It's the day after Wednesday! :D
→ AHHHHHHHH! *FLAILS* Okay, I was looking at Yuuki's drama page and I knew that he'd be in Haken no Oscar next season but that was super short, looked like a smaller role, and I don't think anyone has picked up subs for it? BUT THEN UNTOUCHABLE. WITH NAKAMA YUKIE AND KANAME JUN. DO WANT TIMES LIKE A THOUSAND.
(Please don't let me have jinxed it somehow by being excited about it ahead of time.)
→ I am approximately 54% of the way through FFXII: Revenant Wings! It's... actually turning into a pretty good game with, like, a plot and stuff! I don't know why this surprises me, it's not like I haven't played games like Suikoden Tierkreis or the like on the DS. I guess I just wasn't expecting to really warm up to the battle system after awhile. (P.S. Shiva is ALL KINDS OF AWESOME WITH STOP LIKE THAT. I LOVE HER LOTS. I tend to use Ifrit the most of the level III summons, but Shiva is totes my favorite. And, hey, I beat Ultima on the second try! Instead of trying to take my time with her, I pretty much just sent everyone straight up the middle and bombed everything in sight. Llyud and Penelo also have their summons, which means they have Quickenings, WHICH ARE KIND OF AWESOME IN THIS GAME, NO NERVOUS BREAKDOWN INDUCING BUTTON MASHING! \o/)
Oh, and my favorite bit. After you meet Fran in the gamefor awhile and she's on the bridge of the Galbana, you can talk to her there, where Vaan tries to apologize for Kytes and (someone I forget now?) always leaving her presents like flowers and stuff, making it obvious that they have crushes on her. Fran says, why would she mind? That sort of thing has happened before and Vaan is like, "Oh, Balthier, huh?" AND FRAN SAYS YES. CLEARLY IMPLYING THAT BALTHIER HAS WOOED HER BEFORE.
OTP FOREVER, you guys. (And so is Vaan/Penelo. I'm curious to see if Basch/Ashe will be just as OTP, too.)
→ Blah, blah, blah, okay, it was Wednesday yesterday, which means COMICSSSSSS. Spoilers for anything listed. No, I don't know why I read some of the things I do.
Adventure Comics #01: I pretty much read this one because I'd kept seeing ads for it all over the place and it was apparently going to be some huge new series or at least a really hyped new one and I was curious. Plus, hey, Conner is back and it's a good chance to follow him around the DCU now that I (sort of) have a jumping in point.
And I... admittedly, I don't know that much about Kon, so it's not like I can really say if it was IC or not, I know that Johns is one of those writers that seems to polarize fandom, either you love him or you hate him. But it feels like every time I read his work (though, I haven't read much of his Teen Titans stuff or his Green Lantern stuff), I come away feeling he wrote a pretty interesting story. Which is how I feel about this book as well, it was actually a really fun, easy read, yet interesting. I want the next issue now.
It was full of really nice little moments--the art compliments the story beautifully, there's a sense of slice of life to it, something very laid-back and almost peaceful, even when there's action going on. It fits the tone of Kon going back to Smallville and enjoying it there now--which makes sense to me. He's struggling with himself and he's just gone through this major event and I buy that he really needs something stable for awhile.
I enjoyed seeing Clark show up and I liked the conversation with Kon--the point about how Kon isn't either of them, he's his own person, that Luthor isn't someone he needs to worry about. The running theme in the book with the checklist of "things Superman has done" (lived in Smallville, helped people, went to school, etc.) that he checked off the whole way, which built into the final page of the story, where we see Kon's journal. A "list of things Superman has done" on one page. Then the next with, "Things Lex Luthor has done", including the checkmark next to "Lies to Superman".
Admittedly, it was a little over dramatized, since I don't think that really counts as following in Lex's footsteps in any major way. But the build-up to it, the reveal of what Kon's going through, I really liked that part. It... managed to work for me.
I kind of skimmed the whole Legion backup story bit, I'm just not that interested, but it seems interesting enough if you like them, I guess? It makes sense to include them, given how involved they were in bringing Kon back. But, overall, I'm reading for the main part of the story and I thought it was surprisingly well-balanced. I loved seeing that moment with Bart and Kon destroying their statues at the Titans Tower, because they were alive again and didn't need memorials to them.
And I mentioned the art was really beautiful, right? And that I didn't hate the writing? Overall, maybe not the most enthralling thing I've ever read, but I liked it kind of a lot.
Blackest Night #02: Well. So, this one pretty much picked up where the previous one left off and made it just as gruesome and brutal. Maybe not quite as bad as seeing Carter's bruised and bloody face, but still. Seeing Dolphin rip Garth's heart right out of his chest? Jesus, DC.
