjoying a bit less as time has gone by. The first arc was great, telling the story of how Robin and Supergirl of Earth-2 were stranded on our Earth following the battle on Earth-2 with Darkseid’s forces, becoming Huntress and Power Girl. It actually ended with a battle against a giant monster in the bay off the coast of Japan, which could only have been better if Kamen Rider Skull, DaiZyuJin, and Godzilla had shown up. The problem with it, as has been pointed out to me, is that nothing was really resolved by it in terms of the overall story of Huntress and Power Girl, and it doesn’t look like much will be resolved by this next one either. I hear there might possibly be a new team taking over later on, I hope that the make the story lead somewhere great…and STOP having Power Girl wind up naked EVERY ISSUE!

Favourite line thus far? Her comment about how she’s got arm strength like a mother these days. XD

This is another book I chose not to pick up for a while, but it’s for reasons I kinda kick myself for: I was still feeling all butthurt over Stephanie Brown being gone. Now granted, I still kind of am, but that’s no reason to not buy a book that’s a legit good book. Basically what happened is, prior to the relaunch, Barbara Gordon was in a wheelchair for years after being shot in the spine by Joker and served as Oracle, who was a cyber hacker that pretty much operated as an extra set of eyes and ears for Batman, the Birds of Prey, even the fugging Justice League. However, with the relaunch and the New 52, it was decided that she would have back surgery and regain the ability to walk, and thus regain her status as Batgirl. Also, her time as Oracle MAY have been erased, I’m not really sure. Either way, though, Gail Simone has been writing an awesome Batgirl title. Do I still miss the Bryan Q. Miller Batgirl with Stephanie Brown? Yeah. But this is still an awesome book, worth picking up.

“I don’t even need the motorcycle to catch you! Know why? Because I’m BATMAN!“

Okay, I know that I will not shut up about how awesome this book is, but that’s only because it can not be said enough. Snyder is apparently best thought of as a horror writer, and even here it kind of shows, and it’s amazing how well it works for Batman. And the thing is, generally speaking, horror stories scare me and scare me away. But this? This scares me into wanting to read MORE, wanting to see just how in the hell they’re going to make it through the situations they find themselves in. I also love how the storyarcs are long, involved, and have a lot of work and effort put into them, and it shows. I would honestly argue that this and Earth-2 are among the best books going in the New 52.

Oh, and side-note? Rob Liefeld, if by any chance you read this, the heck with you if you think the only reason anyone buys this is JUST for Batman and that Snyder is no good on his own. You were neither a good writer, nor a good artist for that matter. And I’m sorry, I know this issue is pretty much dead by now, but when it happened, I never really commented on that, so I just felt the need to get this off my chest. So, rant over, let’s continue.

“I had a child with the daughter of the leader of a group of assassins who are my mortal enemies, and then made him into my new sidekick even though he was trained to be an assassin and kills just about everyone we fight… … …Because I’m BATMAN!“

This has been kinda up and down for me. For the most part, it’s definitely an enjoyable read, but there are some times I really kind of miss the previous Batman & Robin title where Dick Grayson was Batman. And I know, I didn’t buy comics regularly before the relaunch, but I did read along with what was happening and picked up and read the comics at the shop if they looked interesting. But anyway, this book is still good, but lemme just say this: If you’re like me, and you don’t necessarily like seeing superheroes kill villains, the last thing you ever want to hear Damian say in this comic is “I will never kill again”, because that means he is, at best, five minutes away from killing someone. Granted, one was technically already dead, and one was threatening to kill Batman, but still…

…I wanna make a pussy joke so bad here, but I honestly don’t think I could do one that hasn’t already been used with Catwoman. -_-

Okay, technically I am buying this book, but really it’s just for the Death of the Family tie-ins. I WAS thinking of maybe getting the book past that since they changed teams, and while it is admittedly MUCH better than when Judd Winick was writing it, it still isn’t really my thing. Still, for those of you that wanted a better Catwoman book than the Winick book where he had Catwoman pretty much forcing herself onto Batman for no reason and then getting the crap kicked out of her in a VERY graphic manner, feel free to pick it up and make your own judgements. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know.

