This post got long when I wasn't looking. orz
joyuexnoel and I have this thing with Judd Winick's writing in various comic books, either we go over the moon for it (like with his current run on Batman or my love for him on Exiles) or we hate it with a burning passion (as I'm told about his time with GA), very rarely in between, and the other night I said what might be the most clever thing I've ever said in my life:
"Every time I look at his name, I think it's appropriate. Half of the time, he's total WIN, half of the time he's total ICK."
I was pretty proud of myself, NGL.
So, a few other things that have made me sort of super excited! Or sort of really nerdy!
→ Marvel putting comics out for the PSP. Now, I'm not really sure how this is going to work, because the PSP has such a small screen and, hell, it's not like Marvel didn't kind of make a mess of that on-line comics thing a few years back. It was really awkward, the way the panels popped up and kind of ruined the flow.
Now, I've tried reading a few comics on my PSP and it works all right, but it's going to be hell if you want to do any sort of big splash pages, since you really only have a very small window to use. The use of an "autoflow" option is a great one, though, because having to sit there and constantly adjust it would really kill all the fun of it.
I'm still wondering about how the size issue is going to go, though. It's fine if you have just "rows" of panels, but if you try to do anything fancy with the layout... ehhh.
→ PS3 Slim for later this year and it's coming down to an actually reasonable price and aahhhhh I kind of want one really badly! Except I shouldn't! I hardly even use my 360 as it is and the only game I really want for the PS3 is FFXIII and that'll come out on the 360, even if FF vs XIII won't. I think my main issue is still that the PS3 isn't going to be backwards compatible and I know why Sony is doing that, it's just... aslkdfjaslkj screw you guys I want to play Okami and Odin Sphere on a PS3!
→ I... I may have just put MR. BRAIN on my PSP. ... orz I really am a nerd. (It was the easiest one available when I wanted to try it out. Just wait, I'll probably put Decade and Shinkenger on there next. orz)
→ This secret made me really happy when I needed it. ♥
→ IT WAS WEDNESDAY YESTERDAY! \o/ Which means, I read a bunch of stuff, spoilers for anything listed, of course.
Wednesday Comics #05: I really want to like this, honestly. But it's more of Batman not doing anything and Superman whining about how he doesn't fit in and just rehashing Superman's origin story with pretty much absolutely nothing new.
I am still surprisingly charmed by the Teen Titans one. It's interesting that they put the story from an OC's perspective here, one who hates superheroes because she finds them to be a menace even more than those they fight, but you can see her start to slowly come around when Blue Beetle (apparently?) sacrificed himself to stop Trident. It was also interesting to read her whole rant about the kind of people who become superheroes, it's not like they earn their powers, they don't train or work hard for it... all while Robin is in the focus of each of these panels. They never really do anything about it, other than the irony is just sort of there and I think it was on purpose, but I actually like it better that way.
I don't think Beetle is actually dead or anything, I'm sure he'll turn up, but it was a nicely emotional little moment in a light, easy story.
Everything else is pretty much... more of the same. The Wonder Woman story looks lovely, but I still can't read it without getting a headache. The Supergirl story is pure fluff, but adorable fluff. I skip pretty much everything else.
Batgirl #001: So. It's no surprise that it's Steph in the new costume, that was a pretty predictable outcome. I was talking with Noel about it and figured out my problem with the whole thing, which isn't so much that Steph is the new Batgirl as in the way it happened.
When one character retires and another character takes over the role, it's because the previous one was ready to go. Dick was ready to stop being Robin. Babs was ready to stop being Batgirl. They'd both made that choice on their own, rather than being foisted from the role.
Then you have Steph as Robin... where Tim was outsed from the role against his wishes and it never really stuck. The same thing is happening with Damian right now and I kind of really don't expect it to last, I would hope that no one would expect it to last. (Despite that I'm enjoying what they're doing with it in the meantime, because the Dick - Damian interaction is priceless.)
And now, no matter how much they try to convince me that Cassandra was ready to leave the role, there was no build-up for it and it very much feels like she was being outsed from the role so that Stephanie could take it over, just like she did with Robin.
How am I supposed to get onboard with that? How am I supposed to be okay with feeling like Steph got priority over a more established character like that? And, frankly, a more beloved character. It's frustrating because Steph was totally my #2 choice for the role of Batgirl, I think it would have eventually been a really natural evolution to have Cass leave her the suit, for her to step up into it.
