Wonder Woman #41 (DC)

"Did she just punch me into Canada?"~Princess Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman)

Writer: Gail Simone (♥!)
Artists: Chris Batista & Fernando Dagnino (miscredited to Aaron Lopresti on the cover)
Inkers: Doug Hazlewood & Raul Fernandez
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Aaron Lopresti
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Brian Cunningham
(Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston)

Comic Book Week: February 24th, 2010.



Trying something new this week.......let me know what you think!

So I was torn a little this week. Batman & Robin #9 (Bat-Wing.......yum! ;-9) was really good, but that "Canada punch" put Di over the top! (B&R was really better taking #8 from last month and telling the whole story)

This issue was also continued from last month as the children of Ares (from the previous arc) have been wandering through Washington DC making good people do bad things. And at the end of the previous issue the latest victim is Power Girl. After a brief interlude with the new character Achilles, we jump right into the WW/PG smackdown! Usually, I'm not a fan of *ahem* "cat" fights, but this ISN'T a catfight.......it's a war! It's exciting and suspenseful and powerful and emotional. It's everything a showdown between the two heaviest hitting ladies in comicbookdom should be (okay maybe Shulkie might object). And after the fight's over, things actually get a little boring, even if they wrap up quickly (with a spanking!........NOT OF PG OR WW!!!!).

The art of Lopresti is missed........his replacements aren't quite up to his level. Not sure who drew what, but I think Dagnino draws the main WW/PG story, and does exceptionally well with the fight scenes, but dies off in the quiet times. The framing secondary plots appear to be Batista and are quite stunning.

The coloring and lettering blend nicely.

All in all I enjoyed this story, but the first half was better than the second half, and a shout out to Black Canary (and her previous appearance) is always appreciated.

RATING: 7 invisible planes out of 10 (lol!)

Again, let me know if you like the slightly different format. And READ BATMAN & ROBIN #8 & #9!!!!! Grant Morrison is a genius!!

xoxoxoxoxoxox! mwah!

Supergirl #50 (DC)

"This week's topic: Supergirl--Hero or Menace?"~Ron Troupe.

Appropriate.

That quote actually comes from the backup story by Helen Slater (writer.....&, let's face it, the "!" on the cover was not really required), Jake Blake (OTHER writer), Cliff Chiang (artist, *luv him*), Dave McCaig (colorist), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer). Just to get it out of the way, the backup's pretty good (especially the art), but it's just your standard, everyday backup story.......doesn't really mean anything, but doesn't hurt anything either (and the quote pretty much sums it up.......& the question doesn't get answered in case you're wondering! 8-( ).

The main story by Sterling Gates (writer), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal & Mark McKenna (inkers), Nei Ruffino with Pete Pantazis (colorists), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer). So we have a tangentially appropriate tale called "Queen" connected to the "World Against Superman" storyline, but quite well tied to the current Supergirl storyline where Lana Lang recently died of an unknown chronic disease. And anyone who knows Lana's history might be able to guess to what the "Queen" title refers.

In brief, Supergirl, with the help of Gangbuster (who I get) and the second Dr. Light (where'd she come from), must save Metropolis from a threat created by Lana Lang's death. Then, Supergirl realizes she's not a human being and leaves Earth for New Krypton.

Not trying to spoil the story, it doesn't doesn't sound great, but it's actually quite well written with respect to the plot. Even the characterization is fine, but I just can't accept that Kara is a 17 year old girl. I realize she's actually from an advanced race, but she just seems too mature and educated for the character to even exist......why bother?

The artwork is perfectly acceptable, if not spectacular (to be honest, I did prefer the art in the backup story).

There is one unforeseen development with Lucy Lane (Lois' sister?), who died quite definitively several issues ago (she was the new modern age Superwoman), that kicks off and ends the headline story.

One more note: the cover is by the late Michael Turner.......it's quite definitive and pretty. Turner had a very distinctive style that worked well on his own characters, but had a certain sameness (read: thin-as-rail-ness) in female characters he hadn't created. Having said that, the more I look at it, the more like it.

Although I was hoping for something a little more feminine.......

RATING: 7 "S"-shields out of 10

For anyone that follows me on Twitter, you know I may be a little prejudiced, but I really think that this was pretty well done. In case I'm a little out of perspective, here's a great Supergirl website (maidofmight.net/) and my favorite Supergirl video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcbXApjPOAY) to make up for it.