“I’m a circus-boy acrobat that can kick the crap out of an undead assassin! Wanna know why? Because I was BATMAN!“

This is another book that I started picking up for the Night of Owls tie-in and decided to stick with. Basically, after spending a year as Batman, Dick Grayson has gone back to being Nightwing (in a new red costume, which I do not get at all) and now has inherited the deed to Haly’s Circus that he and his family travelled with. Making his life all the more complicated is that working with him in his attempts to bring life back to the circus is none other than the daughter of the mobster who had his parents killed, who apparently might also have feelings with him. The current mini-arc involving Lady Shiva isn’t all that great, mostly because it’s obviously just there to be filler, but I get the feeling it’ll go back to being awesome afterwards.

“I took my superhero alias and emblem and posted it worldwide as my own private army against crime, a move that should be getting me sued in EVERY conceivable way possible, but I got away with it scott free……………………..BECAUSE I’M THE GODDAMN BATMAN!!!“

This book is just a ton of fun. It’s not the best book going right now, but it’s a ton of fun, it picks up right after the book of the same name that existed before the relaunch, it goes a lot into the Batman stories of the past few years, and it just has fun with the concept. For those that don’t know, after a situation where Bruce Wayne returned from travelling through time, he decided to take Batman’s mission worldwide, thus creating Batman Incorporated. Their number one adversary has been someone called Leviathan, revealed to be Talia al Ghul, and a lot of the various Bat Family members, both old and new, have gotten involved in the battles against her. Also, it has frakking Bat-Cow. It is an awesome and fun read, end of story.

If at any point in this book, Calvin Rose actually says the words “Damn, look at those hooters!”, I will piss myself laughing. XD

From the first issue, actually since the issue before the first issue because before #1 was #0, but from that issue, I was officially sold on this book. Again, recap for those not in the know, but issues 1 through 12 of Scott Snyder’s Batman saw the Dark Knight facing off against this group called the Court of Owls and their undead assassins called Talons. This book, spinning out of that storyarc, deals with a single Talon that escaped the Court named Calvin Rose who is now on a mission to bring them down, primarily by taking down the last of the Talons not frozen by Batman following the Night of the Owls. Calvin is, for a lack of a better term, a hoot, and James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder’s writing for this book has been snappy as all hell. It CAN get a touch text heavy, which might be a problem for some people. Not quite WARRIOR level text heavy, mind you. Still, if you can get past that, there’s a LOT of enjoyment to be had here.

Anyway, those are the books I buy every month. Again, it’s possible I may drop one or two titles in favour of something else, but rest assured, if I do, I will keep you guys up to date. Ja né!

Earth-2 #6, World’s Finest #6, and Detective Comics #14 (WARNING: SPOILERS)

Yeah, decided to do all three comics I bought today at once. Otherwise, it just feels like I’m whoring these out for more views…which, don’t get me wrong, I can at times be something of an attention whore, but even I have my standards. So anyway, let’s start off with the book I couldn’t seem to put down every break at work today, Earth-2 #6.

One issue I always have with the covers for Earth-2, Hawkgirl‘s weapons. SHE DOES NOT USE A PISTOL IN THE COMICS.

I am continuously baffled by the fact that A) This remains the best comic I read the first week of every month, and B) That the person who wrote this also wrote Cry For Justice (or as I like to call it, Gay For Vengeance), James Robinson. I guess it just goes to show that anyone, ANYONE, can create pure crap sometimes. But yeah, this one concludes the battle with Grundy, which really, the only problem I have with that is that it ended rather quick. Just three issues. Then again, maybe that’s just the perspective of someone who actually really likes Scott Snyder‘s habit of doing LOOOOONG story arcs. Also, I gotta admit, the way that Alan Scott defeats him is REALLY clever: He flies him into orbit and hurls him to the moon where The Grey can’t reach him, and because they invested so much in Grundy, that screws their whole plans.