Cassandra's reason--because Batman wasn't there anymore, because she supposedly fought only for him--really felt like a major step backwards for her character, like all the growth she experienced in the last few years was just wiped so that they could hand the costume over to someone else. And, yeah, that happens in comics sometimes (well, okay, a lot) that old issues get brought back up even when they have been dealt with long ago. But it's still the mark of a really crappy storyteller, imo.
And just... between the no building it up and feeling like the role was snatched away from another character to give it to Steph again... it just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
Then we have the actual issue itself. It's fine at first, Steph's competent in the role, even if not as good as Cass was. But, then, not many people were or ever would be. That's fine. What's really sort of not fine is the scene at Steph's house in the morning. I get that we're seeing all these little clues to show us that Steph's hiding this role from her mother, that the closet door is ajar with her Batgirl suit in there, there are posters and stickers of Batman and/or Robin logos up all over the place, etc.
I get that it's supposed to show us Steph's dual life. All I see is a teenage girl who is sloppy about this and not ready to play in the big leagues and she damn well should know better by now. Steph should damn well be better than that by now!
Even she herself says as much, that she didn't do her homework with the second fight we see, the "just one more night" fight with the rocket launcher that went off. And I get that it's about showing she's human and all. It's just... eennnnhhh.
And I'm not sure what I think about Miller's whole thing with Babs, about how she's still really, really angry about the whole thing. I get some anger, I get that of course she's still going to have lingering issues and I guess I haven't really read as much Birds of Prey as I wish I had, but... something about this just felt off. Like Miller was just using Babs for the storyline he wanted to tell, not because it was actually natural to her character.
I do really like the idea of getting Babs involved in this, of course she should be involved in passing the torch when it happens like this, when she can help. She was always offering to help Cassandra when she first started, so this makes sense. But I keep feeling like her anger here is just so that she's a more interesting foil for Steph to play off of and it makes it even harder to like a book about Stephanie this way.
At the end of the issue, I think it was actually pretty strong. I was ready to pick it apart even before I opened the first page, so of course I'm going to be biased and a lot more negative than I should be. I'll keep reading, it's not something that entirely made me want to throw it across the room, it actually has a lot of potential. I'm really curious to see where it goes from here! I want to know where Miller is going to take this dynamic and how it's going to fit in with the rest of the Bat-family.
I guess I'm sort of wavering because I don't want this to be the only place Babs shows up, I want her to get back a book like Birds of Prey, to not play second fiddle to Stephanie like this, because I don't think Steph has earned that and I don't think I trust Miller to do it in a completely satisfying way. If he takes it in the direction that it's not just Stephanie's story, that it's a story about Batgirl (as in that it's also half Barbara's story), then I could potentially be okay with it.
Just. as;dlkjfaslkj I am really conflicted on this issue. I wanted to like it! There were parts that were really readable! I feel mean being so negative like this! Other people probably wouldn't have the same reaction I do! But every time I sit down to put my thoughts into words... this is what comes to mind! All these things that I'm wary of or felt weren't done very well!
(What would really make me come around is if Cassandra stuck around somehow, even if it was in a new costume, so that it really could be about all three versions Batgirl's legacy. That could really win me over.)
Batman: Streets of Gotham #003: I'm still hampered by my complete and utter disinterest in the whole Hush-impersonating-Bruce thing, it really just grates on my nerves. Every time I think about it, I wonder why they don't just go round him up and have Miss Martian impersonate him long enough to put a stop to all this. It's not like everyone in the goddamned superhero community doesn't already know who Batman was.
It just shouldn't be backing them into a corner! There's no reason exposing him has to be about Batman and Robin, it could simply be that Dick and Tim and even Damian simply noticed he was different! No reason to bring Batman or Robin into this at all! I appreciate that Dini had Dick saying that Gotham needed a figure like Bruce Wayne to believe in right now, but they just... let him go. When they could get Miss Martian to help out. When they could have Dick Grayson be the public figure they needed! Just have them expose Elliot, have Dick step up and say, well, even if he was an imposter, he had the right idea, let's keep this going, and then they could control what happens with the money and just... asldfjal;skdjal;ksjslj!!!111
It drives me a little crazy. :/
But I will say I did enjoy Damian just dropping Hush like that, you know he really would like to, even though he knew Dick would save the guy. His line, "Please. Just give me thirty seconds. No weapons." re: Hush was kind of great, I'll give Dini that.
And I do like what Dini did with it in the end, the scene where they're all there in the Elliot house, where it's an entire cast of people that Zatanna drops the illusion on and they say, each and every one of these people knew about Bruce Wayne and they are your new oversight committee... okay, I give Dini points for giving them back their brains and making it a pretty rocking moment.
