Day-And-Date: Justice League 2, Batman 2, Nightwing 2, Wonder Woman 2

Justice League 2
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

Like the first issue, this is not the world-changing comic it was promised to be, but it's still an enjoyable read. Even better than the first in that it's starting to feel more like a Justice League book now that we have Superman and the Flash in addition to Batman and Green Lantern. Still no sign of Wonder Woman (except in a text piece at the end) or Aquaman, though. In true Geoff Johns fashion, we get a sequence where Barry Allen proves that he's the awesomist ever,

but then on the next page Clark shows that he's still pretty darn awesome too, lest we piss off Superman fans. (And I think I might be a Superman fan, now that he has a personality. It's interesting to see the dynamic between these characters now that Clark is no longer the level-headed one.)

But memo to Geoff Johns: A cliffhanger where the left half of Victor Stone's body is all mangled from an explosion is not really a cliffhanger. It's not like anyone doesn't know how that story ends. (His brain is put into a robot body and he becomes Robotman, of course.)

Batman 2
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Pixels

Good stuff, from page 1 to 20. Great character moments for Bruce, fascinating historical details about Gotham, intriguing hints of some kind of secret society. Also, I love that Bruce has a page full of captions to represent the thoughts that run through his head in the couple of seconds it must take to be thrown out a window and fall toward the ground below:

Nightwing 2
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Eddy Barrows, J.P. Mayer, & Paulo Siquiera
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Pixels

A good issue all around, but I dunno, nothing really stands out about it. Except that Dick's redhead of the week calls Bruce his boss, and Dick doesn't correct her. Did Bruce never adopt Dick in the new continuity? If so, that will make me sad. Also, I could swear that there's been a story where Dick bought Haly's Circus before, which bothers me not so much for continuity's sake as for the sake of feeling like I'm reading a new story, not one I've read before. Oh well, the last page promises some kind of huge reveal about the circus coming up, which hopefully will make this story stand out from similar ones that have preceded it.

Wonder Woman 2
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

I felt a little lukewarm about the first issue of this series, but this issue rocks. It's got humor, action, intrigue, and best of all, the plot is much easier to follow than the first issue's was. I'm kind of angry that the last page reveal was spoiled in all the coverage of the New York Comic Con, though, because otherwise I think it would have totally caught me off guard (in a good way). I love that Hippolyta is blonde again, because it goes back to her roots (no pun intended) and because it visually distinguishes her from Diana. Depending on who was drawing her, black-haired Hippolyta often looked like Wonder Woman's identical twin. Also, I love this exchange:

The look on Hermes' face in that middle panel made me laugh out loud.

Day-And-Date: Batman 1, Nightwing 1, Red Hood & the Outlaws 1, Wonder Woman 1

Batman 1
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

I've been hearing a lot of good things about Scott Snyder's run on Detective and I recently read Gates of Gotham and enjoyed it, so I had high expectations for Batman 1. My expectations were met. This issue does what I'd expect a first issue to do--it introduces me to Batman and his world, including the setting, the villains, and the supporting cast--and it does all this while telling the overlapping stories of Batman quelling an Arkham riot with some unexpected help, Bruce Wayne's efforts to improve Gotham (reflecting a subplot from Batman & Robin 1), and a mysterious new killer that appears to be closer to Batman than he first suspects. Capullo's art is fun and dynamic, though I have to say I'm not crazy about his Dick Grayson, who looks about sixteen. I mean, I know Dick is short, but not a full head shorter than Bruce. And what, is Tim thirteen again?

Nonetheless, it's good to see the boys all together, bickering and all.

Nightwing 1
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Eddy Barrows & J.P. Mayer
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Pixels

This is good. It didn't blow me away, but it's good to see Dick as Nightwing again--or as he says, "finally me again." I like that Gotham City is as much a character in this story as it is in Batman 1 (though not surprising since Higgins co-wrote Gates of Gotham with Snyder), I like that Dick recognizes both the differences and similarities between him and Bruce, and I like that we're starting out with a story centered around the circus. Also, I'm glad to see that the red eyes are not a permanent thing, but just some kind of infrared thing he can turn off and on as needed:

Red Hood & the Outlaws 1
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Kenneth Rocafort & Blond
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Pixels

I had high hopes for this. I won't say my hopes were completely dashed to pieces, as there is some good to this issue: Jason and Roy work well together, they make sense as a team, and both characters are written more or less in character. There's a backstory hinted at, something to do with Jason Todd's past involvement with a secret society in the Himalayas, which I won't call good or bad because right now it's more confusing than anything--but potentially interesting, assuming it's explained soon. And the end of the issue tells us it will be:

Starfire's characterization, however, is horrible. It's established that Tamaraneans can't really tell humans apart and that they "have a terribly short attention span about all things Earth." Starfire doesn't even remember her former Titans teammates, or her ex-fiance, Dick Grayson.

(Also, who the hell is Dustin?) Worst of all, she tells Roy that for her making love has nothing to do with love. Apart from the fact that her seemingly empty brain and voracious sex drive make her into nothing more than a fanboy's wet dream come true, it's totally contrary to her character. Historically, Starfire has been driven above all by passion. Not by hormones, passion. If anything, she loves too easily and too fiercely. A Starfire who doesn't even remember Dick Grayson, who wants only sex without love, is not Starfire. Scott Lobdell has promised that even though the Teen Titans characters are being rebooted, they'll all be true to the core of the character. If Starfire is an indication of his idea of being true to the core of a character, then I'm scared to read next week's Teen Titans 1.

