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Blue Comet & Fusion: Titania Strikes!

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Chayne Avery
Russell Garcia
$4.99 (32 pages) POD/IndyPlanet
$3.99 Ebook/Lulu
Review by Joe Palmer

When last we saw our boys Blue Comet and Fusion they were teasing us midway through an adventure that promised to pit them against Titania. This was a followup to Russell Garcia and Chayne Avery’s collected web comic Boy Meets Hero. The boys are back (all four of them!) to finish the adventure interruptus. There are teases a-plenty before delivering the climactic scene!

Actually, this issue is a double celebration. First off, it’s Derek’s and Justin’s first anniversary as a couple. They’re taking a walk after having a romantic dinner out to celebrate when , right on cue, they’re called to a mission. It’s the boys’ first official adventure together as WHO agents since Justin’s latent and formerly unknown power manifested after being captured by a giant robot and used as a pawn, and Justin is more than eager. That they’re going up a 50 foot tall giant named Titania with pheromone powers doesn’t dampen his spirit though he isn’t thrilled to learn that the equal opportunity crankypants Zap-Man will partner with them under Sunstar’s leadership. It’s up to the boys and Sunstar to stop Titania and the hetero heroes in her thrall from destroying WHO headquarters and Golden Bay City. Yes, the plot is boilerplate, and may I suggest something by Morrison or Bendis if you want obfuscation and decompression? There are still heroics and danger a-plenty and a couple surprises like Sunstar forcing herself to do something to turn the fight in their favor We also get a peek at another WHO agent who just may be lesbian since she falls under Titania’s spell. Derek and Justin’s first mission together ends well and so does their evening back in the bedroom. Just like it should.

Tone wise, Garcia and Avery maintain the sweet, sexy, playfulness of Derek and Justin, in and out of costumes and clothes, for that matter, as well as what I think is a Silver Age sensibility through a gay tinted filter. Cops and waiters and superheroes can be gay and all is still good with the world. Which is not to say that their fictional world isn’t without its haters (see Zap-Man and now Jet Scream, who gets a comeuppance) and issues, but they keep things upbeat by having the characters deal with any adversity in a relatively direct and angst free way. Team work and good ol’ fashioned effort will win the day.No brooding allowed here! Colors are bright and complement Avery’s art style. Kudos on the — ahem — packaging! Everything Garcia and Avery do comes together so well that the finished piece looks seamless. Simply put, I love Boy Meets Hero because Avery and Garcia’s enthusiasm and love for their work is clear on every page.

Where do you go from here to satisfy your curiosity? How about the Boy Meets Hero website! Or buy the Ebook version from Lulu or a print copy at IndyPlanet.

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Elemental Micah #4

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Michael Georgiou

$2.99 from IndyPlanet
UK Residents see below

The last we saw of 17 year old Micah Sampson he’d discovered the guy of his dreams had spent some time literally up a tree and our lovelorn hero had begun to learn how to control his powers. He learns that there are limitations after turning his powers inward in an effort to heal his eyes. Georgiou leaves Micah and the reader in a cliffhanger ending with apparently terrible consequences. Issue four begins by recounting an incident in a series of tense and fear frought sequences involving covert ops that adversely affects the Sampson family, especially young Micah, as is shockingly revealed by his father, making for an equally gripping “Oh no! What’s next?” ending.  So much happens in this issue that I want to overlook that there is nary a mention of Micah’s literally bloody predicament from the previous installment. Georgiou cuts the story between events. The covert ops sequences take place ten years in the past and reveal Kevin, Micah’s adoptive father, to be an interogater well trained in torture techniques and he’s quite willing to use them in the service of his country. These scenes are quite gruesome, and Kevin might easily be viewed as a monster, however necessary a monster might be for national security, if it weren’t for the scenes in which a vulnerable, caring, and compassionate man are revealed.

The other half of this issue occurs in Micah’s present day. Georgiou certainly doesn’t go easy on Micah, as he puts him through an emotional wringer and squeezes just a little bit harder, almost as if with a bit of glee. Initially Micah shows a sense of compassion for Simon, whose formerly broken legs, now healed by one of Micah’s powers, are still stiffly encrusted in casts as he and Dana haul him wheelchair bound up a flight of stairs. It’s meant to be an awkward scene, and it gives best friend Dana a chance to smart off. Otherwise she’s her usual chipper, supportive, and gently chiding self. Well, mostly except for the end. I’ll get to that. That concern Micah displays quickly changes after Simon unintentionally outs Micah to his Aunt Sal, another member of his chosen family. Simon might be forgiven for this indiscretion considering he’s awestruck by Aunt Sal, a woman known to the rest of the world as Babs Sinner, burlesque dancer extraordinaire. As we might imagine her social circles to be a bit more diverse than the matron who reguarly hosts the vicar to dinner, Sal is hardly shocked and proves rather supportive by encouraging full parental disclosure, playing an ill at ease Micah off his nearly giddy father. You’d think he’d be relieved, but remember what I wrote about squeezing the character in an emotional wringer. Micah’s anger toward Simon turns to disappointment as he starts to realize the disparity between his perception of Simon as an object of romance and lust and the reality of Simon and his emotional baggage. It’s a poignant scene done with close ups of torsos and arms till the panels showing them part ways. But we’re not done. Despite good intentions of a fatherly tete a tete, Kevin pushes his emotionally fragile son off the figurative cliff. Most moody teens shout or sulk. Micah pounds his fists on the hood of his car and dear dad gets a face full of the whirlind Micah unleashed at the series beginning and can’t make disappear. There must be a metaphor between Micah’s feeling overwhelmed by his feelings, emotional baggage, and a car trunk. But we’ve all had to learn to deal with our emotions so as not to have tantrums, and that’s what Micah begins to do with coaching help from dear ol’ dad. The story could end in some bit of congratulatory mumbo jumbo. Instead Kevin is unknowingly observed doing something odd to his son, something that should set a good portion of the cast in an uproar.

