Archive for December, 2010

Princess Witch Boy

Monday, December 27th, 2010

Storm writer and artist
Joshua Richardson letterer
$5
Self published

“Do as I do and scrap your fey ways”
“Grow up, be a man, and close your mealy-mouth”
Dial-A-Cliché

“How I dearly wish I was not here”
Every Day Is Like Sunday

- Morrissey, from the Viva Hate album

Yes, I have a reason for starting a review with very cherry picked lyrics from Morrissey’s 1988 Viva Hate album. You’ll see  why in a bit.

Princess, witch, boy. Three little words, all names of very different things. Put together they make for an unusual and for me intriguing title, though when J K Parkin mentioned it in a Robot 6 blog post I let it slip by. Somewhere I came across another mention I visited the link and was met with an image of an androgynous boy’s face superimposed over a woman’s head with enigmatic eyes. I thought, perhaps from the juxtaposition of princess, witch, and boy that this was probably a cute and breezy, fairy tale like adventure. Well, breezy hardly, though it is the tale touching on the faerie world and as Storm refers to his work, a fantasy memoir. Yes, that’s another odd mix of words, and apt ones I believe. How much of the two stories is which might be open to interpretation, and I’ve my own idea of one outweighing the other.

Turning the title page of the first issue, “Gateway”, reveals the lone word “sissy” in larger font sitting squarely above a block of text. “Sissy” is the word that I did not have at the age of five when I realized I was somehow different. A year later it was the first word I had to describe what I was, and from the way my dear grandmother spoke it to my mother I knew she didn’t see it as desirable. What follows the pejorative (though it’s being reclaimed) is a dense list of rules to follow in order not to be one. They’re all ones you heard told to you and repeated often as a child. The sayings about rules are true: live by them, break them, throw them out, make your own.  I’m happy that Storm broke them, threw them out, and made his own to live by.

The story that follows reveal the young boy’s, whose first name is never told, growing awareness of a metaphysical world with personal spirit guides as his greatly troubled father’s behavior descends to a terrible act. Told in a combination of images and pared down text in the first comic, the story is plumbed to full extent in the second, titled “Replica”, through a blend of comics format in the first half and prose interspersed with full page illustrations in the second.

The titular Replica is one of the three spirits (the other two being a female djinn and a sorceress) the boy draws with colored pencils bought by his mother. Also a woman (his own personal triple goddess?), Replica is a shapeshifter spy on an adventure searching for the fortress tower Library of Knowledge for the mythical Tome of Prognostication. Contrast the boy’s creative imagination with unrealistic duties in the mundane world, a problematic father, a favored sister who takes his Star War figures and makes Darth Vader kiss C3PO (“They love each other”), and a mother confrontational over comics (too gay) and music (fey prophet Morissey and “Viva Hate” favored over former dear shiny Christian Michael W. Smith) because she suspects he’s a sissy. The parallel stories of the boy and his and family and of Replica that the boy creates and how the boy draws upon the latter when all comes crashing down around the family is most imaginative. And strong, now listening to Morrissey’s singing in my apartment, and silently the other times I’ve read the comics, perhaps for reasons confessed in the following paragraph.

In my reading of Princess Witch Boy I came across passages, sometimes just a snippet, that recalled memories of my own familial experiences and a comic derived fantasy I created to cope when my father’s alcohol-fueled loathing and later religious hypocrisy was too much to deal with. Like Princess Witch Boy, drawing inspired by comics was another refuge though my teenaged youth’s queer muse was the glam David Bowie. Perhaps it’s simple projection on my part from these and other experiences not to be shared that the story of Princess Witch Boy seems much more real, more memoir than fantasy. And a barely noticeable nod to Alan Moore’s Promethea, yes. Princess Witch Boy, you may be only ink and words on paper, here then, but I think I know a part of you and that is powerful storytelling.

With a wuvable oaf, a super tranny, a pair of lovers in Victorian England, unintentional civil rights activist Toland Polk, a closeted investigator in 1950s San Francisco, and sundry other comics, and now a Princess Witch Boy, it’s been a very good year!

Visit Stormantic to learn more about Storm and Princess Witch Boy. Check for both editions of PWB at Swankety Swank if you’re in San Francisco and not Isotope Comics which I’m told is currently sold out though worth a visit in itself. If not, you’ll have to purchase the second book through Storm’s Etsy shop.

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Ugliest Costume Redesign For 2011

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Among the recent DC solicitations for March 2011 was the cover for JSA #49 with the original Green Lantern featured front and center. Just in case you can’t tell, that’s him on the left in the image below. One heck of a costume redesign there, isn’t it? Scott always had one of the fussier costumes for a male superhero with those puffy sleeves, high collared, cape, big ass belt buckle, and those boots! Somehow though it had its charm. But this new and hopefully very temporary costume is just plain awful. Maybe it has something to do with his current medical condition, but really? Would a character with so power to command be forced to come up with something that makes Jim Lee’s redesigned Wonder Woman piece look like hig fashion? Some commented that the look alluded to the Kingdom Come version and maybe it served as inspiration. It’s still ugly.