I also love that Zatanna will conjure up the money because it's not about making them rich, it's about helping a city that needs it. Okay, Dini, you have cautiously won me over for now. *narrows eyes* Well played, sir. Well played. I will now warily look forward to what this book has to offer.
It's kind of amazing what one scene can do for a book and make me feel like, yeah, I gave Dini too much shit with this book and should have given him more time to let him play his hand. I really questioned the wisdom of letting Elliot out there (and I still do, because it'd be so much easier to put Miss Martian in his place or have Zatanna glamor someone up to look like Bruce Wayne) but... Dick was pretty damn smart to come up with this plan and it's actually satisfying.
ALSO ALSO ALSO. OMG LOL. DAMIAN ASKING WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE LADY WITH THE KATANA. IS SHE SEEING ANYONE? AND DICK'S LIKE OMG PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE NOT CRUSHING ON HER. "WHAT'S IT TO YOU, GRAYSON?"
DYING.
DYING.
So, Mr. Dini, you win this round. My hat is off to you, that was actually a pretty great read this week.
As for the Manhunter backup... I'm still enjoying it, it's nice to see Andreyko still kicking around and it's a pretty solid story for only having nine pages. Well, it's the wrap-up of the whole Jane Doe thing and there really isn't a whole lot of room to tell a proper story, but... I like it the way it's paced so far. It's just an extra bit of sidedish to go with the main meal, a little filling out of the Gotham City background.
I like that Manhunter can still hold her own in a fight, even without her usual suit or weapons, I like that it's a very female-centric book without feeling like that's the only reason you'd want to read it. It's a solid story that happens to be about women so far. (To the point that it kind of almost slipped my notice!) Not the greatest thing, but I really enjoyed it.
Blackest Night - Superman 01: I read this issue mostly because I wanted to keep up with Blackest Night and, hell, it's only one issue this week, I can do that, I suppose. And I don't know if it's just me and my lack of connection to the Super-family or if it really was a lackluster issue, but I... really didn't have much to grasp onto here. I mean, stuff happened, I guess?
And I do like the pacing of it, nothing really lingered too long in one place or another, it kept things moving, it just... didn't feel like there was a whole lot of depth to things? The one thing I did really like was the use of setting certain panels through the Black Lantern's eyes, where you see the spectrum of emotion coming across the characters' faces. That makes a lot of sense and, in certain scenes, it was a great way to convey the connection to what they were feeling. I really liked the ending note as well, where Superman ended with "will" and Superboy ended with "rage", that felt right for both of them.
Overall, I'm not sure how to feel about it, but I think it was solid for what it was trying to be--a Superman vs Superman fight that came about because of Blackest Night. If you're interested in that, you'll enjoy this.
And, since it's been awhile and I could use some cheering up, I watched some Arashi stuff. Usual warnings and all that!
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #146 [2009.08.03] subbed
→ NTV Best Artist [2007.12.11] - KAT-TUN & Arashi talk part subbed
♪ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #146 [2009.08.03] subbed - You know, I should probably be offended with Ogu-san jumping into the box because it's a young girl group... but it was obviously played up for fun and it's not like he was cramming himself into their laps, he was in a relatively safe position when they opened the box finally, so it just. Came off as really, really lolful and cute.
Plus, the guests were SPEED this time and they were ADORABLE when listing some of their favorite moments from Shukudai-kun... like Aiba's boardgame from hell and I love that Aiba pretty much immediately jumps in and asks if they want to do the nipple shirts and it's adorable how serious-faced he is and Jun looks about two seconds from whapping him while saying "IDIOT!"
I-- I still really love their dynamic a lot.
But what else I love? That Sho is totally everyone's bitch. One of the women from SPEED teaches yoga, so she wants to demonstrate it. Because they LOVE Sho, of course they volunteer him and she asks him if he's flexible.
Sho just freezes with this hilarious look on his face and I realize it's probably an iffy question in any language, but it's really, really easy to read dirty thoughts of the "Sho is Arashi's bitch" persuasion into it. Especially when she has Sho do a ballerina-like pose and he turns around to ask about his ass and Nino responds immediately, like it's no big deal.
Yes.
That was totally, totally straight.
And of course I'd heard about the other half of this opening segment, where Aiba is a TOTALLY HELPFUL FRIEND when Sho can't get the second pose down, so Aiba runs over to be a total dick help him get his feet into position. Just starts moving Sho right around, who totally accepts it. And then calls Ohno and Nino over, because they are total dicks, too totally helpful friends total dicks, too.