Georgiou greatly expands the scope of Elemental Micah by recounting incidents from Kevin’s semi secretive interrogation backstory. He does a good job balancing the spy world and the slice of life feel ambience as Micah goes about everyday life while trying to deal with newly found powers. A good deal of Micah’s charm comes from this grounding in the mundane world. Being in charge of every aspect of making a comic isn’t an easy task and I both admire and envy anyone who does it, as I’ve my own secret aspirations. It’s also one thing to do a one off story and another to do a series. Having said that, Georgiou might consider enlisting a little help in maintaining a bit more internal story consistency. For example, I re-read issue 3 to refresh my memory before immediately reading the current one. Two lines of dialog between Micah and Dina on page 28 in #3 refer to Simon and Aunt Sal having met off panel. This contradicts the scene in issue 4. Micah’s bleeding incident at the end of #3 will be another inconsistent point if it isn’t addressed soon.

LGBT characters have progessed quite a lot in mainstream comics in the past two plus decades, at least in quantity if not quality which depends on one’s subjectivity. Villainous characters aside, one can argue that gay and lesbian characters display some trait of idealized beauty. Georgiou’s Micah may be the first character which isn’t idealized and even if he isn’t, Georgiou should be applauded for the choice to give Micah a broken nose, wild hair, thick glasses, a chubby belly, and awkward stance. If this were an American comic there might be emphasis on figuring out which niche he fits into within the gay world rather than discovering and figuring out himself.

On the art side, Georgiou’s lines seem more confident. The flashback scenes of Micah’s father as Agent Sampson have a feeling of grime and dirt, as well they shoud. Present day scenes stand out in marked constrast as clean, open and have a sense of light even at the darket moment of Kevin’s unnerving revelation.

Visit the Elemental Micah wesbite. UK readers can purchase directly from Georgiou.

Elemental Micah at Indy Planet for US readers or buy a copy for your Kindle.

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Late Thoughts On Teen Titan Bunker

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Bunker recently debuted in Teen Titans #3. You heard about him already — the  gay teen who’ll join the ranks of this incarnation of DC’s post relaunch super powered teens. If you want to be technical there was a two panel, non-speaking cameo and cover appearance in issue #1. That is if you want to be technical or a completist, but you shouldn’t be. I had hoped there might be a little teaser about Miguel Jose Barragan, our new little, flamboyant mijo who comes from a supportive family and an equally supportive town. There wasn’t. But wait, you say! Doesn’t that fly in the face of Latin machismo? That’s what I thought until remembering that I read an article in the Advocate about a place in Mexico where men expressing non-heterosexual gender roles are accepted and even celebrated. The article is lost to me now, but it may have focused on the muxe of Zapoteca culture in Oaxaca state. The Wikipedia article defines a muxe as “a physically male individual who dresses and behaves in a feminine manner; they may be seen as a third gender”. A vestida is a muxe who wears female clothing and a pintada is one who wears male clothing and make up, but I’m starting to digress. Muxe are interesting in their own right though muxe is not an across the board equivalent of gay though as we think of it. I mention them simply to note that there is at least one contemporary exception (it wasn’t unheard of for pre-Conquest Native cultures to have third and fourth genders) to what can often be the typical reaction Mexican gays likely experience. Not to be forgotten is a movement toward government recognition of same sex unions. So it isn’t completely improbable for a fictional gay teen to come from a supportive though equally fictional Mexican village. I doubt muxe were a source of inspiration for Lobdell when creating Bunker and it’s just as well because the complexity of their cultural role in Zapoteca society would be, to put it nicely, badly mistranslated in mainstream, superhero comics.