Alan, you could’ve asked your gay son for fashion advice. Come to think of it, Obsidian doesn’t have the best uniform either. Maybe it’s time for a father and son superhero makeover? At least ask Todd about product to manage your hair.

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Young Justice Trailer

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Here’s a trailer for Young Justice (via Comics Worth Reading) that starts airing on Cartoon Network in January. A fun thing to look forward to in the New Year!

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Glamazonia The Uncanny Super Tranny

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Glamazonia The Uncanny Super Tranny

Review by Joe Palmer

Justin Hall, Diego Gomez, Jon Macy and Fred Noland and a whopping bonanza of other artists
Northwest Press
$24.99

Ah, Glamazonia! As glamorous as ever with her bouffant, lush lips, amazing abs, assertive breasts, a devil may care attitude backed up with a her own brand justice. Ignore the bit of self-centeredness and give the lady her due! Glamazonia’s journey from an occasional B & W strip when she first came to my attention to this four color extravaganza has been a long time coming and it’s about damn time!

But you’re finally here so I’ll be good.

In case the cover image doesn’t clue you in enough to get a sense of Glamazonia, let me say that she’s all about taking the conventions of superheroes and turning them on a collective ear or maybe a more appropriate position might be scissored. And pity if I just lost you, dear gay man, with the lesbian sex reference. At least  I wrote scissored instead of sandpapered. Oops. Well, just don’t Google it if you don’t know what it is. Glamazonia is all about queering it up and — oh dear! Did I just lose you now because of the Q word? But she is queer right from the get-go and Justin Hall and a whole bus-load of others have a hell of a lot of fun with her in this book.

It’s like a “buck a bag” sale at the local thrift shop and the big girls section just got stocked with good stuff before you walk in when it comes to the stories! A 120 pages worth comprising seven stories and a bounty of “One To Glam On” public service announcements (AKA one page strips), a pin up, a mock comic cover, and a foreword by Peaches Christ and a couple embellishments to round it off. I did not hear you say “Peaches who?”, did I? If you must, then slyly dash off and look her up on the interwebs. Just don’t look up sandpaper and lesbians and make a face when you learn what it is because it ain’t like you haven’t done something that might gross out others.

Time travel stories usually induce eye rolling or make little sense to me. Time Travel Tranny does neither as Glamazonia comes to the aid of Professor Dikhead who’s being threatened by a future menace. Glams is in for a huge surprise when she travels to the future to deal with the threat! She’s got a short fuse!

J. F. Killer is Hall’s figurative centerpiece and the most ambitious piece both in story length (23 pages) and subject matter. Boy reporter Jimmy Wholesome tracks down Glamazonia in the Castro as he investigates his theory on who shot JFK. He learns how off base the theory as she spills her sob story while ordering Jimmy around. JFK’s womanizing is well documented but our beloved President and Marilyn’s heart might have belonged to daddy, but Glamazonia playing all the sides in the whole Cuba mess. Everyone except that pudgy, ugly Kruschev. You got to have some standards! Hall also introduces an arch rival to Glamazonia and explores his uncanny super tranny’s power set in a super powered cat fight. Quite the entertaining read  though the naughty side of me would like an erotic sneak peek at what happened in the Cuban countryside.

Fred Noland’s Rent Boy story in which a trailer trash kid named Billy aspires to audition to become Glamazonia’s sidekick and leave his sordid life behind is two hoots worth of fun! His style is loose and animated and he does a great job of capturing the ambience of sad trailer park inhabitants. Dubbed Rent Boy, Billy is dedicated and a touch desperate in my opinion when he demonstrates to Glamazonia how resourceful he is with nunchakus. Glamazonia is shocked and it was a surprise for me too. Let’s say Rent Boy probably wouldn’t have a problem with the new body scanners at airports!

Rent Boy is featured in the following story by Diego Gomez in which Glamazonia is transported to an other wordly place to compete against other heroes in a contest for the “greatest prize”. Sure, she’s motivated and not happy at all that  “sidekick” Rent Boy is forced to compete with her after he helps her win a round. Gomez’s story is told in segments as a framing device around three secret origins for Glamazonia. Being so fabulous just one will not do! Actually, in the Gomez segments she recounts different stories hoping to seduce a trio of contestants. The framing idea works though they could stand on their own as well. The final segment with Glamazonia and Rent Boy facing Dungeon Master one is most successful while and the two with FLag Danzer and Granola Girl are the weakest for me. Gomez has done a lot of illustration work before and this is his first sequential story. His style easily stands out in the book as the most colorful and psychedelic and he doesn’t want to be constrained by panels, all of which can be good qualities. Here though, at least in a PDF file, I find it at times to be a little confusing and taking precedence over the characters. My opinion may change when I look at his art again after looking at the print copy when I pick it up from my store. Okay, I’ve looked at these segments on another computer and the colors are more harmonious than I first thought. Proof is in the print copy and appreciation of art always rests with the individual.