This was... not quite as strong as the first issue, I don't think. And it was a little harder to follow along at the beginning, but I'm not sure if that's my inexperience with the rest of the DCU talking or the art being kind of hard to distinguish who's who here. It's really beautiful art, the colors are amazing and everyone looks terrific and I kind of itched to make icons out of it, despite that I don't give a shit about half of these characters. But the Black Lantern outfits and the zombie-like look of all the people who were brought back, it made it kind of hard to follow through the chaos of everything that was going on.
It's not Morrison levels of, "Wtf just happened because I have no clue?" or anything, I eventually got it pretty well, but this issue did kind of feel a little like it was killing time/still just more set-up. There was a lot of time spent on the Aqua-Family and I'm not sure how much purpose that really served. Is there ultimately going to be a major role for them in this storyline? Or would that time have been better spent on (much as I hate to admit it) Hal and Barry trying to figure out what was going on?
I'm definitely still intrigued, I still want to read the next issue right away, I kind of re-skimmed for the pretty art, I'm impressed at how many characters they're bringing up that were dead (like seeing J'Onn again) or how many they're willing to kill off (I assume Garth's probably not staying dead, though), but I'm also sort of wary that this is going to be a giant excuse to bring a bunch of people back.
Or else they'll kill a whole bunch of people and I'll be left feeling like they tried to cram too much into this event. But... eh, I guess we'll see how it goes.
Titans #16: So, this issue was all focused on Kory, who is another character I don't really know that well, but I find myself having a basic fondness for, so I wanted to read this. Plus, well, I've read the first fifteen issues, might as well keep on reading them, since the series isn't a bad one. It's not genius, but Yost is a solid writer that I like. Which pretty much sums up this entire issue for me... not the greatest thing I've ever read, but considering it's focused on a character that I don't normally read that much about, it kept my interest nicely.
I can't say if it was IC for Starfire or not, but it was interesting at the very least. It was an issue dedicated to exploring where she's at right now, what's been eating away at her, how she does/doesn't deal with all of it. She's trying to talk to a therapist about it, she's trying to be open about her feelings, but you can tell it sort of mystifies her and there's a lot she's kind of in denial about. I like that she's a good-natured person most of the time, but she's also volatile at times, she blows up, she has triggers, she destroys a zen garden because she's getting worked up. And then apologizes for it and says the therapist can call her Kory again. I liked that moment, when she immediately felt bad after her harsh words and after she'd stormed out, she immediately pulled herself back together and felt badly.
But that temper was still there. She's not really here by her own choice, but the others thought it might help her. And... I have to admit, this issue kind of left me wanting to ship Donna/Kory, especially after they watched the sunrise together in a previous issue. But, at the same time, I think Kory's not really ready to be in a relationship with anyone. She's still in love with Dick, but he's moved on. She kind of put everything of herself onto her friends, but they've got their own lives as well, they're growing up and the Titans have a history of this kind of thing. They're just not the cohesive unit they used to be, they're simply getting older now.
And this issue asked the question that Kory really needed--what is her life outside of the Titans? What is she here fighting for? She is kind of a mess and--keeping in mind that I'm faaaar from an expert on Kory--I bought that here. It made her interesting and made me kind of want to follow her and see her establish herself on her own for awhile, I could really like a Kory like that.
Plus, the art in this issue was beautiful. Kory looked amazing, but also the way some of the panels were framed, the long shots of her alone in their Tower, the way they emphasized her loneliness, the expressions on her face that really made me feel for her, it did a lot for me. I'm... kind of looking forward to her being on a Justice League team, even if it means putting her on the same team as Dick again, which could be trouble for her.
....dammit, like I need another obscure character to follow.
Marvel Divas - #01-02: Why the hell did I read this? Train Wreck Syndrome, I suppose. It... I mean... I want to... it was... *throws hands up in frustration*
I was kinda with the rest of the internet with it looking like a really horrible book. And then I read it. And it's still a really horrible book, but not in precisely the way I thought it would be. The writing isn't as cheesy or terrible as it could have been. It's certainly FAR less clever than it thought it was, but it wasn't eye-bleedingly bad on a dialogue level. The art was actually really pretty in a lot of places. And I love the concept of taking four B to C level superheroines and showing them as friends. I even like that there was a strong focus on the women out of their costumes and that the first issue tried to set up their backgrounds.
Where the writing got vomit-inducingly bad for me is that ALL THEY TALK ABOUT IS MEN. They're catty towards other superhero women, all they do is gossip about their love lines or check guys out while they're at a party, and I don't think they had one goddamned conversation that wasn't centered around a guy. Even Hellcat's book about her life as a superheroine gets revolved around her relationships with guys--the paparazzi that tries to ask her a question? FIRST THING is about her relationship with Tony Stark.