The creative decision to make Miguel happy, proud, and grounded by love and acceptance is a welcome one. LGBT teens especially need positive images, but Miguel is not Kevin Keller which is good, because despite his squeaky clean life Keller’s character shouldn’t be seen as the epitome of gay teens. So far Lobdell and artist Brett Booth have shown us a happy, eager Miguel, if not a little naive or downright unaware of Red Robin coming under the influence of the villain du jour. Being 53 I readily admit that I’ve little idea what makes for a flamboyant gay teen either from the US or Mexico or anywhere for that matter. That said, I think it may involve more than Miguel’s choice in clothes so far. A blue shirt, thin tie, purple sweatervest, John Lennon style sunglasses, in my humble opinion, a pair of shoes that seem to me more ugly than flamboyant,  and gray – are they grey or purple? – pants? But then we get a wide stance butt shot of Miguel in those tight pants so I feel a bit like a dirty old man thinking it’s about time we get more gratuitous crotch and butt shots. Of course, language is another way to convey flamboyance. The way Miguel talks seems pretty average to me. The flashiest comment he makes is: “Look at me! You think something this exquisite – this perfect – happened by chance? A Miguel Jose Barragan is anything but an accident.” But then I shouldn’t overlook his costume, a purple and red number with shoulder pads, and a mask that covers half his face. Brett Booth needs to redesign girlfriend’s costume because ugly is the word that comes to mind. And if it isn’t changed soon, then I suggest removing the mask or replacing it with one that’s domino style. Having an out and proud teen superhero sporting a half face mask seems questionable to me. Just a thought.

Those are all my thoughts for now though. As far as first appearances go, Miguel is a bit jejune after all the build up. Jejune sounds so much nicer than saying flat or bland. Thankfully a long overdue gay teen is part of this team concept though I hope and expect Lobdell and Booth to build on what little they’ve given in this initial appearance.

And please, Mr Lobdell, don’t have the other members start calling him “Miggs” like you have in some interviews. It just sounds wrong!

The first of three video pieces about the muxe, Mexico’s third gender, can be watched on CNN here.

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Batwoman #1 & #2

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

J H Williams III and W Haden Blackman
Dave Stewart
Todd Klein
DC $2.99

Review by Joe Palmer

The new Batwoman series picks up nearly where it left off at the conclusion of the Detective run. Kate has struck out on her own after being led to believe that the twisted Black Alice is her twin sister whom she’d been told had been killed in a terrorist incident. With Black Alice now presumably dead after a dramatic fight, Batwoman now operates without the aid of her father, the retired Colonel, though she’s putting cousin Bette, the formerly colorfully clad Flamebird,through  rigorous sidekick training.

A new threat has come to Gotham, La Llorona or the Weeping Woman. A tall, thin, and beautiful appearance hides her gruesome means of either abducting or drowning children. Detective Maggie Sawyer and the GCPD and Batwoman are on a collision course in their efforts to stop this new threat that is targeting only Latino children. After all, La Llorona is a real Latino legend told to children as a way to make them behave. Not only are Sawyer and Batwoman set to crash, Agent Cameron Chase from the Department of Extranormal Operations has been tasked to learn who Batwoman is and to bring her in. While Colonel Kane is implicated for his coverup of the incident surrounding Black Alice’s death, Chase suspects sawyer to be Gotham’s newest hero. Meanwhile, Kate and an off duty Maggie have their much anticipated first date. Chase and fellow DEO agents are already on the scene of a gruesome gang ambush involving were-creatures connected to a Religion of Crime sect when Sawyer arrives just to have  Chase get all jurisdictional on her. A top a roof, Batwoman observes and smiles at Sawyer, turns down Batman’s offer to join Batman Inc and follows a lead on La Llorona and unwittingly sets herself up for an ambush.

There’s your synopsis. Now for my belated thoughts that you’ve all been waiting to find out!

For a change of pace in comics storytelling, Williams and Blackman make all of the central story characters women: Batwoman/ Kate, Flamebird/ Bette, Sawyer, Chase, and La Llorona, are women. Commissioner Gordon, Batman, DEO Director Mr Bones, and now the Colonel are all secondary. All four women embody the hero, but they come to it from different viewpoints. Batwoman is the outsider as a vigilante who rejects working under Batman, as well as for her once media-hyped sexuality. Batwoman is also acting as a hard nosed mentor and trainer, transmitting her knowledge and military skills to cousin Bette. Whether in or out of costume, which is now quite the opposite of her red and yellow bright as a target palette, Bette is the negotiator and peacemaker. That is unless Kate successfully grinds the humor and empathy out of her or will Kate pay enough attention to Batman’s warning about the sidekick mortality rate to avoid figuratively killing Bette through her spirit? Sawyer upholds the straight and narrow path and the end justifies the means for hard as nails Chase. In the Greg Rucka penned arc in which Black Alice was featured Alice acted as a very twisted shadow self, whether she is indeed Kate’s lost twin or an unrelated woman is less relevant. As for La Llorona, the folktale sources I read indicated that she was a vain woman, spurned by a lover whom she married and sacrificed her own children in a fit of jealousy once she realized her philandering husband cared only for them. How Williams and Blackman interpret any of the folkloric elements into their version will be intriguing, that is, if they do. Hopefully they’ll not descend to obvious clichés about scorned women. After all, this is a book that has looked and should continue to look at things with a skewed eye.