Added note: I’ve picked up my print copy with the rest of my comics  this afternoon, and apparently Glams’s appearance caused a bit of a commotion, as I heard one counter guy exclaim “Peaches Christ?!” in a whispered exclamation to the other.  I simply said “Yes, ‘Peaches Christ’ ” and smiled though I thought about adding “she’s Jesus time-lost tranny sister”. Anyway.  I’ve looked at the coloring throughout the whole book and every bit of coloring, including Gomez’s whose palette I wondered about.  Yes, he has a different color aesthetic (a quality I think for which Hall chose him), but here in the print copy it doesn’t overwhelm. So, here you go – proof a reviewer can change his or her mind.

All of Glamazonia’s origin stories are riffs on much beloved ones from comics: Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. Hall’s version of Krypton populated solely with party girls is a fun twist, as is Clarkina’s relationship with strapping, bald Flex. A bat never inspires an orphan Bruce. Instead someone crashes through the window at the opulent manor. Young Peter Pumper being bitten by a radioactive tranny is the most hilarious for me. Another one is a take on the beloved Bionic Man and Woman shows. Her final origin using elements from Iron Man’s comic and movie beginnings is my second favorite with her Iron Tranny gear and her rigging the phallic ray gun to backfire, defeating her terrorists in a most fabulous fashion. All very good and your favorites may vary.

Jon Macy (Teleny and Camille, Fearful Hunter) turns in Rent Boy: Year One in a stylishly moody and pared down setting with a subdued color palette. Pity poor Rent Boy he discovers that the allure of sugar daddies often masks an evil heart.

Hall’s final story puts Glam as Brenda Starlet, the new reporter for a newspaper that’s a mashup between the Daily Planet and the Bugle. Here’s your chance to see how Lois, JJJ, Parker, and a sweaty, alien pervert together. Love the way Glams keeps her bouffant big and high, too!

I love little touches here and there. For example, the Glamazonia signal resembles a huge fleshlight. Here and there Hall incorporates vaginas. Oh, now don’t you get worked up over that! They’re not like the fanged vagina (I forget the high falutin’ Latin phrase) Howard Chaykin drew on a Hawkgirl cover several years ago. There are a few other flourishes scattered throughout, but finding them again is a bit of a challenge. The little lips symbol used to decorate the page numbers is a nice touch, as is the decision itself to use page numbers. It’s one of those little things that seems forgotten a lot these days.

If you’re a diehard Glamazonia fanatic you may notice that some of these stories have previously appeared in a small B & W mini comic made by Hall in the past year ortwo. Generally I question when this happens though the reasons can be very different when done by an indy creator compared to a big publisher. It isn’t an issue for me because these few stories are both expanded on and the fun quotient is higher, plus they’re printed in color now.

The “public service announcements” with Glamazonia dispensing her sex tips and tidbits of worldly wisdom are written by Hall and drawn by the remaining multitude of guest artists as listed below, with some of whom I’m not familiar with, so this is a good opportunity for a little taste of their various styles. Every PSA is amusing and kudos to Hall for sharing Glamazonia with so many artists in both these PSA’s and stories.

The following should be the full list of creators :

Anthony Gonzalez, zan Christensen, Sarah Oleksyk, MariNaomi, Craig Bostick, Jennifer Camper, Steve MacIsaac, Chuck McKinney, Sina Grace, Ed Luce, Shaenon K. Garrity, Paige Braddock, Christine Smith, Jason Thompson, Chino, Theo Bain, Eric Orner, Robert Kirby, Gina Kamentsky, Dave Davenport, Lark Pien.

I’m sorry if I missed any, but it’s almost like trying to pick out all the different bodies in an orgy scene.

You don’t have to be a diva devotee of Wonder Woman or Emma Frost to appreciate Glamazonia. Just love for wicked humor! Look for Glamazonia at your comic shop or go to Northwest Press for more info and also download a 30 page preview or to Glamazonia’s official site which has it, too!

This review was based on a complimentary PDF copy though I had already ordered the book in October (and cleared a spot in my cramped bookcases) through G-Mart, my local comic shop.

Addendum:

Cisgender. Trans ally. Entitled. Privileged. Ableist. CAFAB. CAMAB. FAAB. MAAB. These and other words and phrases were brought to the forefront for me recently when a person contacted me to express their dismay and anger regarding Glamazonia, the use of the word “tranny” in the title, and the positive review I gave the work. From this person’s point of view there was a choice of one of three options for me to do. One was to remove the review. Another was for me to give it a negative rating, and the last was to include a trigger warning.