That was quite possibly the best opening sequence just about ever.
It never gets old watching Sho be a doormat for his bandmates. :Db
I also love the Aiba/Nino here, where Aiba has zero social skills or refinement when eating, so Nino whacks him on the head, making him spill a little of the expensive truffle soba. And doesn't feel one bit badly about it, just says, "Aiba's done for today. :|" and takes the food away.
And then his answer for if it's good? How does it taste? "Expensive. :|"
Sometimes my love for Nino threatens to overwhelm me and cause me to explode into a shower of glitter and rainbows. :|
I also really liked the bit with Ogura-san having them change their seating around (so it's a member of Arashi, then SPEED, then Arashi, then SPEED, then Ogura-san, etc.) and they all, as one, take it as an opportunity to be total dicks to Nino, who clearly set them up for it, but it was no less super hilarious for it.
But even better is Nino's question that he can still be Arashi, right? So, if he's Arashi, what does that make the guy sitting next to him? (Ie, Ohno.) He turns to Ohno and asks, "Are you part of SPEED?" And this is why everyone should fear Ohno, because he just smiles and says, "Pleased to meet you. ♥" in this perfect tone and a;lsdfjkalsjk seriously if I didn't love Matsumoto and Aiba and Ninomiya and Sakurai so much all together I would totally have a favorite in Ohno.
This is also quite possibly my favorite interview section because the SPEED women are kind of adorable and hilarious, it was great to hear the story about how Hitoe burned her hair on the special effects, but just threw the wig down and kept on dancing. I love her already. But also for the info we get on Arashi as well! The bit about the fixed seating position was great:
Princess Matsumoto always sits right behind the driver so that he has room to stretch out his legs.
And Ogura-san interupts with, BUT EVERYONE WOULD WANT TO STRETCH THEIR LEGS, RIGHT? And Jun smiles at him and says yes in this, "So what? :D" tone and it's this brief moment of silence until Nino interupts with, OGURA-SAN, IT'S OKAY!!! with this really pained look on his face.
a;lsdkjfalskjaslkj I was kind of seriously dying of lol.
I know it's played up for the audience and stuff, but. The sheer level of Nino's we do not cross Princess Matsumoto about this and Jun's complete awareness of how he was about it that just had me LOLing so hard.
I love that there's another seat up there where someone else could stretch their legs, but nobody still dares to sit with him. And Jun is just all :D :D :D about the whole thing and a;lsdkjfasljk oh I do love that Jun isn't so wound up most of the time these days, but every so often he's a total bitch again and I love it.
I also like to think that Sho gets everyone to behave by hissing, "I you don't behave yourselves, I am going to make you go sit with Matsumoto." at them and it works every time.
So, then Nino talks about how he's in the seat behind Aiba and it's like. When you're behind Sho, he asks if it's okay to recline the seat and when the other person says yes, he just leans back a little bit. With THAT ONE OVER THERE, Nino SERIOUSLY THOUGHT HIS KNEE WAS BROKEN when he just jammed his seat right on back after asking if it was okay to recline.
The Human Poker Game is all FULL OF LOL. First they make Arashi do Gravure Idol Poses and I love with my entire being that Jun argues about his gravure pose. And a lot of the middle ones were hilarious, the Antonio Inoki poses, the sumo poses, the ninja poses, but I LOVE that Aiba lets SPEED choose the final one for Arashi, since they were tied and they choose purikura poses, LOL.
And I love that Jun is like, there is no specific poses for that, but Aiba clearly isn't listening to him. The best part, though? THREE OUT OF FOUR MEMBERS OF ARASHI HAVE CLEARLY BEEN AROUND ONE TOO MANY PHOTOSTICKER BOOTHS to get that arms outstretched pose. Also, I LOVE NINO for just STANDING THERE, stock still, no pose at all, then yelling, "Amazing!! Clearly you all are taking those in secret!" Lolz.
Plus, an awesome tag with Ogura-san thoughtfully asking who messes up the most in Arashi and Nino IMMEDIATELY responds with, "It's Aiba. :|" and, stop that Ninomiya. I can only have one embarrassing crush on an Arashi member at a time. :|
♪ - NTV Best Artist [2007.12.11] - KAT-TUN & Arashi talk part subbed - The subs don't really add that much to what's going on here, but they're interesting and I had to rewatch this a second time just to see Nino fucking around with Kame, which is still the cutest thing just about ever.