Yeah, okay, women do talk about men a lot. Yeah, okay, paparazzi do focus on romantic relationships a lot. But after awhile, it got completely aggravating that EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE WOMEN WAS ABOUT *MEN*. Ugh.
The second issue was slightly better, once they started focusing on Angelica's cancer and how they were reacting to it. It was still a little too "Sex in the City" for me, but at least the focus was slightly shifting away from the men being the ONLY thing in their lives. Felicia's struggles to reform and find the money to restart her investigations was a step in the right direction, but I wasn't pleased with how much her boyfriend was tied up in the story about it.
But still. This book is kind of vile and I hope it dies a fiery death if it doesn't get a major overhaul soon.
Red Robin #03: I... am still not fond of emo!Tim, but... I do like Yost's writing. And there's something of an actual plot going on here, even if it's a questionable one, with Tim trying to find evidence that Batman's alive. As much as I dislike emo!Tim, at least Yost was hitting a lot of the right notes I wanted here--the use of Ra's al Ghul, the conversation with Cassie that was really kind of heartwrenching, Cassie calling Dick because she was worried, etc. It helps.
So, in this issue, Tim went to Germany to find something and desparately wanted to get it out of there, so I'm guessing it may have had something to do with the cave drawings that Bruce did back in the past? Or something he left back there, anyway.
I... am not particularly feeling the League of Assassins being Tim's new minor characters, I'd rather see him interacting with more established characters or at least more interesting characters, but I'll see where Yost goes with this. He does have a track record of making me like characters I had no interest in before.
This book overall... it's solid and enjoyable to read, but, wow, is there just really not a whole lot to say about it. It's all very serviceable, I'm glad to have read it, I'm definitely curious about the next issue and where Yost is going with this, but... there's just not much to say.
I did like it, though. And the art is kind of nice for this series--at least as far as Tim and the Red Robin suit goes. (I still want a less bitter Tim, though, goddammit.)
Blackest Night - Batman #01: Oh my god. I was practically wriggling around in UTTER GLEE while reading this! I love Tomasi kind of ridiculous amounts right now, though, it still baffles me because I always think of his run on Nightwing and I want to say that I don't remember it being that good? Or maybe I'd checked out by that point (and haven't read the issues) or maybe it was just a mess that not even someone like Tomasi could save at that point.
The point is, reading his take on Dick and Damian and Deadman? asl;dkfjasl;kj GLEE. I mean, I can't say it's super, super genius or anything, but it's really solid and I love it a lot and it just had all these little moments in it. When Dick and Damian are at the graveyard to clean up the mess that was made there (after the Black Lanterns got done with it), Damian can't bring himself to wrap Bruce's bones up with his cape, so Dick tells him to go back to the car while he does it.
Then their conversation in the Batmobile about how Damian's life sucks and it's not going the way it was supposed to, even after it came so close to being what it should have been. And Dick doesn't even look at him and is like, "Do you live in Wayne Manor and work out of bunker under Wayne Tower?" "Yes." "Do you wear a red, yellow, and green uniform?" "Yes." "Are you sitting in the Batmobile next to a guy wearing a batsuit?" "Yes." "Then I think you're doing everything you planned on so shut up."
I'm not entirely sure if that was supposed to be frustration at Damian or if Dick was being kind of amused by the whole thing... but I kind of think it was a combination of the two. Damian's a handful. But Dick doesn't have that moment of pause to regroup himself/let go of that frustration when he talks to Damian about how he never said Damian was afraid of death, when he talks about how (after Damian asks) he's not afraid of death himself, that he just never really was, maybe because of how he grew up a circus brat and then in this line of work, etc.
Then Deadman jumps into him and things go to hell, of course, but it's that conversation right there that mades me love this whole Batman Reborn thing. Because Damian's a little snot, but there actually is a person in there, one that Dick might get frustrated with, but can also see the good in, the kid that needs someone and something to do with his life. It's in those little moments that you can see how much Damian really needs this right now and how there's a bond forming there, even if they'd both deny it.
(So, when Deadman jumps into Dick, there's that page of all Dick's memories flashing through him, including Batman and the Titans and his parents, and so on, but also of him kissing someone. Is that Babs? I'm assuming so, which is.... eeeeee. ♥)
I also really enjoyed the way that Tomasi info dumped on the audience about Deadman--Damian's ready to punch whoever is in there (and does so, actually) so Deadman has to explain who and what he is, which is helpful for those who don't know him, but actually makes sense that he'd have to tell Damian to get him to stop hitting and kicking. Then he jumps into Damian and as;dlkfjaslkj oh, my, that conversation between Dick and Deadman was fun.