Neither of these options were ones that I could act on. The first was censorship, which I don’t believe in. The second required that I lie about my opinion of Hall’s work. And I don’t believe in the use of trigger warnings. As an alternative, I offered the idea of this person writing an opinion piece in response to the character and Hall’s use of the word in question to which the review would link. I also offered, which I did, to make Hall aware of this person’s thoughts and comments. As best I can tell, my suggestion was ignored in the subsequent reply which also contained a link for Hall to a blog post in which the author discussed the hurt and damage of “cisgender intent”. As I passed that along to him I began to wonder if this was a situation in which I’d be stuck in the middle, which reminded me of the dysfunctional way my parents and family members have long communicated. In turn I informed this person that I couldn’t comply with any of their suggestions and their reply was to inform all the people they know of this.

Should I have engaged in emails more with this person? Perhaps. Should I have been less terse? Yes, though I believe no amount of word dress up would alter their opinion, which wasn’t a goal on my part. Do I believe for this person that the word in question creates or reminds of some traumatic experience? I do and I also know that to say hurting anyone was and is not my intent will be considered by this person and possibly you reading this now as an example of cisgender intent and privilege. I am sorry they were hurt, hurt by the word, by the meaning and ugliness and violence attached to it by meanspirited people in the cis world aimed at them and others.  And to clarify, my references to this person in gender/ name unspecific terms is not an attempt to dehumanize them. I simply do not know how they identify and present themselves.

Words and symbols which have horrible, painful meanings can be reclaimed, though the effort is not always successful. The pink triangle, part of a whole coding system for undesirables, was a symbol to mark homosexuals in Nazi Germany and occupied countries. It was taken back. There was a time when the word fag was used by some gay men to describe themselves. Howard Cruse put the word in his characters’ mouths in his Wendel comic strip in the 1980s. The word is widely considered to be a slur now and is off limits. Is a cisgendered person allowed to help reclaim this word from being a slur? The answer will depend on your point of view and perhaps the person, and in this instance, the work in question.

So this feels like a rock and a hard place situation in which, on one hand, I think Hall’s work is good and understand that he’s had interactions and relationships with variously self-identifying people in the San Francisco Trans community — two out trans creators contributed their work to this book — and alienating and hurting one person in particular and likely others. And even this smacks of ableism, entitlement, and cisgender intent.

Below is a verbatim copy of an afterward by Hall from his book. Would this have made any differnce to have originally included it my review?

“About the word ‘tranny…’

The word is a tricky one.

From the mouths of bigots and assholes, it’s undeniably a hate word. Even coming from well-meanin folk, it can be clumsy and insensitiv. And yet, as with the word ‘queer’,it’s been reclaimed by many as a term of empowerment and humor.

Where I come from, the queer underground of San Francisco, ‘tranny’ is used by everyone from trans women and trans men to third genders, cross-dressers, drag queens, drag kings, faux queens, and other gender queers and gender radicals. The Uncanny Super-Tranny is meant to stand alongside such creations as the Tranny Film Fest, Tranny Road Show, Tranny Fag Health Project and Trannyshack.

Glamazonia the Uncanny Super-Tranny is intended as a work of (at times sarcastic) humor, and ultimately a celebration of the compokex, wondeful, and fascinating mosiac of queer identities and expressions.”

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I Want My $2.99!

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Arune Singh sent the below press release (titled “I Want My $2.99!”) announcing an initial round of limited series titles priced at $2.99 in response to “fan and retailer feedback”. Well, maybe I’m confused because as I recall the previous press releases Marvel issued about the $2.99 price point were confusing in themselves. Many of the comments I’ve read on GLA’s forums since Marvel raised prices on many of its books to $3.99 have been negative, in many cases causing people to cut back on the comics they regularly buy. And personally, I feel the same way. I kept reading positive things about Incredible Hercules, but the $4 cover price was unjustifiable for me, and later I picked up back issues for a buck. Maybe it’s a Catch-22 situation.

Singh is right that I want my $2.99! But I want it across the board though! And while I’m at it, I want DC books to keep the page counts at 22! And if neither publisher can do that, then a $3.25 price seems reasonable to me. But a dollar, Marvel? Really?

Oh, and I don’t want Hawkeye & Mockingbird canceled either!

I Want My $2.99!

Because you asked for it, Marvel made it happen! Here is the first wave of fantastic new limited series at $2.99 per issue. Featuring Marvel’s biggest characters and helmed by some of the industry’s most fan-favored creative teams, these limited series cover new and exciting ground from all corners of the Marvel Universe!

These new series are:

CAPTAIN AMERICA: HAIL HYDRA
WOLVERINE AND JUBILEE
ARCADE: DEATH GAME
HAWKEYE: BLIND SPOT
5 RONIN

“Based on the feedback we’ve received from both retailers and fans, there’s a definite desire for limited series like Captain America: Hail Hydra or Hawkeye: Blind Spot to be priced at $2.99 per issue,” explains Senior Vice President of Sales, David Gabriel. “We’re extremely impressed with the stories our writers and artists want to tell, and we’re committed to providing these book for a great price.”

