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Marry Me, Batwoman

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Kristi McDowell

Major spoilers after the lady kisses.

Not exactly the face I would make in Maggie’s position.

I don’t know how to express how beautiful Batwoman #17 is. This issue wraps up quite a long story in which Batwoman has been struggling with her role as a hero and as a girlfriend, trying to find a balance. And, as you can see above, she decides that the way to do that is to put both elements of her life together. Such a strong, confident lady, Batwoman is so sure of her decision to “out” herself to Detective Maggie Sawyer after bringing a perfect engagement gift of the missing children that the Gotham City policewoman has been searching for nearly their entire relationship.

Co-starring Wonder Woman and featuring the triumphant return of Bette Kane, now calling herself Hawkfire, Batwoman #17 settles this major arc in every way. It’s energizing in it’s victories and heartbreaking in its tragedies, specifically poor Abbot’s untimely end. Most importantly of all, it establishes that Batwoman is over playing by the D.E.O.’s rules.

One of the things that I like about this series is the dialogue choices. I feel like so many writers out there feel the need to make all of their characters constantly witty and bantering, a la the entire cast of The Avengers (sorry, Joss, you know I love you!) but Batwoman’s cast has a strong, distinct voice that doesn’t sound like any other book out there. Each character sounds unique and I imagine that I could tell who was speaking if I were to close my eyes and have the comic read to me.

Well said, Kate. You sure know how to talk to the ladies.

But if my eyes were closed, I wouldn’t have been able to see just how gorgeous this issue is. As usual, I love the choices made in dividing up the panels. The borders are just as intense as the panels. The introduction of a Hawkfire theme into the borders was a super choice. And, and this isn’t something I normally comment on, Dave Stewart’s colors were incredible. I feel like I’m just glowing about Hawkfire tonight (and rightly so) but that insertion of orange into a predominantly dark and red palette was the most perfect addition that I could think of.

I only started reading Batwoman with the New 52, heck, any DC with the New 52, so I don’t have the background with many existing characters. As such, I only know Bette Kane, formerly Flamebird, from this series. Until this issue (and the last), I’d been reserved about her character. She was Batwoman’s sidekick, sort of, and then broke out on her own, got majorly injured, got Batwoman blackmailed by the D.E.O., was rehabilitated by Batwoman’s estranged father… it was all just a lot of background noise in the story that was Kate Kane.

But this issue! Whoa, baby! Her comeback is amazing! The way she set fire to her past insecurities in such a literal way was so empowering. She’s like the phoenix rising out of the ashes of her injuries, coming out a stronger, more powerful figure.

When life gives you lemons, set the lemons on fire.

Okay, now onto the real topic of this blog. That reveal. That proposal. I did not see that coming. I expected Batwoman to reveal herself as Kate Kane to Maggie eventually. Even soon. The fight the couple had right before Batwoman left to recruit Wonder Woman and Kate sharing the tragedy of her childhood loss earlier than that were all pointing in that direction. But a proposal? In front of the rescued children? I’m not sure that was the right move there.

Don’t get me wrong. I love it when ladies get engaged. Having been engaged to another lady for, like, a hundred years, it’s a blast. But it’s hard to tell what kind of time has passed in this story arc (partly due to that really weird stretch of time when the comic was written like Pulp Fiction) so it feels maybe sooner than it really is. I feel like only a few months have passed. But, hey, lesbians do move pretty fast.What’s really strange is that Kate proposes and kisses Maggie, in her Batwoman attire, in front of all those kids. Is she outing herself to the city of Gotham as Batwoman? Is that how she plans to get out of the D.E.O.’s blackmail?

It’s just a bit out of my comfort level to accept. But in an issue where every single page managed to amaze me on some level, I can let it marinate until we see the fallout from this turn of events next issue. Especially with the final reveal at the very end: the return of Kate’s “deceased” sister, Alice! I’m obsessed with this issue and now I’m even more excited to see what’s going to happen next!

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A Short Blog About Batgirl #13

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

(Thought I’d given up, had you?)

Just finished Batgirl #13. A great, well-written, beautifully drawn issue (which is standard for the Simone/Benes ticket). But kind of a waste of Batwoman as guest star.

After this issue, I’m actually kind of excited about the Death in the Family story DC is putting out. Maybe I’ll pick up the other comics to get the full story (but probably not; I didn’t do that for Night of the Owls). I’ll probably just get it in trade later. But I love Joker stories, so he’s always worth reading.

Oh when the clowns, come barging in. Oh when the clowns come barging in!

