Becka Reviews (DC) Comics: Some Stuff What I'm Reading
Some Reviews Of A Sort:
DC Universe Presents: Deadman
I wasn't planning on reading this series, but the first issue was really, really gorgeous, artistically and linguistically. It was an intriguing premise, so I kept with it. The philosophical aspect and the dense prose leveled in the following two issues, but the fourth raised the game. Twenty questions with the Son of the Morning played a little cheesy - a little too cute; all these frustrating nonanswers, and even the fact that was the point didn't entirely circumvent the sense that hanging a lantern on an issue isn't always enough, but the notion that what Rama always wanted was not an answer, but a new question, now there was an idea worth a story.
The problem is, that needs to be one helluva question to offer a satisfying payoff in the final issue. Did it? Well...sort of. Or rather, no, it didn't until I thought about it more, which didn't make me change my mind about its failure, rather it shifted my disappointment to the execution rather than the concept (assuming the concept was indeed what was originally intended, which may not be the case).
The book fails to adequately explain to me why Rama would not be able to conceive of "why me?" as a question of existence. There's something poetic in the fact that the reason Boston lived all these lives was literally the fact that there is no underlying reason in the universe. But the notion that Rama would not realise that a human would find this injustice painful? She's a god, and I strongly feel that slides towards a pat, easy answer. It's a cliche of the genre; a god unable to see the small picture, unable to emotionally connect with the lives of the little people. But Rama doesn't strike me as so utterly unversed in human behaviour, since she manipulates Boston so effortlessly. Further it strikes me as a romantic notion, some idea that humans can stand against a god with bravery or a soul or humility - like I said, a cliche of the genre, Kirk asking what God wants with a Star Ship. In any case it could be argued to be cheesy, but worse, here, I think it goes against the philosophical core of the story. It's a story about there being no inherent point, no core reason. But it's resolved with a cliche that feels very essentialist in terms of what it says about human nature, or the nature of a god.
But as I said, I think the key here is the execution. Because it's also a story about the emotional toll of living in a world with no inherent point to or reason for the things that happen. I think the problem of Rama's forced ignorance can be solved by incorporating her into that story and giving her an emotional stake beyond control and misunderstanding of the human condition.
The key here, which is not directly referenced, and I can only assume and hope was an intended overtone from the writer, is that the emotional reaction - the frustration - is the same for the humans as it is for Rama. Frustration at an inability to understand why these things are happening to them, which Rama does not understand because there is no reason, the universe is random, she knows this. But she does not know why she cannot understand this final question of existence, why she cannot see it, why this aspect of the world continues to confuse her. And that frustration is the same. "A thing is happening in the world, and I cannot see the reasons for it, why?"
There's irony there, but if we make Rama more aware of her own condition, I think the story moves further from its cliche and becomes a more coherent tale of our struggle to understand the universe, on many different levels.
I wish Rama had set Deadman his task out of a more self-aware desire to find this final answer to the question of existence, knowing that it was also hers - if she saw in these people and her inability to understand their predicament, a reflection of her inability to understand her own. That resonates with me more. I suppose the notion that not even a god can always understand their own situation from within it feels less simplistic or cliche than the more overused notion that our salt of the earth wisdom can trump divinity because we deserve the moral victory.
Wonder Woman
So! We are up to issue #5! Honestly I missed Chiang's art in the latest issue a lot. I think the expressiveness of his faces adds so much to a minimalist style like Azzarello's, they're a really great match for a creative team.
But to talk briefly about the series itself, you know what? I've thought about it a lot. I understand why they changed her origin. I understand the good things that can come out of it. I think that there are a lot of fair things that can be said about how female characters get their origins and powers and statuses changed more often and more permanently than male characters, but I also think that on a narrative level, since the biggest shift here will be in the clarification of her supporting cast, it's possible to see it on the level with the creation, subsequent removal, and finally restoration of the Super Family when after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Supergirl, Power Girl, Superboy and Krypto all got killed or origin-shifted faster than you could sneeze.