Seriously, he talks right while Kame is doing the intro, right into Kame's ear, then spends the next minute or so practically clinging to him and you know that's how Nino shows his love. Totally worth a rewatch. ♥
"Every time I look at his name, I think it's appropriate. Half of the time, he's total WIN, half of the time he's total ICK."
I was pretty proud of myself, NGL.
So, a few other things that have made me sort of super excited! Or sort of really nerdy!
→ Marvel putting comics out for the PSP. Now, I'm not really sure how this is going to work, because the PSP has such a small screen and, hell, it's not like Marvel didn't kind of make a mess of that on-line comics thing a few years back. It was really awkward, the way the panels popped up and kind of ruined the flow.
Now, I've tried reading a few comics on my PSP and it works all right, but it's going to be hell if you want to do any sort of big splash pages, since you really only have a very small window to use. The use of an "autoflow" option is a great one, though, because having to sit there and constantly adjust it would really kill all the fun of it.
I'm still wondering about how the size issue is going to go, though. It's fine if you have just "rows" of panels, but if you try to do anything fancy with the layout... ehhh.
→ PS3 Slim for later this year and it's coming down to an actually reasonable price and aahhhhh I kind of want one really badly! Except I shouldn't! I hardly even use my 360 as it is and the only game I really want for the PS3 is FFXIII and that'll come out on the 360, even if FF vs XIII won't. I think my main issue is still that the PS3 isn't going to be backwards compatible and I know why Sony is doing that, it's just... aslkdfjaslkj screw you guys I want to play Okami and Odin Sphere on a PS3!
→ I... I may have just put MR. BRAIN on my PSP. ... orz I really am a nerd. (It was the easiest one available when I wanted to try it out. Just wait, I'll probably put Decade and Shinkenger on there next. orz)
→ This secret made me really happy when I needed it. ♥
→ IT WAS WEDNESDAY YESTERDAY! \o/ Which means, I read a bunch of stuff, spoilers for anything listed, of course.
Wednesday Comics #05: I really want to like this, honestly. But it's more of Batman not doing anything and Superman whining about how he doesn't fit in and just rehashing Superman's origin story with pretty much absolutely nothing new.
I am still surprisingly charmed by the Teen Titans one. It's interesting that they put the story from an OC's perspective here, one who hates superheroes because she finds them to be a menace even more than those they fight, but you can see her start to slowly come around when Blue Beetle (apparently?) sacrificed himself to stop Trident. It was also interesting to read her whole rant about the kind of people who become superheroes, it's not like they earn their powers, they don't train or work hard for it... all while Robin is in the focus of each of these panels. They never really do anything about it, other than the irony is just sort of there and I think it was on purpose, but I actually like it better that way.
I don't think Beetle is actually dead or anything, I'm sure he'll turn up, but it was a nicely emotional little moment in a light, easy story.
Everything else is pretty much... more of the same. The Wonder Woman story looks lovely, but I still can't read it without getting a headache. The Supergirl story is pure fluff, but adorable fluff. I skip pretty much everything else.
Batgirl #001: So. It's no surprise that it's Steph in the new costume, that was a pretty predictable outcome. I was talking with Noel about it and figured out my problem with the whole thing, which isn't so much that Steph is the new Batgirl as in the way it happened.
When one character retires and another character takes over the role, it's because the previous one was ready to go. Dick was ready to stop being Robin. Babs was ready to stop being Batgirl. They'd both made that choice on their own, rather than being foisted from the role.
Then you have Steph as Robin... where Tim was outsed from the role against his wishes and it never really stuck. The same thing is happening with Damian right now and I kind of really don't expect it to last, I would hope that no one would expect it to last. (Despite that I'm enjoying what they're doing with it in the meantime, because the Dick - Damian interaction is priceless.)
And now, no matter how much they try to convince me that Cassandra was ready to leave the role, there was no build-up for it and it very much feels like she was being outsed from the role so that Stephanie could take it over, just like she did with Robin.
How am I supposed to get onboard with that? How am I supposed to be okay with feeling like Steph got priority over a more established character like that? And, frankly, a more beloved character. It's frustrating because Steph was totally my #2 choice for the role of Batgirl, I think it would have eventually been a really natural evolution to have Cass leave her the suit, for her to step up into it.
Cassandra's reason--because Batman wasn't there anymore, because she supposedly fought only for him--really felt like a major step backwards for her character, like all the growth she experienced in the last few years was just wiped so that they could hand the costume over to someone else. And, yeah, that happens in comics sometimes (well, okay, a lot) that old issues get brought back up even when they have been dealt with long ago. But it's still the mark of a really crappy storyteller, imo.