I know I'm a total fangirl, shut up, but seriously. Deadman commenting on Damian's got issues, that Dick's got his hands full with this kid? And Dick being like, "Deadman, enough." But Deadman just keeps going until Dick growls, "Brand. Shut up."
Who responds with, "Now that's channeling Bruce."
It's totally predictable and maybe not that clever, but Tomasi made it work for him somehow. The art really helps the story along, it does a fantastic job of showing expressions without needing words to convey what the character is feeling--the shot of Dick's masked face when they come across the graveyard was both horrified/grim and yet prepared to do his job. The tightening expression as Deadman keeps talking, the way you can see the tension in it, that was nice, too.
I question why the Black Lanterns would really even care enough to give rings to Mary and John Grayson or Janet and Jack Drake, but I know that this mini needs some zombies to fight against and I assume there's a reason it can't be Bruce. So, really, the only major dead people they have would be the Graysons and the Drakes, so I'm willing to just go with it.
The ending shot of the zombies crawling all over the Batsignal in the sky was kind of lolful, but this crossover is clearly DC's answer to Marvel's whole zombie thing, so I'm also willing to go with it. PLUS YAY TIM SHOULD BE BACK NEXT ISSUE, TOO, YAAAAY.
.....okay, wow, I just totally fangirl exploded all over this issue, sorry. But I really, really enjoyed it a lot! Tomasi's a really solid writer, the art was beautiful in this issue, and it's got a good balance between character moments and the major event-related plot. I couldn't ask for more than that! ♥
Batman #689: So, I saved this one for last because I wanted to enjoy it the most, wanted to end my reading night on a good note. Which I'm glad I did because Winick is really doing what I wanted him to do here--there's a strong element of Dick still adjusting to the role, but in a much more healthy way than last time. There's focus on how he's not trying to be Bruce, he's being his own kind of Batman here. If you read any of the interviews with Winick, he talks about that a lot, so of course it's going to show through in the writing since it's such a priority, but it's something I really, strongly agree needed to be focused on.
It's respectful to Bruce's character because he's not really trying to be replaced in a bad way, no one is trying to say that anyone else could ever have been Bruce's kind of Batman. To do that would have been a disservice to both Bruce and Dick's characters, to do so would have made the whole Reborn thing really kind of suck.
But neither is Bruce forgotten. He was still a major part of their lives, you can see Dick and Alfred still mourning his loss and still trying to come to terms with it. It's better than it was, there are moments of bittersweetness--like when Alfred found Bruce's drawings from before the Waynes were killed. That moment was kind of amazing for the atmosphere, the way Dick really wanted to know, the way Alfred remembered the better times before darkness fell. The way they take solace in their memories of him, the way only family members can do.
Yet, it's not all heartache in this book. Dick's having fun with the role sometimes. And I really liked that Winick isn't just telling us this, he's showing us this--when Dick breaks up the Penguin's casino early on, he doesn't just put fear into them, he ruins their business by making civilians never want to go there again. He smiles, he performs for an audience, he enjoys it.
Also! Dick's got a brain! He's fully aware that he's being set up by someone, that he's being fed all this information from somewhere, but he hasn't narrowed down who yet. But he does know to watch for landmines now.
There's also mentions of Damian but he's not really in this issue. Which I approve of, because that's what Batman & Robin is for, this one is to focus on Batman alone. Which normally I wouldn't care that much about (since I find Bruce on his own to be not that interesting) but because it's Dick... well, it's actually got a strong focus on Dick and Alfred's interaction as much as it's about Dick dealing with being Batman, which is all aces with me.
The art was really solid in this book as well. It's not as dark and gritty as maybe some of the other Bat-books, but that actually works for me, considering the generally lighter tone overall here. It's not perfect, but there were several panels that I stopped for a moment on to enjoy the artwork--I thought the flashback to kid Bruce was especially nice. Dick was kind of inconsistent at times, there would be panels where he looked like a teenager, then panels where he looked like he was in his mid-30s, then panels somewhere in between. Alfred was much more consistent and the way Dick looked in the cape and cowl was fine, so I'm hoping it's just something Bagley needs a little practice at.
Overall, I'm still enjoying Winick's take on the role and I'm enjoying what this is doing for the Batman family, the breath of fresh air that's been blown in, the reconnections we get to see between characters. I'm genuinely excited about comic books again! Who knew.