Greg Rucka worked to establish the Religion of Crime and its holy book, the Crime Bible, as a central component to distinguish both Batwoman and former girlfriend Renée Montoya turned masked hero Question from the rest of the Batman related characters since the 52 series of five years ago now. As super hero comics go, they’re not the worst names, but they’ve always annoyed me. The crime sect seems to have taken a back seat for now with only the ambushed dead appearing as a means to to play off Sawyer and Chase. Iwon’t break into tears if the sect recedes more into the background while Williams and Blackman and the onboard Amy Reeder explore and establish other aspects of Kate/ Batwoman and a supporting cast.

Speaking of Renée, the character has survived into the post DCNu, but you knew that already. There is a panel in the first issue scene with Kate waiting to speak to Maggie at her precinct that shows Kate and the background in black and white while a photo of Renee in police uniform is in color. My initial reaction to this was that Renée had died, and merely seeing her photo had drained all color from Kate and the world at that moment. In another panel in issue two Renee as the Question appears with other Batman (presumably Batman Inc) associated characters as an artistic device. In my mind I’d love to see Renee make amends with former girlfriend Dee. Can you tell I have a soft spot for how the two were portrayed before Rucka started her on the anger and alcohol fueled deconstruction that led to the transformation into the Question? Yes, I do.

And that’s as good a segue as I can come up with to the date scene with Kate and Maggie. In the past five years we’ve had glimpses of Kate’s relationships that came after her and Reneé’s breakup. Was one woman named Mallory and another Anna? Rucka must have had reasons for thinking Kate and Maggie could make an interesting pair back when he wrote the pair flirting at one point in the Detective run. The idea of a relationship between the two struck me as full of possibilities though I read one critical comment that it wasn’t very creative to put Gotham’s two most prominent lesbians together when there must be plenty of other women in Gotham for either to date. It’s true, and introducing another woman into Kate’s life could make for interesting situations. However, Williams and Blackman seem to have lots to explore with the two. Kate seems attracted to strong women, and there’s little doubt about Maggie being a strong woman. Thankfully, drawing her smoking cigars (thank you, John Byrne) was abandoned long ago. Kate also seems silly and romantic with Maggie, whose own interest is piqued. Just how Maggie will react should she ever learn that Kate is Batwoman is the fertile ground I think and hope Williams and Blackman will cover.

What can be said about the art?  Williams first came to my attention when he drew the art for Milestone’s Death Wish mini series. His art wasn’t bad at the time though his layouts were very much tied to the conventional formats. Williams continues to challenge and raise the bar for himself with his compositions and he’s clearly having fun doing it. Each page is a visual delight and I’ve found myself looking at some pages over and over and being intrigued by the details each time. How many artists would take a minute to differentiate girl’s fingers by drawing stickers on each nail? That the girl is one of La Llorona’s victims makes this simple detail all the more poignant. The book would be stylish on its own with the art reproduced in black and white. Thankfully, Dave Stewart’s considerable talents and skills as a color artist complete the sublime visual feast. One minor note that I may be wrong about, and isn’t a detraction. In these two issues Kate’s skin tone seems to be as pale as when she is in uniform. I’ll have to look through the Detective stories to see if my perception of Kate not being colored as equally pale is accurate. If not, it may be simple stylistic change rather than some subtle clue about Kate’s mental and emotional states. It almost certainly isn’t a coloring mistake. Todd Klein brings his always consummate lettering expertise to finish the package. This trio are at the top of their respective games and even if the quality and creativity plateau here, it will be difficult for this reviewer not to be redundant in commenting. Will descriptives like inventive, striking, atmospheric, and gold standard become synonymous with Williams and Stewart?

Batwoman’s had a problematic history since her reimagination in 2006. Devin Grayson was given the character to research and flesh out and then indirectly dismissed from the project, and the character seemed abandoned till given to Greg Rucka who shepherded Kate through a run in Detective before leaving. Then the series promised for a February release was inexplicably pushed back to September. Now things seem to be off to a promising start again and I’ll be excitedly anticipating it every month.

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Stormwatch #1 & 2

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Paul Cornell
Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrionuevo
Allen Passalaqua (#1) and Alex  Sinclair (#2) – Colorists
DC $2.99

Review by Joe Palmer

A little over a year ago when news broke about Wildstomr being shut down I was ambivalent. It was clear that no one knew how to write or what to do with staple titles like The Authority, Gen 13, and Wildcats. And the prospect of Apollo and Midnighter shuffling off into LGBT character limbo didn’t make me happy either, even if they’d been so badly written in the past few years that they didn’t create the same excitement as they did when I first encountered them. Head honchos Didio and Lee said characters from some of the books would be seen again but how many times have you heard a publisher or editor say that? Exactly.

“I’ll be damned!” was my thought after learning that they were being honest this time. So Apollo and Midnighter and other former Authority members are back, but not under the Authority name, and that may be for the better. If comic book characters need to rest after becoming radioactive (was it Busiek who said that?) then so can a title. But is the book any good? I’ll give you an enthusiastic yes, and here’s why.