Fans demanded new titles for $2.99 per issue and Marvel listened! Now it’s time to show your support for these books in your shops by asking your retailer to order them and more are sure to come! This is the start of something big at Marvel and for fans, so get onboard now!

To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook or visit www.comicshoplocator.com

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com

Arune Singh Manager of Sales Communications

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DC Universe Online

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Not necessarily final box art

Review by Liam

The NDA has finally been lifted on DC Universe Online and as promised here are my first impressions. Please keep in mind that the game is technically still in Beta so none of this is finalized.

Let’s start with the storyline that is shown in the video I am sure most of us have seen. The basic idea is that a Future Lex Luthor has come back to enlist the help of today’s heroes in cleaning up his own mess. Seems in his timeline he actually defeated all of the Super Heroes. And the moment the last one fell, the true enemy surfaced (Brainiac!) and destroyed the planet. Lex survived by living in the air ducts. He’s come back and insisted that we need a much larger super hero force to defeat what lay ahead. He brought something to help, modified Brainiac spores that contain the powers of heroes from his timeline. He has released these on to our unsuspecting world to create new heroes. Obviously this is where you come in. You take the role of one of these newly created Super Beings who has been captured by Brainiac and the tutorial is your escape.

The character creation is very lacking when compared to other Super Hero Multiplayer games. The idea is you should created a “base” costume (you are a prisoner after all) and as you get drops from doing missions and beating up on people, you will get more specialized gear. This incorporates the MMO standard of “phat loot”, while still allowing you to choose if you actually look like you are wearing the item or not. The major problem here is even with the drops and styles of costumes, you could collect every piece of it and still come nowhere near the offerings of City Of Heroes or Champions. Many people have begged for more costume options. It’s one of the biggest complaints in the beta.

The second biggest complaint is the power sets. First off allow me to explain a rather complicated combat system. First off, everyone has a Base Attack and a Ranged Attack. Even if you are a “Pistol” user, you still hit people with your pistol or shoot them. The choices for the Attack Styles are decent enough and with the loot in the game you can quickly change your choice of weapon into something you can live with. You have basics like Brawling, Martial Arts, Pistols, Rifle, One Handed, Two handed, Staff and Hand Blast. Without even getting into the actual Power Sets, let’s look at combat with just the Attack Styles. On the PC your Melee attack is the Left mouse button. So to hit something you click. To hit it again, you click again. Now let’s say you want to mix it up and use your ranged attack. Well that’s the Right mouse button. So combat soon becomes a carpal tunnel educing combination of right and left clicks to take down your foes. After just one day of playing, I went to my local game store to purchase a game pad. There really is very little way you can play this game with mouse and keyboard and expect to be able to use your hands later. As a side note, the game is being released on PC and PS3. However, when it comes to controllers on the PC, the PS3 controllers will not work. You must get a wired Xbox 360 controller. Since that’s made by Microsoft, it’s plug and play with Windows 7. Again, the game is in no way ever going to released on Xbox 360, but the only controller you can use is an Xbox 360 one plugged into your PC. As a result, the game indicates you should push your standard PS3 buttons (since it knows you are using a game pad), but since you are using an Xbox controller, none of the buttons are labeled with those symbols! In other words you must know the layout of a PS3 controller just to use a 360 controller on your PC. Sound convoluted? Yes. Yes it does.

Now that you have all that, let’s add in the actual Power Sets. These come in only three flavors. Two powers for each flavor. You can choose to be Defensive, Controller or Healer. As Defensive you have Fire or Ice. Controllers have Gadgets and Mental. Healers have Magic and Nature. That’s it. The way these powers play out is as follows. Let’s say you took Staff and Nature. When you hit something with your staff, you will get nature graphics and colors to your attack. Then once you gain super powers, you will do things like Vine Whip to pull things closer, bloom to heal yourself and team mates. Or you could go the other way with it and transform yourself into a gorilla (a la Beast Boy). There are options, but they are very limited. Which is the real draw back to any sort of creation in the game. There simply are not enough choices when you compare this game to any other Super Hero game out there.

To make things more complicated, each side (Hero and Villain) has three story lines, depending on who you choose as your Mentor. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman will lead you on the Hero side, while Joker, Lex and Circe are your choices for Villains. Not only do these define your storyline but they also define your “gear”. Joker/Batman are Tech, Lex/ Superman are Genetics and Wonder Woman/Circe are Magic. I played through most of these up to the first “Boss” battle. They are designed to let you “live” in that character’s world. For instance Batman sent me to first fight off some Scarecrow bad guys, Superman was after Parasite, etc. This part of the game is the most confusing for new players because they are asked to make a choice that is not clearly defined in the creation process. Go with your gut, choose who you like. I spent more time in Batman/Joker than anyone else because Gotham is my city of choice. The Tech,Genetics and Magic parts really just effect the vendors you will use in game.