But. Having thought about it a lot, it's not what I would have done. I don't like it. I miss pretending Athena was her Daddy. Sure I like some stuff; I like that to someone who doesn't know a lot about Diana this probably seems like a raise in profile and importance - a child, not simply a champion, of the gods. I like that lesser writers will now be less likely to forget her aesthetic Graecian background and I think a strong aesthetic will help combat the image people have of her as "Superman but a chick". But mostly the stuff I like is stuff that could have been done without this change. Branding her as the "Daughter of the Gods" (as Superman is the "Last Son of Krypton" or "the Man of Steel"; as Batman is the "Dark Knight Detective"), a strong editorial mandate on the aesthetic of the book, a shift in her costume towards the more gladiatorial and a metric fuckton of promotional images of her fighting hydras would probably have done it just as well.
So. I don't like it.
But you know what? This is a fucking killer book. It's really, really good. It's a fantastic story so far. The art is brilliant. The writing is sparse, sarcastic, and full of double-meanings and wordplay that I think would be obnoxious in other arenas but seems perfect for an internecine power struggle amongst a divine elite. Zola and Hermes are wonderful additions to her supporting cast (even if I still don't understand why Aleka and Dessa couldn't be Artemis and Philippus, they even LOOK LIKE THEM), Strife is both hilarious and deeply threatening (and I'm slightly sad she isn't still hanging around making sarcastic comments as everyone's lives fall apart). The confrontation between Hera and Hippolyta was pure electricity, in no small part due to the subtlety of expression Chiang managed to evoke in Hera's face; it really was a gorgeous and complex moment.
Diana is tall, imposing, beautiful without looking like a child or a reed, supremely capable in physical combat, but also a master of strategy; I loved the #5 cliffhanger - just the perfect move for a character who should be the child of Athena.
The only thing I'm not loving so far is Lennox because I'm...wary of him. Partly because he just hasn't grabbed me but mostly because I am concerned at the introduction of more children of Zeus. Is he equal to Diana in power? I'm not sure I like that if that's the case. How may Justice League level demigods are running around? I'm choosing to believe that Diana really was also blessed by various gods as an infant to give credence to the lie of her origin.
Anyway, there's that. It's kind of strange, sort of hating the main change they made, but still really enjoying the story they're telling. The fact that in a future episode they promise she is going to INVADE HELL WITH LOVE GUNS doesn't hurt either.
I just really fucking love Wonder Woman, you guys.
Blackhawks
The last comic I want to talk about is Blackhawks, mainly because it came totally out of left field and completely surprised me. The first issue was okay, in a sort of, "Oh, hey, GI Joe!" sort of way, but I had a friend reading it which encouraged me to stick with the title a bit more and it's turned into something really pretty fantastic. It's probably the title I'm saddest about them cancelling.
It's become less a comic about soldiers and more a comic about, well, transhumanism. The concepts are big and insane - and I don't mean that pejoratively, I mean that the concepts blur the bounds of human, animal and machine in ways beyond that are a wild break from the traditional ways we mentally delineate the concepts of cyborgs and scifi tech. Living cities, talking dogs, breathing the internet, being biologically infected by something that may as well be the concept of technology, it's just awesome, insane shit and I'm very sad it's going away.
I mean, seriously, guys, this book lied to me TWICE about Lady Blackhawk (once it said she was going to BATTLE THE INTERNET in a solicit and this did not happen, and then the cover for #5 looked like the original Lady Blackhawk but they changed it later to look like this New, Somewhat Inferior, But We Forgive Her Because She Has An Eyepatch Lady Blackhawk), and I still love it.
I leave you with a quote from Kunoichi: "Yeah but he's just the Kryptonian Man of Tomorrow. I'm the Trans-Human Woman of the Future!" *thumbs up*
Plus people just went into space. BY ACCIDENT.