There’s a mix of old and new characters. Gone for now at least from Authority’s original roster is Swift. The most obvious addition is Martian Manhunter, who we learn has connections still to the Justice League, only not as a founding member. “…when [he] needs to be a warrior [he] does it with Stormwatch.” Then we have Adam 1, who was ancient at the dawn of time and is aging backwards, retaining all his memories which can sometimes create flashbacks that alter his perception of time. The Projectionist is a woman with the ability to manipulate media and therefore can affect people’s actions such as leading the Justice League International to think a D list villain is responsible for the latest threat Stormwatch faces. This capability potentially sets up Stormwatch as very powerful group in its own right. Cornell sets up a mystery involving the Martian Manhunter when he lets us know the Projectionist also maintains Stormwatch’s cover from the JLA. Just how did J’onn discover Stormwatch and why did he decide to keep this knowledge from his other team? The Projectionist seems to share a penchant for drugs the red-haired Doctor from The Authority. Or maybe she uses them in a way to disconnect herself as I recall the Doctor did. Rounding out the new characters is Harry Tanner, the Eminence of Blades,or as the Engineer states: the “greatest swordsman in history” and “the Prince of Lies” because his greatest power is that of misdirection. Cornell doesn’t just tell us this. He shows it in a pivotal scene that I’ll touch on in a bit.

Cornell keeps the interest up by switching the action and intrigue between two simultaneous events, one literally on street level in the dark Moscow alleys as several members track down the elusive and reluctant Apollo to persuade him to join Stormwatch, while the other cuts back and forth between most of the other members on the Eye of the Storm headquarters floating in hyperspace monitoring troubling activity on the moon where Tanner has teleported to check things out first hand. As efforts by Hawksmoor, Projectionist, and J’onn to recruit Apollo stall, thanks in part to the unexpected appeareance of the Midnighter (who manages to deck the Martian Manhunter, a bit like Batman getting a jab in at Superman), Engineer and Jennie transport to the lunar surface because Tanner has disappeared. He’s actually fallen through the surface and has been having a little tête à tête with the self-described “scourge of worlds”, a giant sort of sentient non-green Emerald Eye, whose mission is to make the world stronger through devastation. It decides to make Tanner its host body, but Tanner has his own self-serving agenda that motivates him to ambush the entity. Remember, his greatest power is misdirection, and while Cornell makes this an obvious example I began to wonder if he’s setting up a future story line by creating friction between the Engineer and Adam 1. And so what that Tanner’s actions set off the first wave of meteorites smashing into earth that the cosmic entity had ready for its own course of devastation? That’s what Stormwatch on the ground has to deal with! But are Jack Hawksmoor, the Projectionist, J’onn, and Adam 1 up to the threat? And will Apollo help? And what is Midnighter going to do? Will he meet his match with a telepathic Martian?

Other questions are left to be answered in future issues. What connections does Cornell’s other book, Demon Knights, have with the centuries old Stormwatch? Now that he’s found “the one partner [he] wants to work with”, how will Midnighter react if Apollo joins Stormwatch?  After having the pleasure of all too briefly talking with Cornell after Andy Mangels’ Gays in Comics panel I believe he’s committed to showing their relationship begin and grow, but how will it play out? Will there be a confrontation between Adam 1 and the Engineer for control of Stormwatch? Or is it a red herring? And do Midnighter’s spiked shoulder pads a bitover the top or just a cover for the fact that he’s really just a huggable bear under that armor?

Miguel Sepulveda and Al Barrionuevo bring their drawing skills to Cornell’s scripts and and what incredible work they bring! Mongolian Death Worm faux pas aside, mind. Parts of Sepulveda’s work in issue #1 look a little rushed while the outer space scenes in both parts is gorgeous. Barrionuevo worked on some issues of the last Authority volume and I found his work very exciting then as I do now with his earth-side scenes. With a few exceptions, most of the panel layouts subtly contribute to the wide format thanks to a horizontal configuration. For the most part the characters look integrated into settings and backgrounds. The one exception to my eye is the opening Moscow sequence in which the figures seem somewhat disconnected from the alley location. Both Passalaqua and Sinclair are integral to completing the cinematic feeling with their skillful special effects coloring.

Over a decade ago Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch made The Authority exciting by creating an action packed wide screen feeling on the printed page. They left to be replaced by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, and so on and so on until the characters became…what? Nearly regrettable I think. But the past is past – not that I want to slight Ellis and Hitch. Cornell and artist Miguel Sepulveda along with Al Barrionuevo are creating their own summer blockbuster ambience here and it’s starting to feel good again!

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Wonder Woman #1

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Brian Azzarello
Cliff Chiang
DC $2.99

Review by Joe Palmer

I avoid Wonder Woman. That isn’t true. I try to avoid reading comments about Wonder Woman from fanboys because there’s a good chance they include something about “the true Wonder Woman”, complaints, snark, why isn’t she with Steve Trevor, or plain outrage over almost anything you can imagine. When I want to experience people being upset, however much I believe a person is entitled to opinions as any reviewer is to hers or his  thoughts, like those expressed in Michael “Lethally Blonde” Troy’s review here, I can visit my mother in her retirement complex across town and get a big dose from the women in her building. I understand life is short. Your dog puked on your favorite shoes. Your man done you wrong. You can’t get up or get it up like you used to (or you dread the prospect of this in your future). Your mother doesn’t like your boyfriend and she snipes about him every chance she gets because she just wants you to be happy, which means she wants you to move back home. Someone done effed up your Wonder Woman. Again. “Horrors!” as my high school art teacher, the eccentric and talented Mrs. Wyneken used to say.