So, next week is the new Batgirl already. And I'm... very cautious about this, there hasn't been any resignations from Cassandra, have there? Any reason to think it wouldn't be her in a new costume? Also, new Tiny Titans and Streets of Gotham! Much as I'm still on the fence with Dini, I'm at least looking forward to that. I-- I may even read Superman/Batman #63, too. :x
(Please don't let me have jinxed it somehow by being excited about it ahead of time.)
→ I am approximately 54% of the way through FFXII: Revenant Wings! It's... actually turning into a pretty good game with, like, a plot and stuff! I don't know why this surprises me, it's not like I haven't played games like Suikoden Tierkreis or the like on the DS. I guess I just wasn't expecting to really warm up to the battle system after awhile. (P.S. Shiva is ALL KINDS OF AWESOME WITH STOP LIKE THAT. I LOVE HER LOTS. I tend to use Ifrit the most of the level III summons, but Shiva is totes my favorite. And, hey, I beat Ultima on the second try! Instead of trying to take my time with her, I pretty much just sent everyone straight up the middle and bombed everything in sight. Llyud and Penelo also have their summons, which means they have Quickenings, WHICH ARE KIND OF AWESOME IN THIS GAME, NO NERVOUS BREAKDOWN INDUCING BUTTON MASHING! \o/)
Oh, and my favorite bit. After you meet Fran in the gamefor awhile and she's on the bridge of the Galbana, you can talk to her there, where Vaan tries to apologize for Kytes and (someone I forget now?) always leaving her presents like flowers and stuff, making it obvious that they have crushes on her. Fran says, why would she mind? That sort of thing has happened before and Vaan is like, "Oh, Balthier, huh?" AND FRAN SAYS YES. CLEARLY IMPLYING THAT BALTHIER HAS WOOED HER BEFORE.
OTP FOREVER, you guys. (And so is Vaan/Penelo. I'm curious to see if Basch/Ashe will be just as OTP, too.)
→ Blah, blah, blah, okay, it was Wednesday yesterday, which means COMICSSSSSS. Spoilers for anything listed. No, I don't know why I read some of the things I do.
Adventure Comics #01: I pretty much read this one because I'd kept seeing ads for it all over the place and it was apparently going to be some huge new series or at least a really hyped new one and I was curious. Plus, hey, Conner is back and it's a good chance to follow him around the DCU now that I (sort of) have a jumping in point.
And I... admittedly, I don't know that much about Kon, so it's not like I can really say if it was IC or not, I know that Johns is one of those writers that seems to polarize fandom, either you love him or you hate him. But it feels like every time I read his work (though, I haven't read much of his Teen Titans stuff or his Green Lantern stuff), I come away feeling he wrote a pretty interesting story. Which is how I feel about this book as well, it was actually a really fun, easy read, yet interesting. I want the next issue now.
It was full of really nice little moments--the art compliments the story beautifully, there's a sense of slice of life to it, something very laid-back and almost peaceful, even when there's action going on. It fits the tone of Kon going back to Smallville and enjoying it there now--which makes sense to me. He's struggling with himself and he's just gone through this major event and I buy that he really needs something stable for awhile.
I enjoyed seeing Clark show up and I liked the conversation with Kon--the point about how Kon isn't either of them, he's his own person, that Luthor isn't someone he needs to worry about. The running theme in the book with the checklist of "things Superman has done" (lived in Smallville, helped people, went to school, etc.) that he checked off the whole way, which built into the final page of the story, where we see Kon's journal. A "list of things Superman has done" on one page. Then the next with, "Things Lex Luthor has done", including the checkmark next to "Lies to Superman".
Admittedly, it was a little over dramatized, since I don't think that really counts as following in Lex's footsteps in any major way. But the build-up to it, the reveal of what Kon's going through, I really liked that part. It... managed to work for me.
I kind of skimmed the whole Legion backup story bit, I'm just not that interested, but it seems interesting enough if you like them, I guess? It makes sense to include them, given how involved they were in bringing Kon back. But, overall, I'm reading for the main part of the story and I thought it was surprisingly well-balanced. I loved seeing that moment with Bart and Kon destroying their statues at the Titans Tower, because they were alive again and didn't need memorials to them.
And I mentioned the art was really beautiful, right? And that I didn't hate the writing? Overall, maybe not the most enthralling thing I've ever read, but I liked it kind of a lot.
Blackest Night #02: Well. So, this one pretty much picked up where the previous one left off and made it just as gruesome and brutal. Maybe not quite as bad as seeing Carter's bruised and bloody face, but still. Seeing Dolphin rip Garth's heart right out of his chest? Jesus, DC.