I think, rather than be on a complete hiatus, I’ll try to do little posts like this, just to stay active when I can. What do you think? Is my opinion worth the short word count?

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Sushi Hiatus

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

Nobody likes old sushi and I am having trouble staying current. My course-load at school is a bit overwhelming and since it’s my last semester, I feel like I should be focusing on that.

So rather than forcing myself to write when I know the time and quality isn’t going to be there, I’m going to take a break until January 1st. Maybe I’ll throw in some quick things but, for now, I need to focus on my studies.

Here’s a quick snapshot of my feelings on some current things, though:

AvX- a little bit of a downer. I felt that it was a little anti-climactic.

Marvel NOW!- I’m still psyched about it. Can’t wait for Uncanny Avengers the most!

Dexter- OMFGWTF?! Such a good season opener. I think this is going to be the best season yet.

Once Upon a Time- Meh. The season premiere was… okay. Problematic, but we’ll see where it goes.

Before Watchmen- I’m a little fizzled out. Minutemen is still glorious but the rest are waning.

DC’s New 52 a year later- I’m still pleased. I dropped Catwoman and Earth 2. If they don’t start using Starling to greater effect, I might drop Birds of Prey. Batwoman, Batgirl, and Swamp Thing are all still brilliant.

Hawkeye/Captain Marvel- Why are you reading my blog? Go read those. Now. Now. NOW.

Archer- Anxiously waiting for season 4 still.

Spoiler alert: they all turn into babies and then battle until naptime.

See you guys in the new year. Once I have my degree, I’ll have to talk all fancy to justify my education. So be prepared!

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From Out Of Nowhere — Hawkeye! (And a Crush of the Week)

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

I don’t do this often but if you are not reading Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, you are doing comics wrong. There, I said it. In fact, Clint Barton may be my Crush of the Week. Because he is so amazing and perfect and beautiful and his story is timeless and epic.

Whew. That felt good to get out. But I suppose I should explain why Hawkeye is just so damned good. The first issue was brilliant, a great set up for what Clint Barton is like: too damn proud to admit how much of a screw-up he is but not smart enough to do anything about his constant screwing up. He is established as kind of a bum who doesn’t accept help from anyone but wants to help everyone. He isn’t some wealthy billionaire with some chip on his shoulder, saving the world because he can afford to. He’s just some guy that shoots arrows really well. And he pulls one over on some gangsters, which allows him and the other tenants in his rundown building to remain in their homes. What a nice guy!

Plus, he saved a dog.

Which brings us to issue #2 and, frankly, the entire reason I picked up Hawkeye in the first place. Kate Bishop! I didn’t read any Young Avengers before so I really had no foundation for liking this character except that she’s a female archer (which, if you look at things like Pixar’s Brave or The Hunger Games, you’ll know that female archers are totally in right now) and one of those characters that’s really just a young version of their predecessor, like every character in the Young Avengers is.

So, you know, I’m not into originality. Sue me.

What I like about the Clint/Kate dynamic is that they are polar opposites. Clint is a rough, gruff poor sap who does the right thing because he used to be a bad guy, whereas Kate is a rich, entitled Platinum princess who does the right thing because bad things happened to her. Fraction’s dialogue between the pair of them is just stunning, every single word chosen is used to help define the characters that he’s writing. Both are no-nonsense heroes who don’t mince words with their villains or each other. They’re snappy and quippy in a way that Spider-Man or Deadpool only wish they could be.

What I like best about this Hawkeye comic is the tone. Both issues so far remind me of fun, old-fashioned 1960′s heist or Bond movies. Dramatic, full of action, a little romantic, and a whole lot of fun. And so much purple. I LOVE Matt Hollingsworth’s  use of purple in these comics, but I’ll get to the art in a moment. I’m still talking about the feel of the comic based on story. So you have this character, Clint Barton, and in issue one, he goes after some small mob to save his little community. In issue two, he goes after the corrupt circus. But, in true heist fashion, you know that he can’t do it alone, so he calls in his young disciple, which adds a little bit of a mentor role to Hawkeye’s resume.

You fit right in with me, Clint!

The pair link up, for reasons Kate doesn’t quite get, though it’s hinted that maybe Clint has something of a crush on her (how risque! She’s so young!), and they set out to infiltrate an evil circus, because after his years in the evil circus ring (see what I did there?), he can recognize the signs that they use to communicate with each other. This also links in the use of the crazy circles and arrows on the covers of these comics. He decides that they’re up to no good so he and Kate are going to liberate the evil circus’ ill-gotten gains into the hands of someone more worthy. Namely, the Clint Barton Fund for Poor Archers like Clint Barton.