Except Wonder Woman isn’t just yours alone.

In a roundabout way that  brings me to the TV series with Lynda Carter. Many Wonder Woman readers watched the show when they were younger. I certainly did, and liked it when it originally aired, but being about 15 at the time I didn’t twirl. A gay boy in hiding could get beat up for that back then. The boxed sets may be prized possessions, a holy book in digitized motion. For all the enjoyment and inspiration that may have come from watching the series, I often wonder if what sometimes seems to me a slavish devotion to Carter’s portrayal of Wonder Woman isn’t a hurdle for contemporary comic book writers to overcome, unknowingly put in their paths. Carter’s Wonder Woman is so shiny, smart, perfect, and perky! Plus she can flirt with Steve Trevor and beat the villain in under an hour! Perfect distillation of an Americanized ideal.

So that’s why the relaunch of Wonder Woman set my nerves on edge. Something always seems to be done wrong, unless it’s involves someone’s favorite phase of Diana. Depowered and sporting a white jump suit complete with token mysterious Asian sidekick? Check! The Twelve Labors of Wonder Woman to be readmitted in the JLA with Ric Estrada’s barely tolerable art? Check! Diana’s days at Taco Whiz? Check! George Perez’s reinterpretation? I’ll give you that because it was damn good, but let’s not overlook the fact that Karen Berger was his editor.

Not that writers, editors, and publishers haven’t failed in small and large ways in portraying the character either. They have and I could list incidents where I think this is true and compare lists for days with other fans. That said, I think Azzarello and Chiang are off to a damned fine start with this issue. Let me clarify that I use “fine” in its original meaning indicating something of high quality, not the slang sense of dismissiveness.

From the first page Azzarello throws the reader into a story filled with mystery, danger, action, and an ominous sense of things about to occur. Gods walk the earth, and unlike previous depictions in Wonder Woman’s history, they are not, for the most part so far, benevolent by nature. Humans and animals are playthings and tools. For Apollo a trio of young and beautiful women become a means of oracular divination, their lives to be discarded at sunrise. Hera beheads a pair of horses in order to create centaurs to do her bidding. In one very particular case in which Azzarello’s story hinges on for now, a woman named Zola is a sexual diversion and vessel for an unborn demi-god. If the baby name sites I checked are correct, “Zola” means lump or mound of earth in Italian. I don’t know if the name any significance though Azzarello could just as easily named her Beth or Jill. Is it any wonder Hera is angry at Zeus for yet another glaring incident of infidelity? She hated Hercules from the moment she discovered the lie about Zeus’s story while breastfeeding the infant. In her eyes she’s perfectly justified in wanting to hunt down and kill this mortal woman and her fetus. And just where is Zeus while all of this goes down? According to the oracles he doesn’t exist yet. But how could he have impregnated Zola in the recent past if he doesn’t exist at the end of the issue? Could he be planning to incarnate as Zola’s child? Or will this child, perhaps springing forth fully grown as some gods did, become a rival to Diana?

Speaking of Diana, there’s a fair amount of discussion (not as much as there has been about Starfire and Catwoman though) about whether showing her sleeping in the nude was for cheap titilation. My take on it is that Diana is an Amazon, a people who, in past iterations, were largely cut off by choice from the rest of the world and other customs and beliefs. The ancient Greeks were a lot more comfortable with the nude body than many cultures are today. Hello! Wrestling in the nude! Sleeping in the nude doesn’t stretch my imagination considering that, even if the idea of Lynda Carter’s version doing so is inconceivable. But that’s conjecture on my part. Chiang  could just as easily have drawn Diana tantalizingly in the panel at bottom left on page 11 instead of having her wrap the sheet around her body after getting out of bed. Unless future scenes prove otherwise, this seems like a non-controversy to me.

On to another topic that seems to get a faction of fans going: the costume. It doesn’t thrill me and at the same time I don’t hate it. If a character is supposed to be an Amazonian warrior then she might wear something more practical instead of a Vogue couture piece as Michael wants to see Diana in. Just my opinion. In  the past I’ve been figuratively slapped down over my opinion of functional costumes, so slap away again if you like. At least these Amazons haven’t cut off a breast as legend has it. Kudos to Chiang and everyone else involved in the decision to cover up Diana compared to how revealing her last costume was often drawn. You don’t want to lose focus  trading blows with Giganta by getting a thong wedgie.