The story is interesting and the characters you run into are a fans wet dream. Within moments of signing up with the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill!), I was talking to Catwoman and Two Face. My big boss battle was with Huntress (Catwoman fighting by my side). The flavor of the game is dead on and plays directly into the fans wanting to interact with the people we know from the comics. However traveling through the city (Flying, Acrobatics or Speed are your only choices. I suggest Acrobatics. It’s a lot of fun, but actually plays more like Spiderman than Batman), it feels empty. Unless you are in the middle of a hot zone, there never seems to be much going on in these huge cities. You see a few people on the streets but nothing like what you’d expect in a major city. Not a huge deal but it feels much more like you are playing on an abandoned movie lot than a thriving city.

The real problem here is the combat and game system itself. The first rule of this game is to forget everything you know about MMOs. If you try to compare it to any other MMO you will simply fail. This is not a “Target, Click, Wait” kind of game. It’s much more of an arcade game or an action title. If you played any of the X-men Legends or Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, you will feel right at home. It’s basically those games taken to a single character perspective (instead of a team of four). From punching and kicking to using your powers, this is action game play. If the game had been made into a single player, stand alone game this would be fairly on target. But as a “pay per month” Multiplayer game, it’s very repetitive and dumbed down. Your success in the game has much more to do with your ability to mash a button faster than your opponent than your “power” as a hero or villain. The game does look great it’s just a shame that it doesn’t play as well. Since this is in Beta, there are several voices missing, several missions that don’t work and other small issues, but it’s very easy to see these things being polished off before release. I don’t see the actual game play, costume selection or Power Sets getting an overhaul any time soon and these are where the main problems are.

If anything I could see someone buying it and using the free month to see what there is to see. What I can’t see is paying $15 a month for something that is sub par to many of the other (Free To Play!!) MMOs now flooding the market. If not for the subscription fee, it might be worth it just for the fan service. As it is I can’t see myself paying money for a game that simply doesn’t offer what I want in an MMO. Even with my pre-order, I don’t think I will see the launch of this one.

PSN Premium Members will get an offer to test the PS3 Beta after the first of the year and the PC PreOrders should already be in the game. By the time it releases anyone who was interested in the game should have had a chance to look at it. I don’t think this will be as bad as All Points Bulletin (an MMO that has already closed it’s servers only a few months after launch), but I don’t see it putting much of a dent in City Of Heroes or Champions Online’s memberships. And with Champions going Free To Play next year, if anything I see their numbers growing.

I am a disappointed fan. I love Jim Lee’s work. All the voices I expect these characters to have are in game. I love the universe this thing is set in. But there just isn’t enough actual game here to keep me interested more than a few days. Nice try though.

Visit DC Universe Online

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Beasts of Burden

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Beasts Of Burden – Animal Rites
Evan Dorkin
Jill Thompson
Jason Arthur and Jill Thompson lettering
Dark Horse
$19.99 HC

On one of my recent trips to my library I was looking through the new books section — creature of habit and all that — when I turned around from browsing cookbooks to find a copy of Beasts Of Burden practically in front of me. I’m familiar to a degree with Dorkin’s and Thompson’s work separatetly, and had seen the mini series solicited in Previews. Despite my love for dogs and cats I don’t have any furry companions, and in my mind I’d reduced the Beasts story to a comic filled with cutesy animals without having taken a look. My presumption was wrong as looking at Thompson’s art while leafing through it in the library drew me in with its lush colors. The only thing I’d lose was a little time reading it if I didn’t like the story.

My pre-conceptions quickly proved unfounded once I started reading “Stray”, the first story in which the gang of regulars (Pugsley, Whitey, Ace, Rex, Jack) conduct a ritual to summon a wise dog to help them rid Jack’s doghouse of a canine ghost. That’s the other thing about Beasts. There’s a supernatural grounding to the stories which would’ve been another obstacle had I known about it beforehand. Dorkin and Thompson give it all a fresh slant because everything is from the animals’ points of view. On the writer side, Dorkin makes the animals’ world interesting by creating phrases (You’re both eating out of the same bowl) and cultural rites (burying a stray dog killed on the road complete with a prayer of sorts). Thompson’s consummate at making all the individual personalities shine through and both creators skillfully balance the different emotions at play throughout the stories. The coloring, as I said, is lush. Thompson having fully painted it with watercolors, giving it a lively sense and a very different feel from Photoshop coloring. Not to disparage work done that way, but something different and “old Fashioned” can be really beautiful.

And about “Burden” in the title…. Burden is the name of the fictional town where the animals live, not a reference to them being used for labor. I wondered about it myself.

Of particular note is the binding itself. Here, as with other Dark Horse hardcovers I own, the pages are sewn together before being attached to the covers. This may seem an irrelevant point, but it isn’t. Books with sewn bindings will stand up better to wear and tear to last longer and pages lay flat on a surface so you won’t have to hold the book open. Less tangibly, it also means the publisher cares about the product.