So they infiltrate the circus, dressing up all fancy to get into the Cirque du Nuit (hey, I see what you did there, Mr. Fraction!) and get down to business. Of course, Clint being Clint, he gets captured rather quickly and just when things seem grim, Kate Bishop comes to save the day! Hooray, Kate! Make Clint the damsel in distress! The circus is, of course, held on some big fancy yacht, so there’s a fun scene of them escaping on the boat, Bond-style.

The specifics of the story aren’t very important. You’re not really going to find anything super new in this particular tale. What makes it special is that it reminds me of a time when comics weren’t all major events and reboots, relaunches, or cross-overs. Sometimes, comics are just fun ways of telling a story that you don’t need to be super invested in. At the end of issue #2, there’s a hint that there will be repercussions for Clint’s actions but, overall, this was a heist tale. Last issue was a gang tale. I hope next issue is a… oh, I dunno, a secret agent tale. Something fun and singular. I don’t mind a larger story looming but I don’t always want to read a story that takes 4-5 months to tell. And what’s so wrong with that?

It definitely has nothing to do with my attention span.

The art of Hawkeye is also reminiscent of a style that has been long abandoned in comics. One of the things that I love about, say, J.H. Williams III’s Batwoman is the innovative things he does with paneling and the realistic yet stylized approach to characterization but David Aja opts for a far simpler layout and style, giving it a feel not unlike Dave Gibbons’ work on Watchmen. The panels are typically square and simply laid out, with little attachments like circus tickets or a newspaper. What’s really fun is when Aja attempts to manipulate archery and conversation.

GAAAAAAAAAWD THIS IS COOL!!

Look at that! Just look at that! How crazy awesome is that? It’s like time slows down for Clint as he attempts to make the perfect shot. And is that what it’s like to be an archer? I sure as heck don’t know but for the first time in my life, I can actually FEEL what it might be like. More than any movie featuring archers ever has and certainly more than any book, comic or prose, ever has. I’m not sure who’s stroke of brilliance this page was but Fraction and Aja as a duo need a huge pat on the back. They are doing amazing things.

So, I’m not sure if my Crush of the Week is Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, Matt Fraction, or David Aja. My Crush of the Week might just be the whole comic. But can you blame me? Do yourself a favor and read this comic, if you don’t read anything else this month. Because, holy hell, this is a direction I’d love to see more comics take.

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Crush of the Week #10

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

Holy heck, 10 (11 if you count #0) Crushes of the Week! That’s 2 1/2 months of an almost on time feature! Hooray! I should come up with other features to keep this going. Maybe with fall TV coming up, I can do a weekly recap of the shows I like. That might be fun. What do you think, readers?

But you’re not here for me to slowly come into my own for this blog. You’re here for my Crush of the Week! This one I’m quite excited about. It came down to two character who you all already know I love with the passion of a hundred fiery suns: Starling from Birds of Prey and Maggie Sawyer from Batwoman. Starling was quite awesome in Birds of Prey this week, really throwing herself into harm’s way to protect her team, but as a member of a superhero team, I somewhat expect that from her. So this week’s Crush is Maggie Sawyer, because she’s easily one of the unsung heroes of the DC Universe.

Since Maggie isn’t overly popular, here’s a picture of the two women that implies heavily that they’ve had sex.

The character’s been around forever, as a cop in Metropolis in Superman stories before being transferred to Gotham. I don’t really know much about her incarnation prior to the New 52 so I can’t really speak to that. I started collecting the trades of Gotham Central, where she’s in charge of the precinct, I guess, and features the adventures of the GCPD dealing with a city full of super powered criminals and the capes that come in and do their policing for them. I haven’t read much of it yet but the first few pages I fumbled through were good. It’s a bit of a tough read, for me, very cerebral, but I’m getting through it.

Anyway! Maggie Sawyer is just amazing and I’ve been so into her since I read Batwoman: Elegy, where she and Kate Kane meet for the first time. Their first date was completely adorable and started a really great rapport between the two of them. They banter well, they have a good time together, and they have a lot in common with their obsession with fighting crime (which, of course, Maggie doesn’t know about on Kate’s end). Maggie knows all about Renee Montoya, Kate’s other cop girlfriend (who disappeared inexplicably from the DC Universe) and is totally cool with the fact that her girlfriend is a serial cop dater.

Maybe my crush isn’t just on Maggie but as the two of them as a couple.