Marvel Heartbreakers (One-Shot) #1 (Marvel)

"It was a drunk and stormy night . . ."~the narrator.

Comic-book week February 3, 2010.

So last week, I said I would try to review a Marvel book, and that the last Marvel book I really enjoyed was ♥ Nextwave, Agents of Hate ♥(by Stuart Immonen and Warren Ellis, btw).

Sure enough, this week, out of nowhere, I find Marvel Heartbreakers, a one-shot with Tabby Smith (Boom-Boom) of Nextwave on the cover. I flip it open and see artwork that looks suspiciously like the aforementioned M. Immonen, written by his wife, Kathryn. I think awesome.

I bought it.

Oops.

Okay, it's not that bad, but really, is this honestly what Marvel thinks of women?

The book contains 4 stories, that I could review separately, but I think an average rank is only going to help this patchwork mess.

The cover is by Mike Del Mundo and is kind of fun........it did pull me into buying the book. ~:-(

The first story is a Spider-man/Gwen Stacey/Mary-Jane Watson story, "A Chemical Romance" by Kathryn Immonen (writer), Elena Casagrande (artist), Nathan Fairbairn (colorist), and Jeff Eckleberry (letterer). The story's the strongest of the 4, with a flashback tale of the Marvel 616 (the "normal" universe, not the "ultimate" universe) Gwen Stacey and Peter Parker in university, into which Mary-Jane somehow wanders (not that I'm complaining........I'm on the MJ side of the cart--and this story reminds me why Gwen's kind of boring.........NOT DESERVING-TO-DIE BORING, just boring). Actually, none of the 3 characters really show up much, as 2 airheaded bimbos (trust me, I'm being generous) steal Gwen's chemistry notes and cake recipe and create artificial life............what?....................(oh! & the art is decent, but only looks like Stuart Immonen if you don't look closely.)

The second story is "Tabitha Smith & Elsa Bloodstone in: Super Boys! [sic]" by Rick Spears (writer), James Callahan (artist), Nathan Fairbairn (colorist), and Dave Sharpe (letterer). It's the lovely ladies of Nextwave talking about boys in the woods and then blowing up Frankenstein's monster. Yep. That's it. The art's kind of rough but serviceable. The writing's.........well, let's just say Rick Spears doesn't have a great handle on writing a teenage girl. And unfortunately, Tabby & Elsa are supposed to be adult women.

The third story is a Dazzler/Beast story entitled appropriately enough, "Beauty & The Beast: An Epilogue". It seems to take place back in history sometime around when the Beast, Angel, and Iceman were in the Defenders, probably just about to form X-Factor. The story are Hank (the Beast) and Alison (Dazzler) discussing their past relationship.........which I have to admit I didn't know existed. So I googled it and I'm not sure it did, and really not sure it would have been in the past of when this story took place. Once again, the art is serviceable, but why is Beast bouncing around while carrying on an intimate conversation? And where is Dazzler picking up sound waves to generate light, when she and Beast are alone in a room not talking or moving?

The final story is a Snowbird (who even remembers Snowbird from Alpha Flight?.......she was killed even before killing Alpha Flight became the in thing to do!) vehicle called, "Animalia" by Karl Bollers (writer), Harvey Tolibao (artist), Emily Warren (colorist), and Troy Peteri (letterer). Snowbird (let me just say that what little I know of this character I generally like) whines about her love life then kills some evil gods after a lovers quarrel. Or at least I think that's what happened since the artwork is a little muddy.

There's a final pinup by Lara West and Emily Warren depicting the ladies from all the stories. It's cute but, personally, there strikes me as way too much cleavage for the target audience ♀.

So overall it looks like Marvel was trying to take some stock stories and capitalize on the success of Marvel Divas; Model's, Inc.; and Girl Comics. Sadly, Marvel forgot the first two haven't been that successful and the last hasn't come out yet (although I do look forward to it!).

So, for Tabby Kat..........

Rating: 5 "Tick-Tick-Boom"s! out of 10

I actually read Siege #2 this week too, and it was better than this book, but not enough to make me feel guilty about not reviewing it! The first issue of the BTVS "Twilight" arc, though, was AWESOME!!! X-D! I'll review the whole arc together when it's over, I think. :-<>