Back to the depictions of the gods here. As mentioned above, these beings aren’t benevolent toward humans. Neither are they depicted as shiny, nicely coiffed, and wearing spotless white and gold chiton’s and eating grapes and figs while looking down from Mount Olympus. The change in direction with the gods reminded me of Karen Armstrong’s book “The Great Transformation” and how people adapted their specific religions over time and because of circumstances. For example, she writes on page 61 of the Greeks:

“But the thirteenth century crisis had shattered the old faith. The Greeks had watched their world collapse, and the trauma had changed them. The Minoan frescoes had been confident and luminous; the men, women, and animals depicted had been expectant and hopeful. There were apparitions of goddesses in flowery meadows, dancing, and joy. But by the ninth century, Greek religion was pessimistic and uncanny, its gods dangerous, cruel and arbitrary.

Or consider this passage about Hera on page 65: “The Greeks were haunted by images of violence and disaster. The Olympians were not merely cruel to human beings; they could also  persecute and maim one another. Hera, wife of Zeus, for example, was so disgusted by her crippled son, Hephaestus, when he was born that she flung him down to earth. A savage, angry deity, she relentlessly hounded the children born of her husband’s illicit amours. She plotted with the Titans to kill Dionysus, son of Zeus by the mortal woman Semele, and eventually made him insane…In Greece it was a lethal battleground, and Hera, goddess of marriage, showed that the most basic relationship could inspire murderous, cruel emotions. Her cult was pervaded by guilt, terror, and profound anxiety.”

They aren’t the deities we’ve seen for the longest time in Wonder Woman, are they? Not that I think Armstrong’s book is mandatory reading for Wonder Woman. I only wanted to show that there is indeed historical precedence for Azzarello’s take on the Greek Pantheon. Chiang captures their brutality and other-worldliness perfectly.

Perez made Diana seem fresh and she’s been assertive and confident ever since in a way that she didn’t seem pre-Crisis. Azzarello does so again in his own way. When his Diana speaks, it’s to the point which makes her seem almost like a talking head in the hands of some previous writers. Not that I didn’t enjoy  many of those stories (excluding John Byrne, king of exposition). Likewise, Chiang visually conveys Diana’s decisiveness, beauty, and physicality. His fight scene with the centaurs has a real, rapid fire sense of motion and danger with Diana hanging by her legs from the neck of one of Hera’s mad horse-men.

True, only one issue is out, but if Azzarello and Chiang keep up this level of excitement and intrigue I think we’ll have a winner.

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Piper

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Formerly known as the Pied Piper and a member of the Flash’s (Barry Allen) Rogue’s Gallery. Hartley Rathaway was born deaf, but his wealthy parents paid for costly medical procedures to ultimately restore his hearing. When he could finally hear, a whole new world was opened up for him – and he became enamored by music and the science of sonics, much to his parents’ chagrin. Bored by other pursuits, Rathaway put on a ridiculous looking costume and decided to become a criminal – just for fun. Ultimately, he retired from crime, and became a trusted friend of Barry Allen’s successor, Wally West. Rathaway “came out” to the usually conservative West, who has surprisingly been very acceptive to his friend’s sexual orientation. Piper now channels his energies into championing gay rights and aiding Central City’s homeless. He has a current boyfriend named James.  James’ current status in regards to Hartley is something I can’t recall.

Piper was one of a cast of recurring characters in the year long, weekly Countdown (later Countdown to Final Crisis) series. He and Trickster had been implicated in the murder of Bart Allen at the time in which he became the Flash after Wally’s disappearance. Others in the Rogues’ Gallery doubted their avowed return to crime, forcing them to prove their loyalty through extortion and subsequent murder of a rich man through some hypnotically induced order on Piper’s part. Appearances were deceiving as Piper discretely made some special allowance to keep the man alive, and Trickster saw through the ruse.

They became an unlikely and reluctant pair on the lam from the Rogues, police, and superheroes and the situation becomes more literal when they’re cuffed together at the wrist after being captured by Deadshot (who’s working for Checkmate) as part of the effort to send all villains off-world. What follows is what seems to me a poorly executed attempt to put Piper and Trickster in a “bro-mantic” light as they continue their efforts to fight and escape various heroes and villains out to get them. Most of Piper’s part in the story is forgettable, as is the case with other events and characters from both reader and publisher viewpoints.

Of the few notable incidents was the story Piper recounts as his few days of survival on the run in the desert becomes dire. Piper began to lose touch with reality after Deadshot killed Trickster, and he was forced to carry and drag the body along until he finally came to the awful realization he had to sever Trickster’s hand from his dead body in order to survive a little longer. The trauma and stress have gotten to Piper and he acts as if Trickster is still alive, and tells how he first realized he is gay while watching a teenaged Rod Lauren play a character in the 1960s cult sci fi movie “The Crawling Hand“. This segues into what Piper mistakes as a portent of a “light at the end of the tunnel” death experience as a Boom Tube opens in the sky above.