Basically, Batwoman’s story has really been Maggie’s story. For all 12 issues so far, Maggie has been trying to solve the case of the disappearing children, all of which have been Hispanic, and it’s been going poorly for her. On top of it all, she’s got Kate who needs to act like a selfish, entitled socialite in order to maintain her secret identity so she’s gotten very little support from her girlfriend all while dealing with barely veiled accusations of not caring about children because she’s a lesbian (despite the fact that she has a child). There are people who are demanding that Maggie be taken off the case because she’s not trying hard enough.

Meanwhile, Batwoman has just been messing up Maggie’s case by getting involved. She keeps getting into things, chasing off leads, and even gives Maggie a pretty high-level sedative while the detective was just trying to catch the person stealing the children!

Stabbing your girlfriend with a needle full of sedative is not as hot as it sounds.

It doesn’t matter that Maggie doesn’t really have a chance to catch Medusa, the Crying Woman, Falchion, anyone else. She just cares so much about her job. She cares so much about her daughter. And she cares so much about Kate. It’s the fact that she is so dedicated to the things she cares about it that makes her so damned appealing. She’s such a strong character, has no misconceptions about what kind of person she is and what she expects from the people she has in her life. And that is starting to come out in how she deals with Kate Kane’s heiress cover. Her last panel of issue #12 has Maggie showing Kate the door after her girlfriend’s astonishing lack of support in response to a very poor showing at a press conference earlier. We all know that Batwoman’s got a job to do but Maggie has no idea that Kate is a masked vigilante.

I may cried a lot a little.

I hate that Kate and Maggie are so rocky but it makes sense that trying to maintain a relationship with a secret as big as Batwoman is going to be really hard. I feel like they’re either going to make it work or Renee Montoya is going to show up out of nowhere and she and Kate will be badass lesbian crime fighting girlfriends and Maggie will continue to be awesome.

Me? I’m hoping Maggie solves the mystery of the Batwoman and decides that she loves Kate no matter what and they work together clandestinely solve crime together, Maggie doing the detective work and Batwoman doing the ass kicking. But no matter what, Maggie Sawyer will likely be my fictional forever crush because she is just so awesome. Detective Sawyer, you are my Crush of the Week and I don’t even care that I’m the only one who loves you.

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The Invasion of the Bat-Ladies

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

No, I didn’t forget that last week Batwoman dropped in on Batgirl in the battle against Knightfall. I spent quite some time poring over Batgirl #12, really going over it with a fine-toothed comb. Considering it’s a comic written by one of my favorite writers in the comic book industry, Gail Simone, and co-starring perhaps my favorite character in comics ever, Batwoman, I went into it expecting to have my face rocked off like I was at a concert.

Is it wrong that I think this is hot?

Sadly, my response to this issue is tepid at best. And I don’t think that’s anyone’s fault but my own. I got myself SO excited and worked up for this issue that it wasn’t really capable of ever meeting the expectations I’d set for it. So I can’t blame the comic for my letdown. Everything about this issue was quite good.

Ardian Syaf’s art was superb. Every time Batwoman graced a page, the panels shifted to mirror the unique layouts that her own comic is known for and that was just damned impressive. That level of detail was just spectacular and made the comic worth it just for that. And while I don’t often comment on the colors of a comic, I have to say that Ulises Arreola managed to make Batwoman look gothic pale without making her look skeleton dead. That was a happy surprise to come out of her appearance in Batgirl.

The issue itself was pretty good. As much as I like Batwoman, I can’t help but feel that Batgirl didn’t really need her. The beginning fight was neat, I liked the idea of Batgirl sizing up Batwoman. One of my favorite things about Batgirl as a character (and the way Simone writes her) is that she has a running dialogue in her head at all times. We always know what she’s thinking so to hear her thoughts on Batwoman was pretty fun and her realization that the other hero is just a clever and calculating as she is was spot on, I think. At least in terms of being a bat-hero. I think if they were competing in an academic decathlon, Barbara Gordon might have an edge on Kate Kane.

For three years, she had a lot of time on her hands to study.

In any case, I did think that Batgirl and Detective Melody McKenna might have been able to do this without Batwoman. Of course, I won’t know for sure until the next issue (after issue #0 next month)  what my favorite hero brings to the table. After that initial fight, we don’t see Batwoman again until the last couple of pages, when she and McKenna bust in to back up Batgirl’s sneak attack. I do think it fits the “soldier” aspect of Batwoman’s background. That’s something I’ve felt is missing from Batwoman as a character, is the fact that she never set out originally to be a crime fighting vigilante. She had joined the military to be part of something bigger. And when she took the Batwoman mantle, I always thought it was so that she could work alongside the other Bats in an almost military fashion, being part of the larger group alongside characters like Lieutenants Batgirl and Nightwing and PFC Robin, operating under General Batman’s orders. I’d have loved for her to be a part of Batman Inc.