DC Universe Presents: Deadman
I wasn't planning on reading this series, but the first issue was really, really gorgeous, artistically and linguistically. It was an intriguing premise, so I kept with it. The philosophical aspect and the dense prose leveled in the following two issues, but the fourth raised the game. Twenty questions with the Son of the Morning played a little cheesy - a little too cute; all these frustrating nonanswers, and even the fact that was the point didn't entirely circumvent the sense that hanging a lantern on an issue isn't always enough, but the notion that what Rama always wanted was not an answer, but a new question, now there was an idea worth a story.
The problem is, that needs to be one helluva question to offer a satisfying payoff in the final issue. Did it? Well...sort of. Or rather, no, it didn't until I thought about it more, which didn't make me change my mind about its failure, rather it shifted my disappointment to the execution rather than the concept (assuming the concept was indeed what was originally intended, which may not be the case).
The book fails to adequately explain to me why Rama would not be able to conceive of "why me?" as a question of existence. There's something poetic in the fact that the reason Boston lived all these lives was literally the fact that there is no underlying reason in the universe. But the notion that Rama would not realise that a human would find this injustice painful? She's a god, and I strongly feel that slides towards a pat, easy answer. It's a cliche of the genre; a god unable to see the small picture, unable to emotionally connect with the lives of the little people. But Rama doesn't strike me as so utterly unversed in human behaviour, since she manipulates Boston so effortlessly. Further it strikes me as a romantic notion, some idea that humans can stand against a god with bravery or a soul or humility - like I said, a cliche of the genre, Kirk asking what God wants with a Star Ship. In any case it could be argued to be cheesy, but worse, here, I think it goes against the philosophical core of the story. It's a story about there being no inherent point, no core reason. But it's resolved with a cliche that feels very essentialist in terms of what it says about human nature, or the nature of a god.
But as I said, I think the key here is the execution. Because it's also a story about the emotional toll of living in a world with no inherent point to or reason for the things that happen. I think the problem of Rama's forced ignorance can be solved by incorporating her into that story and giving her an emotional stake beyond control and misunderstanding of the human condition.
The key here, which is not directly referenced, and I can only assume and hope was an intended overtone from the writer, is that the emotional reaction - the frustration - is the same for the humans as it is for Rama. Frustration at an inability to understand why these things are happening to them, which Rama does not understand because there is no reason, the universe is random, she knows this. But she does not know why she cannot understand this final question of existence, why she cannot see it, why this aspect of the world continues to confuse her. And that frustration is the same. "A thing is happening in the world, and I cannot see the reasons for it, why?"
There's irony there, but if we make Rama more aware of her own condition, I think the story moves further from its cliche and becomes a more coherent tale of our struggle to understand the universe, on many different levels.
I wish Rama had set Deadman his task out of a more self-aware desire to find this final answer to the question of existence, knowing that it was also hers - if she saw in these people and her inability to understand their predicament, a reflection of her inability to understand her own. That resonates with me more. I suppose the notion that not even a god can always understand their own situation from within it feels less simplistic or cliche than the more overused notion that our salt of the earth wisdom can trump divinity because we deserve the moral victory.
Wonder Woman
So! We are up to issue #5! Honestly I missed Chiang's art in the latest issue a lot. I think the expressiveness of his faces adds so much to a minimalist style like Azzarello's, they're a really great match for a creative team.
But to talk briefly about the series itself, you know what? I've thought about it a lot. I understand why they changed her origin. I understand the good things that can come out of it. I think that there are a lot of fair things that can be said about how female characters get their origins and powers and statuses changed more often and more permanently than male characters, but I also think that on a narrative level, since the biggest shift here will be in the clarification of her supporting cast, it's possible to see it on the level with the creation, subsequent removal, and finally restoration of the Super Family when after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Supergirl, Power Girl, Superboy and Krypto all got killed or origin-shifted faster than you could sneeze.