And just... between the no building it up and feeling like the role was snatched away from another character to give it to Steph again... it just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
Then we have the actual issue itself. It's fine at first, Steph's competent in the role, even if not as good as Cass was. But, then, not many people were or ever would be. That's fine. What's really sort of not fine is the scene at Steph's house in the morning. I get that we're seeing all these little clues to show us that Steph's hiding this role from her mother, that the closet door is ajar with her Batgirl suit in there, there are posters and stickers of Batman and/or Robin logos up all over the place, etc.
I get that it's supposed to show us Steph's dual life. All I see is a teenage girl who is sloppy about this and not ready to play in the big leagues and she damn well should know better by now. Steph should damn well be better than that by now!
Even she herself says as much, that she didn't do her homework with the second fight we see, the "just one more night" fight with the rocket launcher that went off. And I get that it's about showing she's human and all. It's just... eennnnhhh.
And I'm not sure what I think about Miller's whole thing with Babs, about how she's still really, really angry about the whole thing. I get some anger, I get that of course she's still going to have lingering issues and I guess I haven't really read as much Birds of Prey as I wish I had, but... something about this just felt off. Like Miller was just using Babs for the storyline he wanted to tell, not because it was actually natural to her character.
I do really like the idea of getting Babs involved in this, of course she should be involved in passing the torch when it happens like this, when she can help. She was always offering to help Cassandra when she first started, so this makes sense. But I keep feeling like her anger here is just so that she's a more interesting foil for Steph to play off of and it makes it even harder to like a book about Stephanie this way.
At the end of the issue, I think it was actually pretty strong. I was ready to pick it apart even before I opened the first page, so of course I'm going to be biased and a lot more negative than I should be. I'll keep reading, it's not something that entirely made me want to throw it across the room, it actually has a lot of potential. I'm really curious to see where it goes from here! I want to know where Miller is going to take this dynamic and how it's going to fit in with the rest of the Bat-family.
I guess I'm sort of wavering because I don't want this to be the only place Babs shows up, I want her to get back a book like Birds of Prey, to not play second fiddle to Stephanie like this, because I don't think Steph has earned that and I don't think I trust Miller to do it in a completely satisfying way. If he takes it in the direction that it's not just Stephanie's story, that it's a story about Batgirl (as in that it's also half Barbara's story), then I could potentially be okay with it.
Just. as;dlkjfaslkj I am really conflicted on this issue. I wanted to like it! There were parts that were really readable! I feel mean being so negative like this! Other people probably wouldn't have the same reaction I do! But every time I sit down to put my thoughts into words... this is what comes to mind! All these things that I'm wary of or felt weren't done very well!
(What would really make me come around is if Cassandra stuck around somehow, even if it was in a new costume, so that it really could be about all three versions Batgirl's legacy. That could really win me over.)
Batman: Streets of Gotham #003: I'm still hampered by my complete and utter disinterest in the whole Hush-impersonating-Bruce thing, it really just grates on my nerves. Every time I think about it, I wonder why they don't just go round him up and have Miss Martian impersonate him long enough to put a stop to all this. It's not like everyone in the goddamned superhero community doesn't already know who Batman was.
It just shouldn't be backing them into a corner! There's no reason exposing him has to be about Batman and Robin, it could simply be that Dick and Tim and even Damian simply noticed he was different! No reason to bring Batman or Robin into this at all! I appreciate that Dini had Dick saying that Gotham needed a figure like Bruce Wayne to believe in right now, but they just... let him go. When they could get Miss Martian to help out. When they could have Dick Grayson be the public figure they needed! Just have them expose Elliot, have Dick step up and say, well, even if he was an imposter, he had the right idea, let's keep this going, and then they could control what happens with the money and just... asldfjal;skdjal;ksjslj!!!111
It drives me a little crazy. :/
But I will say I did enjoy Damian just dropping Hush like that, you know he really would like to, even though he knew Dick would save the guy. His line, "Please. Just give me thirty seconds. No weapons." re: Hush was kind of great, I'll give Dini that.
And I do like what Dini did with it in the end, the scene where they're all there in the Elliot house, where it's an entire cast of people that Zatanna drops the illusion on and they say, each and every one of these people knew about Bruce Wayne and they are your new oversight committee... okay, I give Dini points for giving them back their brains and making it a pretty rocking moment.