But now that she’s part of the DEO, following orders relayed by Cameron Chase, I have to settle for that as Batwoman’s way of still being part of some kind of pseudo-military. It’s good but it’s not quite what I like for the character.

In any case, I’ve done some reading from other fans and have heard the complaint that Batgirl was somehow diminished as a character because of the way Batwoman beat her up in the first couple of pages. I can see that argument. Batwoman really did throw her weight around in that skirmish but once the fight ended and they were chatting with McKenna, we got to see that Batgirl had a concussive trick up her sleeve. I think if the battle had gone on for the entire book, we would have seen Batgirl really hold her own. I couldn’t say who would have actually won a drawn-out slug fest between the pair of them. They’re both entirely different characters, but I think ultimately, as much as I love Batwoman, Batgirl might have have had the upper hand. She’s had more experience, more vigilante training, and more support from the big (Bat)man in charge to go down so easily. Batgirl’s got a lot of resources at her disposal and simply more time in the cowl, despite her absence while she was injured.

Is it wrong to think this is also hot? Yes, in this case, yes it is.

All in all, it was a good issue and I’m eager to see how this Knightfall plays out and what Batwoman’s place in it is. McKenna hints that the DEO is somehow involved in Knightfall, so what will that mean for Batwoman’s role in that organization? They’ve got her by the short hairs, really, so she can’t just up and leave them. I doubt that in the next issue of this story that Batwoman’s position in the DEO can change all the much, considering it’s not really Simone’s story to tell but it’s nice to see another writer approaching that dynamic. So far, it’s been an interesting path for Batwoman.

As far as the ongoing Batgirl story is concerned, I like that her brother, James Gordon, is becoming a more prominent villain. So far we’ve seen that he’s skirting the outside of Barbara’s life, getting to know her roommate, Aysia Yeoh, all while keeping his escape from Arkham Asylum a secret. Plus, he’s in league with Knightfall, having presumably befriended her while they were both locked up. As such, he’s gained some amnesty from her violent desire to erase Gotham’s criminal element. I can tell he’s going to be a much larger problem as the story continues and I have to wonder if it has anything to do with their mother’s return into Barbara’s life.

“I got you a kitten. It’s full of dynamite. I mean, love. It’s full of love.”

Oh God, I hope he doesn’t kill Barbara’s mother!!!

We’ll see what happens. My verdict on Batwoman’s part in this story is that, right now, she’s an unnecessary addition but that might change. I’d feel a little better about it if she gets a more prominent role in the defeat of Knightfall, to make it feel like she’s needed in order to do it.

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Crush of the Week #0

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

I’m going to take a page from DC’s book and do an origin Crush of the Week. So this week will be zero and we’ll go back to our regularly scheduled program. It has almost nothing to do with the fact that no one in pop culture really stood out for me this week, okay? Okay?!

All right, right. There wasn’t anyone in pop culture that made me take notice. Sheesh.

This, being an origin Crush of the Week, will be a little more personal. If that’s not what you’re looking for, then I’d suggest you just move along and check out the kitten video that you were really looking for when you stumbled across my site.

I want to talk a moment about my fiancee, Sarah. I’ve mentioned her in passing once or twice but I don’t think I’ve given her the amount of attention she deserves. And considering that we were supposed to get married last night but were unable to, due to circumstances beyond our control, it’s fitting that I share with the world just how important she is to me.

Three years ago in August, I was a mess. My life wasn’t going anywhere that it was supposed to, I was lonely, and I was so broke I had to make decisions about whether to feed myself or my dog. I was dating but very unsuccessfully and when I wasn’t working, I was sleeping off my depression. It was a dark time in the life of this future blogger extraordinaire.

Finally, I started putting myself out there on the internet. Scary and dangerous, I know, and made worse by the fact that I was so fed up with dating sites that I’d turned to Craigslist. Do some mental math, folks. You know what was happening three years ago last July? Craigslist Killer. Seriously! I thought that amidst everything else that was going on in my life, I’d put up an ad on a site that was literally drawing the attention of a serial killer. I assure you, that wasn’t an “unintentional accident.” I really just wasn’t thinking.