This was... not quite as strong as the first issue, I don't think. And it was a little harder to follow along at the beginning, but I'm not sure if that's my inexperience with the rest of the DCU talking or the art being kind of hard to distinguish who's who here. It's really beautiful art, the colors are amazing and everyone looks terrific and I kind of itched to make icons out of it, despite that I don't give a shit about half of these characters. But the Black Lantern outfits and the zombie-like look of all the people who were brought back, it made it kind of hard to follow through the chaos of everything that was going on.
It's not Morrison levels of, "Wtf just happened because I have no clue?" or anything, I eventually got it pretty well, but this issue did kind of feel a little like it was killing time/still just more set-up. There was a lot of time spent on the Aqua-Family and I'm not sure how much purpose that really served. Is there ultimately going to be a major role for them in this storyline? Or would that time have been better spent on (much as I hate to admit it) Hal and Barry trying to figure out what was going on?
I'm definitely still intrigued, I still want to read the next issue right away, I kind of re-skimmed for the pretty art, I'm impressed at how many characters they're bringing up that were dead (like seeing J'Onn again) or how many they're willing to kill off (I assume Garth's probably not staying dead, though), but I'm also sort of wary that this is going to be a giant excuse to bring a bunch of people back.
Or else they'll kill a whole bunch of people and I'll be left feeling like they tried to cram too much into this event. But... eh, I guess we'll see how it goes.
Titans #16: So, this issue was all focused on Kory, who is another character I don't really know that well, but I find myself having a basic fondness for, so I wanted to read this. Plus, well, I've read the first fifteen issues, might as well keep on reading them, since the series isn't a bad one. It's not genius, but Yost is a solid writer that I like. Which pretty much sums up this entire issue for me... not the greatest thing I've ever read, but considering it's focused on a character that I don't normally read that much about, it kept my interest nicely.
I can't say if it was IC for Starfire or not, but it was interesting at the very least. It was an issue dedicated to exploring where she's at right now, what's been eating away at her, how she does/doesn't deal with all of it. She's trying to talk to a therapist about it, she's trying to be open about her feelings, but you can tell it sort of mystifies her and there's a lot she's kind of in denial about. I like that she's a good-natured person most of the time, but she's also volatile at times, she blows up, she has triggers, she destroys a zen garden because she's getting worked up. And then apologizes for it and says the therapist can call her Kory again. I liked that moment, when she immediately felt bad after her harsh words and after she'd stormed out, she immediately pulled herself back together and felt badly.
But that temper was still there. She's not really here by her own choice, but the others thought it might help her. And... I have to admit, this issue kind of left me wanting to ship Donna/Kory, especially after they watched the sunrise together in a previous issue. But, at the same time, I think Kory's not really ready to be in a relationship with anyone. She's still in love with Dick, but he's moved on. She kind of put everything of herself onto her friends, but they've got their own lives as well, they're growing up and the Titans have a history of this kind of thing. They're just not the cohesive unit they used to be, they're simply getting older now.
And this issue asked the question that Kory really needed--what is her life outside of the Titans? What is she here fighting for? She is kind of a mess and--keeping in mind that I'm faaaar from an expert on Kory--I bought that here. It made her interesting and made me kind of want to follow her and see her establish herself on her own for awhile, I could really like a Kory like that.
Plus, the art in this issue was beautiful. Kory looked amazing, but also the way some of the panels were framed, the long shots of her alone in their Tower, the way they emphasized her loneliness, the expressions on her face that really made me feel for her, it did a lot for me. I'm... kind of looking forward to her being on a Justice League team, even if it means putting her on the same team as Dick again, which could be trouble for her.
....dammit, like I need another obscure character to follow.
Marvel Divas - #01-02: Why the hell did I read this? Train Wreck Syndrome, I suppose. It... I mean... I want to... it was... *throws hands up in frustration*
I was kinda with the rest of the internet with it looking like a really horrible book. And then I read it. And it's still a really horrible book, but not in precisely the way I thought it would be. The writing isn't as cheesy or terrible as it could have been. It's certainly FAR less clever than it thought it was, but it wasn't eye-bleedingly bad on a dialogue level. The art was actually really pretty in a lot of places. And I love the concept of taking four B to C level superheroines and showing them as friends. I even like that there was a strong focus on the women out of their costumes and that the first issue tried to set up their backgrounds.
Where the writing got vomit-inducingly bad for me is that ALL THEY TALK ABOUT IS MEN. They're catty towards other superhero women, all they do is gossip about their love lines or check guys out while they're at a party, and I don't think they had one goddamned conversation that wasn't centered around a guy. Even Hellcat's book about her life as a superheroine gets revolved around her relationships with guys--the paparazzi that tries to ask her a question? FIRST THING is about her relationship with Tony Stark.