Instead of feeling like I’d wasted time reading Beasts, I found myself really engaged in the stories and felt a little let down once the book was finished. Space in my book cases is very limited right now (nothing new comes in without something going out to make room) but I’ll put this one on my wish list while keeping an eye out for future mini series.

Amazon sells this book for $13.59 though it seems to be on back order or check out some preview pages first. Please also consider supporting your local comics shop or independent bookstore. If money and space are tight, see if your library has it or can get it for you through inter-library loan.

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Architect Schmarchitect

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Yesterday Marvel’s C.B. Cebulski sent a press release hyping five of its writers (Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, and Jason Aaron), referring to the quintet as “Marvel’s Architects” laying the groundwork with “upcoming top secret” projects, events, or new series for the company’s properties in 2011. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Except the release has nothing of substance, and really, hasn’t the Marvel Universe been in a state of flux for a number of years already? As far as I’m concerned singling talent out like this just helps to further entrench the “celebrity mindset” in comics. They may be great writers, but I see the list as five reasons why Marvel comics are priced at $3.99.

As the rest of Marvel’s writers, well, maybe one day your writing will be considered important enough to merit becoming an “Architect”. Until then, maybe you’re just an Amish barn-raiser. That’s no insult either! Those Amish men can build a barn like nobody else in record time, and they do it out of a sense of community.

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Elemental Micah

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

Elemental Micah

Michael Georgiou

The titular character of Elemental Micah is Micah Sampson, a mostly self-effacing, young guy all of 17. Aside from the self-doubting nature, Georgiou should be noted for making Micah unlike other gay leads of late. He’s not a heroic nelly a la Brian Andersen’s Psyche in So Super Duper, nor is he of the uber masculine or prepossessing bear tropes. He’s a bit of a socially inept geek minus any of the usual geek interestests, a little overweight (which for some gay men might as well be morbidly obese) with average looks, a broken nose (and a story to go along with it), and an unruly mop of hair with no discernible trace of a fabulous fashion sense. In other words, Micah’s pretty much your average Joe, well, bloke, as the story setting is London.

The story begins the morning of Micah’s last day working in a store grocery department (or the tin department if you’re British). He’s trying to come up with excuses not to go in when his best (girl) friend Dana catches him in a bit of an embarrassing situation. Ever supportive, if not a bit clingy – and Georgiou gives a reason for this in the second issue – Dana reminds Micah it’d be his last chance to ask the sexy Simon for a date – something he’s wanted to do but not had the nerve. Alas, it seems fated not to happen as Simon (nicknamed Captain Birdseye, an advertising figure associated with Birdseye frozen fish the way Aunt Jemima is with pancakes here) has taken his younger brother to the airport. Much to Micah’s chagrin, Simon does arrive at work and we can see he’s everything Micah isn’t:  lean, lanky, long haired, self-confident, and a huge flirt. So much so that he hardly bats an eye when maneuvering an invitation for dinner chez Micah.

Strange incidents involving wind throughout the day serve to foreshadow bizarre and powerful events stemming from Micah as Simon teases and rocks Micah’s world, after Dana’s been shuffled off stage so she can prepare for her own sordid adventure mixing up flowers, hairspray, and a fork. If puberty is the catalyst for an otherwise normal appearing kid to develop mutant powers, but what if the catalyst is sex, or even the anticipation of sex with someone you desire? Georgiou answers that question, and it has both unforeseen consequences on personal and epic scales. Those personal outcomes explored in issue #3 were rather unexpected, especially what a traumatized person with fledgling powers might turn to when tragedy happens. It certainly wasn’t the “buck up” speech often recited by Superman or Captain America.

Georgiou’s strongest points here are his characters and ideas. Micah with his physical imperfections and insecurities are traits with which many of us can relate. Certainly at least I did at the age of 17, being thin, with big ears, and thick, horn rimmed glasses, and truth be told, sometimes still do, but let me not digress more. His naivete and dreams are sweet and refreshing. Simon has another layer behind the charm he so easily knocked over Micah with, and it isn’t so honorable. Despite this selfishness and a somewhat related act with tragic consequences that’s revealed in issue #3 I like him. There ought to be plenty of ideas to explore in the tension between Micah’s and Simon’s personalities and attitudes to make for interesting reading. How does Simon learn from Micah that a little humility can be good and Micah more self-confidence without becoming “Dark Micah”? Then there’s quintessential best pal Dana who encourages and consoles poor Micah. She’s also had a troubled relationship, as revealed in a subplot in the middle issue. And she’s quick to improvise tableware for alternate uses. She may be a good cheerleader, but I also get the feeling she’s a bit clingy and dependant on the boy. I wonder if some of the bits of these characters are based on real events.

The first issue is told in a very linear fashion with some experimentation taking place in the two following issues. The story of Micah is very much told in the story’s here and now, with the exception of a couple brief mentions about Nathan O’Collory whom Micah knew when he was 11. The incident was a formative one for Micah and I think not expanding on it if only for a few panels is a missed opportunity.