My ad was stupid and ridiculous but, for some reason, the chicks dug it and I went on a few dates as a result. They were fun girls and all decent but nothing really clicked with them. But serial dating was better than staying home and crying into Samson’s fur so I kept doing it.

And then one day, I got a message back that would literally change my life.

You’re a winner!

Sarah responded to my ad, I’m pretty sure as a joke, but I was so drawn to her first email that I knew I had to meet her. However, coy lady that she is, we waited a couple of weeks before meeting. In the meantime, we emailed and texted and I even called her and left her the most amazingly awkward voice message in the history of voice messages. You would think that after all that correspondence with someone like me, she’d have run for the hills long before our first date.

Let me tell you a little about Sarah. Sarah is the sweetest, kindest, most genuine person on the planet. There’s not a mean bone in her body (believe me, three years with someone like me would’ve been plenty of time for her to show one, if it existed) and she surrounds herself with decent, amazing people. But you couldn’t find two more different people than the pair of us. You, I think, read my blog so you know what I’m into. Sarah likes People magazine, American Idol, and KISS 108. She likes manicures and drinking wine and movies based on books by Nicholas Sparks. What could we possibly have to keep us together?

She never knew what hit her.

I still haven’t figured that out. All I know is that since our first date, where I nearly scared her away with my opinionated rants and sketchy minivan, I couldn’t wait to see her again. So I didn’t. We went out again the next night. And the night after that. And the night after that. We saw each other everyday from July till October, where our relationship had its first test. I went away to Baltimore, MD for Comic Con. There, I geeked out with my buddies for a few days but spent most of my trip texting her. And even though she’s not into comics at all, I brought her home a Peanuts collection, my very first present to her. Oddly enough, she loved it.

After that, it would be another couple of years before we were separated again. In that time, we’ve moved in together, gotten a cat together, gotten engaged, gone through some hard times, gone through some amazing times, and I’ve even gotten her to read exactly two comics and a web comic. She, in turn, has gotten me to watch American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, the Voice, the Sing-Off, America’s Got Talent, more romantic comedies than I can even name, and I’ve read two Chelsea Handler books and a Max Tucker book.

Oh, and she’s also shown me never-ending patience and support in everything that I do. The fact that I manage to update my blog at all is because she has faith in me and that someday someone out there is going to care about what I have to say. The fact that I’m graduating college this December is because she never let me quit, no matter how hard it got. And the fact that we’re managing to stay afloat right now is because she has a strong, level head that keeps me optimistic when it’s in my nature to panic and fall apart.

Can you believe she said yes?

Sarah is my Crush of the Week, this week, last week, and every week for the rest of my life. I’m the luckiest person I know because as long as I have her, I have everything I need.

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Marvel NOW and Kelley Sue DeConnick

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

I don’t usually report on news that I hear about but I literally squealed like a crazy person when I saw the potential creative team for a new Avengers book coming with the Marvel NOW relaunch. I’ve been singing Kelley Sue DeConnick’s praises for a while now with her work on Captain Marvel and on Avenging Spider-Man and I doubt that will end any time soon. Especially now that she might be writing an Avengers title featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-Woman.

Stefano Caselli’s art is just fantastic.

I’m already excited about Marvel NOW. I can’t wait to see the teams shaken up, creative teams moved around, and new characters getting a focus. When DC started the New 52, I was one of the people swept up in an easy place to start some new titles. DC saw a boost in their sales as new and old fans picked up some books to see what this whole reboot was all about. I’m sure Marvel will experience something very similar and I think that’s a good thing. Maybe they’re false numbers but I think a spike like that indicates that, love it or hate it, people are drawn to something new.

Some new looks, some old faces, and, of course, Wolverine in every book!

Hopefully Marvel will take advantage of that and do something spectacular. I think people are so upset still with DC is that, despite rebooting their line, there hasn’t been anything to make anyone say “Ooooooh, I get it! THIS is what made this a big deal.” Even as a new reader, I can’t say specifically that there has been a defining moment that has made the reboot worth it. Marvel has a distinct advantage in having had an entire year to see what DC did right and what they did wrong. That means I, and I would hope that many others, have high expectations of this relaunch (which is different than a reboot, in so far as at least Marvel isn’t pretending to rebuild an entire universe). Marvel has had some time to really consider what a relaunch might mean to new and old fans and, most importantly, what the point of a relaunch might be.

The New 52 in which they promised pants for Wonder Woman and then promptly took them away!