But. Having thought about it a lot, it's not what I would have done. I don't like it. I miss pretending Athena was her Daddy. Sure I like some stuff; I like that to someone who doesn't know a lot about Diana this probably seems like a raise in profile and importance - a child, not simply a champion, of the gods. I like that lesser writers will now be less likely to forget her aesthetic Graecian background and I think a strong aesthetic will help combat the image people have of her as "Superman but a chick". But mostly the stuff I like is stuff that could have been done without this change. Branding her as the "Daughter of the Gods" (as Superman is the "Last Son of Krypton" or "the Man of Steel"; as Batman is the "Dark Knight Detective"), a strong editorial mandate on the aesthetic of the book, a shift in her costume towards the more gladiatorial and a metric fuckton of promotional images of her fighting hydras would probably have done it just as well.
So. I don't like it.
But you know what? This is a fucking killer book. It's really, really good. It's a fantastic story so far. The art is brilliant. The writing is sparse, sarcastic, and full of double-meanings and wordplay that I think would be obnoxious in other arenas but seems perfect for an internecine power struggle amongst a divine elite. Zola and Hermes are wonderful additions to her supporting cast (even if I still don't understand why Aleka and Dessa couldn't be Artemis and Philippus, they even LOOK LIKE THEM), Strife is both hilarious and deeply threatening (and I'm slightly sad she isn't still hanging around making sarcastic comments as everyone's lives fall apart). The confrontation between Hera and Hippolyta was pure electricity, in no small part due to the subtlety of expression Chiang managed to evoke in Hera's face; it really was a gorgeous and complex moment.
Diana is tall, imposing, beautiful without looking like a child or a reed, supremely capable in physical combat, but also a master of strategy; I loved the #5 cliffhanger - just the perfect move for a character who should be the child of Athena.
The only thing I'm not loving so far is Lennox because I'm...wary of him. Partly because he just hasn't grabbed me but mostly because I am concerned at the introduction of more children of Zeus. Is he equal to Diana in power? I'm not sure I like that if that's the case. How may Justice League level demigods are running around? I'm choosing to believe that Diana really was also blessed by various gods as an infant to give credence to the lie of her origin.
Anyway, there's that. It's kind of strange, sort of hating the main change they made, but still really enjoying the story they're telling. The fact that in a future episode they promise she is going to INVADE HELL WITH LOVE GUNS doesn't hurt either.
I just really fucking love Wonder Woman, you guys.
Blackhawks
The last comic I want to talk about is Blackhawks, mainly because it came totally out of left field and completely surprised me. The first issue was okay, in a sort of, "Oh, hey, GI Joe!" sort of way, but I had a friend reading it which encouraged me to stick with the title a bit more and it's turned into something really pretty fantastic. It's probably the title I'm saddest about them cancelling.
It's become less a comic about soldiers and more a comic about, well, transhumanism. The concepts are big and insane - and I don't mean that pejoratively, I mean that the concepts blur the bounds of human, animal and machine in ways beyond that are a wild break from the traditional ways we mentally delineate the concepts of cyborgs and scifi tech. Living cities, talking dogs, breathing the internet, being biologically infected by something that may as well be the concept of technology, it's just awesome, insane shit and I'm very sad it's going away.
I mean, seriously, guys, this book lied to me TWICE about Lady Blackhawk (once it said she was going to BATTLE THE INTERNET in a solicit and this did not happen, and then the cover for #5 looked like the original Lady Blackhawk but they changed it later to look like this New, Somewhat Inferior, But We Forgive Her Because She Has An Eyepatch Lady Blackhawk), and I still love it.
I leave you with a quote from Kunoichi: "Yeah but he's just the Kryptonian Man of Tomorrow. I'm the Trans-Human Woman of the Future!" *thumbs up*
Plus people just went into space. BY ACCIDENT.