Yeah, okay, women do talk about men a lot. Yeah, okay, paparazzi do focus on romantic relationships a lot. But after awhile, it got completely aggravating that EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE WOMEN WAS ABOUT *MEN*. Ugh.
The second issue was slightly better, once they started focusing on Angelica's cancer and how they were reacting to it. It was still a little too "Sex in the City" for me, but at least the focus was slightly shifting away from the men being the ONLY thing in their lives. Felicia's struggles to reform and find the money to restart her investigations was a step in the right direction, but I wasn't pleased with how much her boyfriend was tied up in the story about it.
But still. This book is kind of vile and I hope it dies a fiery death if it doesn't get a major overhaul soon.
Red Robin #03: I... am still not fond of emo!Tim, but... I do like Yost's writing. And there's something of an actual plot going on here, even if it's a questionable one, with Tim trying to find evidence that Batman's alive. As much as I dislike emo!Tim, at least Yost was hitting a lot of the right notes I wanted here--the use of Ra's al Ghul, the conversation with Cassie that was really kind of heartwrenching, Cassie calling Dick because she was worried, etc. It helps.
So, in this issue, Tim went to Germany to find something and desparately wanted to get it out of there, so I'm guessing it may have had something to do with the cave drawings that Bruce did back in the past? Or something he left back there, anyway.
I... am not particularly feeling the League of Assassins being Tim's new minor characters, I'd rather see him interacting with more established characters or at least more interesting characters, but I'll see where Yost goes with this. He does have a track record of making me like characters I had no interest in before.
This book overall... it's solid and enjoyable to read, but, wow, is there just really not a whole lot to say about it. It's all very serviceable, I'm glad to have read it, I'm definitely curious about the next issue and where Yost is going with this, but... there's just not much to say.
I did like it, though. And the art is kind of nice for this series--at least as far as Tim and the Red Robin suit goes. (I still want a less bitter Tim, though, goddammit.)
Blackest Night - Batman #01: Oh my god. I was practically wriggling around in UTTER GLEE while reading this! I love Tomasi kind of ridiculous amounts right now, though, it still baffles me because I always think of his run on Nightwing and I want to say that I don't remember it being that good? Or maybe I'd checked out by that point (and haven't read the issues) or maybe it was just a mess that not even someone like Tomasi could save at that point.
The point is, reading his take on Dick and Damian and Deadman? asl;dkfjasl;kj GLEE. I mean, I can't say it's super, super genius or anything, but it's really solid and I love it a lot and it just had all these little moments in it. When Dick and Damian are at the graveyard to clean up the mess that was made there (after the Black Lanterns got done with it), Damian can't bring himself to wrap Bruce's bones up with his cape, so Dick tells him to go back to the car while he does it.
Then their conversation in the Batmobile about how Damian's life sucks and it's not going the way it was supposed to, even after it came so close to being what it should have been. And Dick doesn't even look at him and is like, "Do you live in Wayne Manor and work out of bunker under Wayne Tower?" "Yes." "Do you wear a red, yellow, and green uniform?" "Yes." "Are you sitting in the Batmobile next to a guy wearing a batsuit?" "Yes." "Then I think you're doing everything you planned on so shut up."
I'm not entirely sure if that was supposed to be frustration at Damian or if Dick was being kind of amused by the whole thing... but I kind of think it was a combination of the two. Damian's a handful. But Dick doesn't have that moment of pause to regroup himself/let go of that frustration when he talks to Damian about how he never said Damian was afraid of death, when he talks about how (after Damian asks) he's not afraid of death himself, that he just never really was, maybe because of how he grew up a circus brat and then in this line of work, etc.
Then Deadman jumps into him and things go to hell, of course, but it's that conversation right there that mades me love this whole Batman Reborn thing. Because Damian's a little snot, but there actually is a person in there, one that Dick might get frustrated with, but can also see the good in, the kid that needs someone and something to do with his life. It's in those little moments that you can see how much Damian really needs this right now and how there's a bond forming there, even if they'd both deny it.
(So, when Deadman jumps into Dick, there's that page of all Dick's memories flashing through him, including Batman and the Titans and his parents, and so on, but also of him kissing someone. Is that Babs? I'm assuming so, which is.... eeeeee. ♥)
I also really enjoyed the way that Tomasi info dumped on the audience about Deadman--Damian's ready to punch whoever is in there (and does so, actually) so Deadman has to explain who and what he is, which is helpful for those who don't know him, but actually makes sense that he'd have to tell Damian to get him to stop hitting and kicking. Then he jumps into Damian and as;dlkfjaslkj oh, my, that conversation between Dick and Deadman was fun.