One of the best writers Marvel has in its house right now is Kelley Sue DeConnick. For one thing, and the thing most important to me, is that she writes strong female characters that aren’t parodies of their male counterparts. Captain Marvel is the epitome of her writing strength and Carol Danvers couldn’t have a better person continuing her legacy. And on Avenging Spider-Man, she has proven just how creative and quippy she can be, writing such different characters like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel with ease. Every word she chooses these characters to say is just perfect, serves to identify the character and push the plot forward. No part of her dialogue is throw-away. She’s just fantastic.

So to give her an opportunity to write one of the most iconic superhero teams in comic-dom is a bold but smart move on Marvel’s part. There aren’t enough powerful female writers writing enough big titles. So for DeConnick to be writing the Avengers would be just huge. On the flipside of the coin, DC does have Gail Simone writing Batgirl but, as much as I like Batgirl, it would be more impressive if Simone was writing Batman. Or any female was writing Superman or even Wonder Woman. I will say, Becky Cloonan’s art in Batman #12 looks absolutely spectacular and she’s the first woman ever to be drawing a Batman book. So, strides are being made.

We can do it!

As a long-time Marvel fan, I am kind of glad those strides are bigger in their house.

I am just over the moon excited about Marvel NOW. I want to read Uncanny Avengers and FF and All New X-Men and keep reading Wolverine and the X-Men. My only concern, really, is the fate of Avengers Academy. I’ve fallen in love with that book over the last few months and I’ll be terribly depressed if it gets cancelled. Unless, of course, they make a new title featuring that cast and maybe the Runaways doing something. I love Karolina Dean and Julie Powers together so much, I’d love to see them interact more. Maybe they’ll get lumped into the Jean Grey School. That would be amazing. Jason Aaron writing all of those characters would be amazing. But maybe it would be too cluttered.

I digress. Hooray for Marvel NOW and hooray especially for Kelley Sue DeConnick!

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Gambit #1

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

Remember when I was complaining a lot about Catwoman? One of my biggest complaints was that she was barely competent as a thief. What kind of cat burglar constantly gets her ass handed to her and rarely actually gets what she’s going after? How was I supposed to root for her? And on top of it all, right away in issue 1, she leaps right on top of Batman’s junk, proving that she’s not really a solo character at all, just an extension of his pelvis.

But that’s not the point of this article. I’m over being upset about Catwoman. Right now, I want to talk about another thief who is getting another shot at a series from Marvel. Remy LeBeau, Gambit of the X-Men, started his own ongoing series this week and I picked up #1 on a whim. Waaaaaaaay back in my early days of comic reading, I was an enormous Gambit fan but really only because of the role he played in Rogue’s life. I was very invested in their relationship and read everything they were in forever. And then I started my comics hiatus and have come back and really haven’t paid any attention to what they’re up to recently. Both are semi-involved in Wolverine and the X-Men and my taste in comics have changed a lot since I was reading as a teenager.

I’m pretty sure Gambit has no intention of sleeping with Batman. But he does wear a lot of pink and purple…

So Gambit was kind of an impulse buy and, I’ve got to say, I’m not disappointed. The first few pages essentially summed up what he’s been up to: he and Rogue are on the outs (because Rogue keeps dating Magneto, which is so weird), he teaches occasionally at the Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters, and he hasn’t really stolen anything in quite some time. He’s pretty famous as an X-Man and as a thief, so any kind of “extracurricular activities” would be quite difficult.

Recap given, Remy goes off to an ESU (Empire State University, a fictional school that’s supposed to be kind of like Columbia University) fundraiser as a representative of the school he teaches at. But, in reality, he is after the rumored treasure trove of super objects kept in the home of the host, one Mr. Borya Cich. Of course, he is recognized as a threat right away and Cich keeps his guards on the Cajun thief.

Fortunately, our anti-hero knows the cards are stacked against him, as it were, so has planned for such difficulties. He meets a mysterious, tattooed young woman at the party and uses her as his cover as he sets a fire in one part of the house, helps her to escape the flames, and then backtracks to find an entire wing of Cich’s home which is invisible. Gambit, of course, has used his sunglasses to copy Cich’s retinal pattern, his phone to copy Cich’s voice pattern, and his gloves to copy Cich’s fingerprint pattern. And the humorous response to a password request is “Please” which turns out to be correct.

This is a man who prepares.

The reward is a room full of strange and unusual objects. Gambit has no specific agenda in mind but he is drawn to some kind of strange jewel. When he attempts to take it is when all hell breaks loose. The security system kicks in for an unauthorized attempt at removing an object from its case. Gambit uses his considerable acrobatic prowess to duck and avoid major damage from lasers and the object’s own apparent security system.