Transported by the Boom Tube, Piper finds himself on Apokolips, always a harrowing experience. This time the danger is much worse as the planet and its people are under attack by Brother Eye. In a nutshell (because I don’t plan to re-read this mess of a storyline) Brother Eye is intent on neutralizing inhabitants to take over. Basically, Piper falls into Desaad’s clutches, which has been the sadist’s plan from the start as he apparently discovered and now reveals to Piper that he holds the Anti-Life Equation. One would’ve preferred an explanation of how Hartley became, according to Desaad, a “rare human vessel for the Anti-Life” rather than the simplistic statement that Piper’s abilities were related to his being said instrument.

In any case, while Darkseid and Solomon, the rogue Monitor, continue their grand game of chess with human and meta human players and Apokolips is burning, Desaad shouts at Hartley to play his flute  as the means to defeat the Omac which is threatening their lives. Desaad is blasted by the Omac, hurtling his body away, while Hartley prepares to die, only to surprisingly be taken prisoner. Piper escapes during an attack initiated by a number of the other main heroes, only to fall again into Desaad’s clutches, who forces him to play his flute and “Let the music flow through [him]! Unleash the Anti-Life Equation…” Piper’s making his last stand though and instead causes Desaad’s apparent death by head explosion. Not backing down, Piper’s next tune seems to drive away Brother Eye and then to hasten or be the sole cause for the explosions wracking Apokolips.

Hartley’s fate is a mystery till Countdown’s finale when he finally resurfaces in an alley way on Earth and he’s quite happy to be greeted by a small pack of rats.

He’s next seen in the 3 part Rogues’ Revenge mini series that sported a “Final Crisis” trade dress. The remaining Rogues have decided to retire in the aftermath of Bart (Impulse/ Kid Flash/ Flash #4) Allen at the hands of the rogues’. This plan is soon aborted when they discover a group of new villains are taking their places with the blessing of villain-du-crisis Libra. While these two groups are playing off each other, Hartley is busy lifting old pal James Jesse’s last will and testament. Jesse was the original trickster and had reformed like Hartely. The will was important for the information it contained about the rogues’ tech, safe houses, family members, etc. — everything Hartley would need to take the Rogues down them down and clear both his and Jesse’s names — written in (wait for it!) invisible ink. Piper’s appearance in #2 is even briefer as he simply observes Inertia (the villain ultimately responsible for Bart’s death) and Zoom, the reverse-Flash training and plotting against the Rogues as well.

Zoom and Inertia (now calling himself Kid Zoom) attack the Rogues for their own reasons and Hartley, who’s been hiding, jumps into the fray and uses his super duper tuning fork to create vibrations to immobilize the villains. He begins to take out his anger physically on them and is in turn surprised by a trident spike through his shoulder, courtesy of Libra who wants to punish the Rogues himself for refusing to join his super criminal network. Piper lies bleeding on the ground while all hell breaks loose between the Rogues, Libra, Zoom and Kid Zoom. The younger Zoom as he races like a crazed berserker seems on the verge of defeating them all until Hartley, using the harmonics of his flute, causes him to stand still abruptly, thus providing a perfect target for a five way killing blow dealt by the Rogues. Captain Cold confronts Hartley by calling him an accessory and threatening to spread this info if Piper doesn’t leave the Rogues alone. Piper’s only response is to turn away his face. Cue exit.

Using his uncanny knowledge of sound, Piper has created an array of sonic weapons, including a melodious flute which could enthrall all save the Piper himself with it’s strange notes. He has assisted the Flash (Wally West) on many occasions with various hearing and sound devices, and other technological wonders.

Piper (AKA Hartley Rathway) first appeared in Flash #106 (volume 1) and is revealed to be gay in Flash #53 (volume 2). After reforming himself, Hartley became a social activist and worked for the FBI though he never gave up his equipment or costume.

© and ® DC Comics. All rights reserved.

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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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Queeros

Sunday, October 31st, 2010

Review by Fred Towers

Queeroes: Save the Gay, Save the World
Steve Bereznai
Lethe Press Books
$15 PB $9.99 Kindle

Even though I heard that Lethe Press Books released Queeroes because it was difficult to find in the U.S. under the Canadian publisher, I read and reviewing the Canadian copy. I don’t know if there are any differences in the Lethe version of the book.

I enjoyed this book, but my partner struggled with it. The difference is that I’m a superhero fiend, and he isn’t. He felt that it was too immature and geared toward a much younger audience than him. I found myself as a queer teen in the teen drama. If you’re like me and love anything superhero, especially GLBT superhero, you’ll want this in your collection. If you’re more like my partner and want a gay teen superhero novel with more maturity, you may prefer Hero by Perry Moore. I found the story line fun and exciting. Bereznai uses humor in the characters, the powers, and the plot twists. The villain’s “creations” confused me some, but I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying the story. His power was unique, at least to me.I recommend this book to GLBT teens, superhero fiends like me, and others who can handle the teen drama of being queer, having powers, and still dealing all the other teen crap that goes on.

This review was originally published by Fred Towers at his blog, fredtowers.blogspot.com, and is published here courtesy of the author.

Purchase this book in print or for the Kindle from Amazon or search for other sellers with the ISBN 1590212150.

Explore Lethe Press for more LGBT fiction.

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