I also love that Zatanna will conjure up the money because it's not about making them rich, it's about helping a city that needs it. Okay, Dini, you have cautiously won me over for now. *narrows eyes* Well played, sir. Well played. I will now warily look forward to what this book has to offer.
It's kind of amazing what one scene can do for a book and make me feel like, yeah, I gave Dini too much shit with this book and should have given him more time to let him play his hand. I really questioned the wisdom of letting Elliot out there (and I still do, because it'd be so much easier to put Miss Martian in his place or have Zatanna glamor someone up to look like Bruce Wayne) but... Dick was pretty damn smart to come up with this plan and it's actually satisfying.
ALSO ALSO ALSO. OMG LOL. DAMIAN ASKING WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE LADY WITH THE KATANA. IS SHE SEEING ANYONE? AND DICK'S LIKE OMG PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE NOT CRUSHING ON HER. "WHAT'S IT TO YOU, GRAYSON?"
DYING.
DYING.
So, Mr. Dini, you win this round. My hat is off to you, that was actually a pretty great read this week.
As for the Manhunter backup... I'm still enjoying it, it's nice to see Andreyko still kicking around and it's a pretty solid story for only having nine pages. Well, it's the wrap-up of the whole Jane Doe thing and there really isn't a whole lot of room to tell a proper story, but... I like it the way it's paced so far. It's just an extra bit of sidedish to go with the main meal, a little filling out of the Gotham City background.
I like that Manhunter can still hold her own in a fight, even without her usual suit or weapons, I like that it's a very female-centric book without feeling like that's the only reason you'd want to read it. It's a solid story that happens to be about women so far. (To the point that it kind of almost slipped my notice!) Not the greatest thing, but I really enjoyed it.
Blackest Night - Superman 01: I read this issue mostly because I wanted to keep up with Blackest Night and, hell, it's only one issue this week, I can do that, I suppose. And I don't know if it's just me and my lack of connection to the Super-family or if it really was a lackluster issue, but I... really didn't have much to grasp onto here. I mean, stuff happened, I guess?
And I do like the pacing of it, nothing really lingered too long in one place or another, it kept things moving, it just... didn't feel like there was a whole lot of depth to things? The one thing I did really like was the use of setting certain panels through the Black Lantern's eyes, where you see the spectrum of emotion coming across the characters' faces. That makes a lot of sense and, in certain scenes, it was a great way to convey the connection to what they were feeling. I really liked the ending note as well, where Superman ended with "will" and Superboy ended with "rage", that felt right for both of them.
Overall, I'm not sure how to feel about it, but I think it was solid for what it was trying to be--a Superman vs Superman fight that came about because of Blackest Night. If you're interested in that, you'll enjoy this.
And, since it's been awhile and I could use some cheering up, I watched some Arashi stuff. Usual warnings and all that!
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #146 [2009.08.03] subbed
→ NTV Best Artist [2007.12.11] - KAT-TUN & Arashi talk part subbed
♪ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #146 [2009.08.03] subbed - You know, I should probably be offended with Ogu-san jumping into the box because it's a young girl group... but it was obviously played up for fun and it's not like he was cramming himself into their laps, he was in a relatively safe position when they opened the box finally, so it just. Came off as really, really lolful and cute.
Plus, the guests were SPEED this time and they were ADORABLE when listing some of their favorite moments from Shukudai-kun... like Aiba's boardgame from hell and I love that Aiba pretty much immediately jumps in and asks if they want to do the nipple shirts and it's adorable how serious-faced he is and Jun looks about two seconds from whapping him while saying "IDIOT!"
I-- I still really love their dynamic a lot.
But what else I love? That Sho is totally everyone's bitch. One of the women from SPEED teaches yoga, so she wants to demonstrate it. Because they LOVE Sho, of course they volunteer him and she asks him if he's flexible.
Sho just freezes with this hilarious look on his face and I realize it's probably an iffy question in any language, but it's really, really easy to read dirty thoughts of the "Sho is Arashi's bitch" persuasion into it. Especially when she has Sho do a ballerina-like pose and he turns around to ask about his ass and Nino responds immediately, like it's no big deal.
Yes.
That was totally, totally straight.
And of course I'd heard about the other half of this opening segment, where Aiba is a TOTALLY HELPFUL FRIEND when Sho can't get the second pose down, so Aiba runs over to be a total dick help him get his feet into position. Just starts moving Sho right around, who totally accepts it. And then calls Ohno and Nino over, because they are total dicks, too totally helpful friends total dicks, too.
That was quite possibly the best opening sequence just about ever.