Gambit gets away and is back with his alibi, who vouches for Gambit’s presence during the time of the robbery when Cich’s men accuse him of being involved. Feeling as though he’s won, Gambit tries to pick up the woman who helped him (she declines) and goes home satisfied that he’s pulled one over on Cich (he hasn’t). But he does have what he’s stolen!

And as soon as he gets home, it turns into that weird bug thing from Matrix and jumps into his chest.

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN… To be continued.

This is what a heist comic should be. Sure, Gambit didn’t exactly come out on top by the end but he did gain some ground. He pulled off a marginally successful job and didn’t need to hookup with a bigger, more powerful hero in order to feel worth something. I’m excited to see how Cich retaliates as well as find out exactly what it was that Gambit stole. Why did it enter him in such a hostile manner? What will Gambit go after next? How will his theft affect his role as a teacher? As a friend to Rogue? I actually care about the repercussions of Gambit’s actions.

I don’t need a solid win every time. Heck, if I spent all my time rooting for a thief to actually get away with it, there might be something wrong with me. But Gambit is competent, smooth, and the things that happen to him happen more, I feel, because of bad karma than just bad stealing. I’ll definitely pick up issue 2 to find out what else happens to him.

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Crush of the Week # 7

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Kristi McDowell

In a week with both Batwoman and Starling (Birds of Prey), you’d think that the decision for Crush of the Week would be pretty straightforward. But, as much as I love these ladies, I can’t really claim either of them as my Crush. I also considered Silk Spectre from the Before Watchmen series but she didn’t really do anything for me, either.

But, of course, Captain Marvel came out this week and it was as brilliant as I’d hoped it would be. I can’t even talk enough about how awesome she is. And the art, the writing, the set-up, the establishment of her motivation to be a pilot and a hero… God. Yes. Everything. Everything about this comic just fires on all cylinders.

If I ever get the chance, I will buy and frame this print. Hands down.

Let’s talk about art first. I opened to the first page and was just floored by how beautiful Dexter Soy’s art is. The color choices are just spectacular. Every panel looks like it could be framed and put on my wall (if you remember what my office looks like, you’d know that this might be an improvement). That battle with the Absorbing Man is just incredible and captivating. I usually kind of gloss over fight scenes in a comic book but I found myself drawn to each and every corner of each and every page.

Carol Danvers is just beautiful and Soy brings out the beauty and the sheer fierceness of this badass lady. She is so strong and doesn’t look at all diminished by being teamed up with Captain America. I was a little worried about the pairing, fearing that maybe his presence would take away from building the mythology that would be the story of this new Captain Marvel but Soy does a fantastic job of keeping Carol feminine but powerful. The scenes where she is flying up into space makes her seem almost god-like. Just by art alone, you can tell that she deserves to be headlining her own series.

Even gods can fall… okay, it’s not a perfect metaphor.

Onto the writing. Thank God for Kelly Sue DeConnick. What a breath of fresh air she is. The dialogue Captain Marvel engages in throughout the book is just perfect. Whether she’s in costume or posing a civilian, DeConnick’s depiction of how our hero speaks is so telling. Whether she’s talking to her childhood hero (choosing be respectful but challenging) to dealing with the Absorbing Man’s blatant misogyny (decidedly less respectful but no less challenging), Carol Danvers sounds like a real person dealing with things that anyone might have to encounter (misogyny, not a man who absorbs the properties of any element he touches).

Here she is just being brilliant.

The story explores Carol’s struggle with her heroic identity. The Absorbing Man is kind of a metaphor for how people might react to her resurfacing in this new role. He spends much of the early part of the book mocking her for being a female or relying too much on a man like Captain America, which Carol is perhaps concerned with by taking on the title of Captain Marvel, formerly belonging to a man which whom she has a complicated history. Captain America tries to convince her to take the name but she has her reservations.

If she ever gets her own movie, I suggest Katie Sackhoff for the role. You’re welcome, Hollywood.

It’s while she is spending time with a sick friend and recalling meeting her childhood idol that she ultimately decides that she is worthy of the title of Captain Marvel. But it’s through these flashbacks and encounters that show us what is really important to Carol Danvers. She loves the people in her life, her friends, her brother, her heroes. She has a big heart and while her powers have taken away any chance she has to compete and set records for herself, it allows her to do real good in the world. And it’s that desire to be a hero because it matters to people that makes Ms. Carol Danvers, the new Captain Marvel, and Marvel’s only female title character, my Crush of the Week.

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