Wonder Woman 1
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Rating: 3 out of 5 Pixels

This is a good Wonder Woman story, but like Nightwing, doesn't knock my socks off. Diana is at least fully recognizable as Diana, and I do like the reinterpretations of Greek mythology going on. True to Azzarello's promise that this would be a horror comic, the gods and creatures here are more Pan's Labrynth than George Perez's Wonder Woman. Azzarello and Chiang's Hermes, especially, strikes me as a unique interpretation, with blue skin and birds' feet.

Overall, one thing I'm liking about the New 52 is that all the stories feel fresh. There's very clearly an effort to write new stories, not to redo the same stories that have already been done a thousand times. That, at the very least, DC can count as a success.

A Month Late and a Dollar Short: Flashpoint Friday

Flash reviews for Flashpoint Friday:

Flashpoint: Abin Sur 3
It's like Zero Hour and Blackest Night remixed: Sinestro very nearly becomes Parallax, trying to destroy the universe in order to make a better one like Hal once did, and then Abin Sur becomes a White Lantern to save the Earth, like Sinestro once did.

Flashpoint: Legion of Doom 3
Well, Cyborg, to tell you the truth, yes, those pants do make your butt look big.

Also, Flashpoint Plastic Man grosses me out.

Flashpoint: The Outsider 3
It's one thing to say that Aquaman is a completely different person because he was taken from his father when he was a kid, but it's quite another to say that J'onn J'onzz, who was already an adult with a completely formed identity on Mars, would turn into a greedy, vengeful sadist because when he got to Earth he was treated like a science experiment. Sorry, I don't buy it. The character in this story is fundamentally not J'onn J'onzz.

Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies 3
I've seen complaints similar to my complaint about J'onn above, except in reference to Flashpoint Wonder Woman. I have to say, though, I like that this issue gets down to the core of who Diana is in any incarnation--the struggle between war and peace, warrior and diplomat.

After reading all these comics that end with "To be concluded in Flashpoint 5," I can see how that final chapter of the mega-story was set up to do a lot, so I'm not surprised by the many reviews out there saying it failed to meet those expectations. I'll see for myself in two weeks...

Wonder Woman's Invisible Pants

One of the most talked-about changes of DC's New 52 is something that on the surface seems pretty inconsequential: Wonder Woman's pants (or lack thereof). After DC radically altered the character's costume last year for J. Michael Straczynski's "The Odyssey" storyline, giving the character full-length pants to replace the traditional bathing suit bottom, it appeared that the more permanent New 52 redesign was also going to feature long pants:

But then a couple of months after the first preview images were released and everyone was talking about Wonder Woman's pants, DC quietly replaced the original preview images with updated ones:

You'll have noticed the missing pants. My theory is that Wonder Woman's pants are made from the same material as her jet, and she's able to turn them invisible at will. Who wouldn't want that superpower?

Actually, I find the whole debate about Wonder Woman's pants fascinating. I can see either side from a feminist perspective: On the one hand, you can argue that the bathing suit look is a product of male creators objectifying the female form, making Wonder Woman into nothing more than a sex icon. On the other hand, you can argue that the pants are a product of male creators trying to desexualize the character because they feel threatened by a woman who embraces her sexuality. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Personally, I prefer the pants for aesthetic reasons--I think the costume looks good with pants--and for practical reasons--I know I wouldn't be comfortable fighting crime in a swimsuit.

But setting my own preferences aside, I really think that the only solution is to have Wonder Woman written and illustrated by female creators. Typically I'm not a believer that one must be a woman in order to write women, or that one must be Latino to write Latinos, or that one must be bisexual to write bisexuals. One must be an observer of human beings in order to write human beings convincingly, regardless of sex, gender, orientation, race, or nationality. But Wonder Woman is not just meant to be a woman; she is meant to be the woman. She's an Amazon ambassador to Man's World, the ultimate living ideal of womanhood. William Moulton Marston (yes, I know, a man) created her to be the ultimate hero for young girls to look up to. I just don't think the character works when she's interpreted as a man's idea of what the ideal woman should be. Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman is by far the best run in recent years, mostly because Simone is a damn good writer, but also because Simone is one of the few female writers to tackle the character. By the same token, Amanda Conner's Power Girl is by far my favorite interpretation of the character, not only because Conner is a damn good artist, but also because when Conner draws P.G. looking ridiculously sexy, I know it's a woman embracing female sexuality, not a man drawing his fantasy girlfriend. Have Amanda Conner or any of the other great female comic artists out there redesign Wonder Woman's costume, and then her pants or lack thereof can honestly be claimed as a woman's expression of sexuality or practicality or whatever, and not as the object of the male gaze that it will inevitably be otherwise.

The other part of the solution would be to embrace the sexual objectification of male characters in comics. As Sonia Harris points out in this blog post, sexual objectification swings both ways when it comes to superheroes with perfect bodies dressed in very tight clothing. I think to truly make the argument that male characters are as much sex objects as female characters, though, we need to see more male characters with costumes like Namor's traditional nothing-but-a-Speedo look, and we need to see more male characters twisting their bodies into uncomfortable positions in order to thrust their crotches at the viewer, the way female characters do with their chests and rears. Heck, it would be nice if some (presumably straight male) artists would just stop drawing men who appear to be castratos, judging by the lack of bulge. When Power Boy showed up in Supergirl a few years back, I was thrilled to see the chest window in his costume, mirroring Power Girl's:

Wouldn't it be all the more awesome if his bulge had (and deserved) the same reputation Power Girl's bust does?

So I guess what I'm saying is that you straight men and lesbians can have your pantless Wonder Woman if that's what you want. Just give us gay men and straight women some equally sexy men to ogle in return.