I know I'm a total fangirl, shut up, but seriously. Deadman commenting on Damian's got issues, that Dick's got his hands full with this kid? And Dick being like, "Deadman, enough." But Deadman just keeps going until Dick growls, "Brand. Shut up."
Who responds with, "Now that's channeling Bruce."
It's totally predictable and maybe not that clever, but Tomasi made it work for him somehow. The art really helps the story along, it does a fantastic job of showing expressions without needing words to convey what the character is feeling--the shot of Dick's masked face when they come across the graveyard was both horrified/grim and yet prepared to do his job. The tightening expression as Deadman keeps talking, the way you can see the tension in it, that was nice, too.
I question why the Black Lanterns would really even care enough to give rings to Mary and John Grayson or Janet and Jack Drake, but I know that this mini needs some zombies to fight against and I assume there's a reason it can't be Bruce. So, really, the only major dead people they have would be the Graysons and the Drakes, so I'm willing to just go with it.
The ending shot of the zombies crawling all over the Batsignal in the sky was kind of lolful, but this crossover is clearly DC's answer to Marvel's whole zombie thing, so I'm also willing to go with it. PLUS YAY TIM SHOULD BE BACK NEXT ISSUE, TOO, YAAAAY.
.....okay, wow, I just totally fangirl exploded all over this issue, sorry. But I really, really enjoyed it a lot! Tomasi's a really solid writer, the art was beautiful in this issue, and it's got a good balance between character moments and the major event-related plot. I couldn't ask for more than that! ♥
Batman #689: So, I saved this one for last because I wanted to enjoy it the most, wanted to end my reading night on a good note. Which I'm glad I did because Winick is really doing what I wanted him to do here--there's a strong element of Dick still adjusting to the role, but in a much more healthy way than last time. There's focus on how he's not trying to be Bruce, he's being his own kind of Batman here. If you read any of the interviews with Winick, he talks about that a lot, so of course it's going to show through in the writing since it's such a priority, but it's something I really, strongly agree needed to be focused on.
It's respectful to Bruce's character because he's not really trying to be replaced in a bad way, no one is trying to say that anyone else could ever have been Bruce's kind of Batman. To do that would have been a disservice to both Bruce and Dick's characters, to do so would have made the whole Reborn thing really kind of suck.
But neither is Bruce forgotten. He was still a major part of their lives, you can see Dick and Alfred still mourning his loss and still trying to come to terms with it. It's better than it was, there are moments of bittersweetness--like when Alfred found Bruce's drawings from before the Waynes were killed. That moment was kind of amazing for the atmosphere, the way Dick really wanted to know, the way Alfred remembered the better times before darkness fell. The way they take solace in their memories of him, the way only family members can do.
Yet, it's not all heartache in this book. Dick's having fun with the role sometimes. And I really liked that Winick isn't just telling us this, he's showing us this--when Dick breaks up the Penguin's casino early on, he doesn't just put fear into them, he ruins their business by making civilians never want to go there again. He smiles, he performs for an audience, he enjoys it.
Also! Dick's got a brain! He's fully aware that he's being set up by someone, that he's being fed all this information from somewhere, but he hasn't narrowed down who yet. But he does know to watch for landmines now.
There's also mentions of Damian but he's not really in this issue. Which I approve of, because that's what Batman & Robin is for, this one is to focus on Batman alone. Which normally I wouldn't care that much about (since I find Bruce on his own to be not that interesting) but because it's Dick... well, it's actually got a strong focus on Dick and Alfred's interaction as much as it's about Dick dealing with being Batman, which is all aces with me.
The art was really solid in this book as well. It's not as dark and gritty as maybe some of the other Bat-books, but that actually works for me, considering the generally lighter tone overall here. It's not perfect, but there were several panels that I stopped for a moment on to enjoy the artwork--I thought the flashback to kid Bruce was especially nice. Dick was kind of inconsistent at times, there would be panels where he looked like a teenager, then panels where he looked like he was in his mid-30s, then panels somewhere in between. Alfred was much more consistent and the way Dick looked in the cape and cowl was fine, so I'm hoping it's just something Bagley needs a little practice at.
Overall, I'm still enjoying Winick's take on the role and I'm enjoying what this is doing for the Batman family, the breath of fresh air that's been blown in, the reconnections we get to see between characters. I'm genuinely excited about comic books again! Who knew.
So, next week is the new Batgirl already. And I'm... very cautious about this, there hasn't been any resignations from Cassandra, have there? Any reason to think it wouldn't be her in a new costume? Also, new Tiny Titans and Streets of Gotham! Much as I'm still on the fence with Dini, I'm at least looking forward to that. I-- I may even read Superman/Batman #63, too. :x