It never gets old watching Sho be a doormat for his bandmates. :Db
I also love the Aiba/Nino here, where Aiba has zero social skills or refinement when eating, so Nino whacks him on the head, making him spill a little of the expensive truffle soba. And doesn't feel one bit badly about it, just says, "Aiba's done for today. :|" and takes the food away.
And then his answer for if it's good? How does it taste? "Expensive. :|"
Sometimes my love for Nino threatens to overwhelm me and cause me to explode into a shower of glitter and rainbows. :|
I also really liked the bit with Ogura-san having them change their seating around (so it's a member of Arashi, then SPEED, then Arashi, then SPEED, then Ogura-san, etc.) and they all, as one, take it as an opportunity to be total dicks to Nino, who clearly set them up for it, but it was no less super hilarious for it.
But even better is Nino's question that he can still be Arashi, right? So, if he's Arashi, what does that make the guy sitting next to him? (Ie, Ohno.) He turns to Ohno and asks, "Are you part of SPEED?" And this is why everyone should fear Ohno, because he just smiles and says, "Pleased to meet you. ♥" in this perfect tone and a;lsdfjkalsjk seriously if I didn't love Matsumoto and Aiba and Ninomiya and Sakurai so much all together I would totally have a favorite in Ohno.
This is also quite possibly my favorite interview section because the SPEED women are kind of adorable and hilarious, it was great to hear the story about how Hitoe burned her hair on the special effects, but just threw the wig down and kept on dancing. I love her already. But also for the info we get on Arashi as well! The bit about the fixed seating position was great:
Princess Matsumoto always sits right behind the driver so that he has room to stretch out his legs.
And Ogura-san interupts with, BUT EVERYONE WOULD WANT TO STRETCH THEIR LEGS, RIGHT? And Jun smiles at him and says yes in this, "So what? :D" tone and it's this brief moment of silence until Nino interupts with, OGURA-SAN, IT'S OKAY!!! with this really pained look on his face.
a;lsdkjfalskjaslkj I was kind of seriously dying of lol.
I know it's played up for the audience and stuff, but. The sheer level of Nino's we do not cross Princess Matsumoto about this and Jun's complete awareness of how he was about it that just had me LOLing so hard.
I love that there's another seat up there where someone else could stretch their legs, but nobody still dares to sit with him. And Jun is just all :D :D :D about the whole thing and a;lsdkjfasljk oh I do love that Jun isn't so wound up most of the time these days, but every so often he's a total bitch again and I love it.
I also like to think that Sho gets everyone to behave by hissing, "I you don't behave yourselves, I am going to make you go sit with Matsumoto." at them and it works every time.
So, then Nino talks about how he's in the seat behind Aiba and it's like. When you're behind Sho, he asks if it's okay to recline the seat and when the other person says yes, he just leans back a little bit. With THAT ONE OVER THERE, Nino SERIOUSLY THOUGHT HIS KNEE WAS BROKEN when he just jammed his seat right on back after asking if it was okay to recline.
The Human Poker Game is all FULL OF LOL. First they make Arashi do Gravure Idol Poses and I love with my entire being that Jun argues about his gravure pose. And a lot of the middle ones were hilarious, the Antonio Inoki poses, the sumo poses, the ninja poses, but I LOVE that Aiba lets SPEED choose the final one for Arashi, since they were tied and they choose purikura poses, LOL.
And I love that Jun is like, there is no specific poses for that, but Aiba clearly isn't listening to him. The best part, though? THREE OUT OF FOUR MEMBERS OF ARASHI HAVE CLEARLY BEEN AROUND ONE TOO MANY PHOTOSTICKER BOOTHS to get that arms outstretched pose. Also, I LOVE NINO for just STANDING THERE, stock still, no pose at all, then yelling, "Amazing!! Clearly you all are taking those in secret!" Lolz.
Plus, an awesome tag with Ogura-san thoughtfully asking who messes up the most in Arashi and Nino IMMEDIATELY responds with, "It's Aiba. :|" and, stop that Ninomiya. I can only have one embarrassing crush on an Arashi member at a time. :|
♪ - NTV Best Artist [2007.12.11] - KAT-TUN & Arashi talk part subbed - The subs don't really add that much to what's going on here, but they're interesting and I had to rewatch this a second time just to see Nino fucking around with Kame, which is still the cutest thing just about ever.
Seriously, he talks right while Kame is doing the intro, right into Kame's ear, then spends the next minute or so practically clinging to him and you know that's how Nino shows his love. Totally worth a rewatch. ♥