As noted by François Peneaud in his Elemental Micah review, Georgio’s art is less accomplished than the writing here. I tend to agree but hardly think this is an issue to prevent enjoyment. Unless the reader is a die-hard mainstream superhero fan who insists on George Perez style realism. This type of reader, or at least some of the ones with whom I’m familiar are upset when a comic is done in B & W. The sensibilities here in art and writing seem to me a hybrid of superheroes and slice of life and as such are going to appeal more to indy comics an zine readers. Strangely though, there was a noticeable difference in looking at the review PDF copies on two different monitor displays, much nicer when viewed on a borrowed new laptop compared to my newish flat screen monitor. As commercial printers typically have the best of all things, print copies should have the nicer quality I saw using the laptop.

Explore Elemental Micah more at the Elemental Micah site or purchase the comics from Indy Planet.

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Batwoman – The Zero Issue

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Review by Joe Palmer

J H Williams III artist & writer
W Haden Blackman co-writer
Amy Reeder artist
Richard Friend inker on Reeder’s sequence

Last Wednesday (thank you, holidays and recovery from same for the delay!) saw the release of this special issue, a primer of sorts for anyone who’d not read any of the previous stories in Detective or 52. For those of us who have and wanted more this comic is more like assurance that DC thinks that Batwoman, a character with a troubled history, is good…enough.

All seemed well with Batwoman when Rucka and J H Williams III began telling her stories in Detective’s main spot; the Big Bat having remained firmly in place since #27 oh so many decades ago. Then came a huge WTF moment when Rucka announced his departure to work on his own personal projects. Stumptown (to be collected as a trade in February 2011) is damned good in its own right, as well as a hint, at least for me, of what Renee Montoya could be like if the decision to mold her into The Question hadn’t happened. The series hastened to an early ending with the aid Jock, a good artist in his right. Word of the character’s continuation surfaced, now in her own title with Williams and W Haden Blackman as co-writer and Amy Reeder as alternating artist. Of these three it’s with Blackman’s work that I’ve no familiarity, so I’d little idea what to expect. On the other hand, Reeder’s art on Madame Xanadu (alas, now canceled!) has proven to be quite enjoyable though how her style would mesh with superhero storytelling was a question I pondered. Pish, as the Brits say. Based on her work here it shouldn’t have been a concern at all and I look forward to her solo arcs.

The story’s plot is standard, and it works well enough as the intent for this issue is partly a jumping on point for newbies. Batman, the scowly Bruce one who’s now returned to present-day Gotham from his time jaunts, surveils Kate Kane and Batwoman to prove that they’re one and the same. Now that Bat-Bruce is back he has to indulge his control issues and understand this new player as much as possible. While Bats looks on one part of the story shows Batwoman whaling on Sister Shard, she of the kooky Cult of Crime, and her henchmen as they steal away a sarcophagus, no doubt for sinister reasons. The other part, which is drawn by Reeder, has Batman mostly observing but also interacting in disguises with non-costumed Kate. This sequence includes Bat Bruce in disguise shadowing Kate into a club as she dances (and picks up a woman) and Bats ignoring the attentions of a male bartender. Williams’ art is the same level here as he delivered with previous installments. In a word, it’s amazing. Compare this work not with his Promethea or even Chase, but with the not so well known Deathwish mini series from 1990s Milestone to get a full appreciation of how he’s dedicated himself to his art.

If having a quibble is necessary then I suppose it would be that the titular character herself is not given one word of dialog in the entire issue. Certainly no one else is either, but Batman is the narrator, as well as the guardian and authority figure who gives and withholds approval. I just think this choice might have been more effective if it’d been punctuated with a single line or even a word of dialog from Batwoman to pierce Batman’s self-perceptions.

The question of Batwoman’s relevance within the Bat-verse was recently posed in the GLA forum. The character’s sexuality was mentioned as the determining factor. Perhaps it’s true. But if it’s true now, it is certainly also true that this was the main reason for her creation as a love interest for Batman  just a short two years after Wertham’s “Batman and Robin are homosexuals” accusations that in part led to the Comics Code Authority. In that beginning she was simply a gimmick, although one that with charm and camp/ kitsch appeal, and it wasn’t until her revival in the 70s that she took on another purpose. Robin as well as other teen sidekicks were gimmicks when they were first introduced back in the early 40s. The perception (or reality) that Nightwing, Robin, Oracle or Batgirl, etc. are relevant occurred with the progression of stories. None of this is to say that I think this Batwoman is gimmick-free, whether it be in conception, presentation, execution, or simply individual reader perception. The New York Times piece that labeled her a “lipstick lesbian” was certainly a gimmick, but DC was hardly responsible for that. And thankfully Williams tossed out the original high heeled boots for something more…um… sensible.

Setting aside the money making factor, the true purpose of any character in any medium is to be able to tell a story through which one hopes others will be able to identify with in some fashion. And if for now Batwoman’s stories personify or reflect some real world elements in a four color fictional fantasy that I’m content.

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