If I had one legit complaint about this comic, it’s that after the battle, GL tells Flash and Hawkgirl that when the real threat they’ve all been warned about appears, he doesn’t need them. Kinda seems at odds with the character. The only thing I can figure is that this first victory has made him overconfident, which I suppose is perfectly natural, or it’s a smokescreen to hide that he doesn’t want to risk anyone else’s lives. Either way, suppose it’s a minor hiccup, and I’m still very much intrigued to see what happens next.

Sadly, the cover’s somewhat lackluster…kinda like the fight.

Next up, World’s Finest #6…Okay, here’s a problem I’ve had with World’s Finest. It’s not that I don’t like this comic, I really do, but if I had to isolate my issues with the comic, it pretty much centres around Power Girl. And no, it’s not the costume, I’ve already given my 2 cents on that matter. MY problem is that she’s constantly mentally undressing men, dressing all sexy to get their attention and use their talents to try and find a way home, and despite her wearing a less revealing costume, it’s CONSTANTLY being ripped to shreds. There’s sexy and she knows it, and then there’s THIS kind of thing.

Fortunately, this issue doesn’t focus on her all that much, instead focusing mostly on a confrontation between Huntress and Robin. Unfortunately, it’s somewhat underwhelming, considering. I do like the point where Damian notes that Huntress’ style resembles an odd cross of his father’s and Catwoman‘s and you can feel the gears in his head start to turn as he’s starting to figure out just who she is. Of course, I had to facepalm hard at the end when it appears that Huntress is going to tell him everything, leaving me to wonder “If you’re just going to tell him everything now, why the secret to begin with?” Anyway, it was okay, but I’ve seen better out of this series and I’m hoping they go in a better direction soon.

…Lucky bastard…T_T

And finally, Detective Comics #14, wherein one of the villains/supporting characters in this arc is Poison Ivy…and I’m just going to say this right now, you know how a lot of guys that watched Batman: The Animated Series had major crushes on Harley Quinn? Well, I kind of had my eye on a different villainess then, and I gotta admit, every time Poison Ivy shows up in something Batman related, even that stupid-ass Batman & Robin movie (Bat Credit Cards, anyone?), my interest increases. A LOT. XD

Anyway, this issue picks up after an assassin tries to kill Bruce Wayne. Although he’s perfectly capable of defending himself while still making himself seem weak and lucky, Penguin takes out the assassin for the good publicity. Naturally, Bats isn’t all that happy with that, but soon finds he actually needs to return the favour in a sense when he discovers that Poison Ivy, who recently was booted off the Birds of Prey after threatening to kill them all, is going to attack a paper mill partly owned by Cobblepot, thus endangering lives, including her own.

Naturally, Ivy tries to use her mind control kiss to make Batman do her wishes, but he has long since prepared a defence against that. However, it seems that Penguin has set them both up and kidnaps Ivy. What follows is a REALLY bizarre twist as Clayface arrives later to demand that Batman tell him where Ivy is, and what he’s done with his wife…HUH? We see in a back-up story afterwards that shows that Ivy did in fact break into Arkham to break Clayface out, saying they were going to get hitched, but…HUH?

Seriously, WTF?

Anyway, Detective Comics has proven to be much improved the past couple of issues, and a lot better than what Batman: The Dark Knight has provided, but it can still be better. Also, I have a slight issue with the story, but it’s actually not a problem contained within this one issue of this one series, so I’ll save it for another time. World’s Finest, I really wish they would write Power Girl a little less like an object. And finally, Earth-2 proves to be one of the best comics going right now. The team needs to form and form soon, but otherwise it’s just a TON of fun. And next week promises to be a ton of fun too, as next week I look at Batman, Batgirl, and Batman & Robin #14. And NO, I will NOT be picking up Suicide Squad, I am not quite THAT desperate to pick up as many Death of the Family tie-ins as possible. Ja né!