Reviews, comic book edition
Greg Rucka et al., Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia: Ancient Greek custom allowed a supplicant to surrender all rights to a more powerful person; that person would then be honor-bound to protect the supplicant. I read an article about hiketeia indicating that the actual practice was considerably more complicated, and less likely to work in the supplicant's favor, than the model - but it's a great concept, and putting it together with Wonder Woman, who does believe in honor, makes for good drama. Especially when the supplicant is a criminal fleeing Batman's justice. Batman isn't about to let the Amazon stand in the way of his hunt, while Wonder Woman isn't about to let Batman turn a person in her care over to the law when duty overrides law. Also, there is a cover with Wonder Woman's boot on Batman's head. Just sayin'.
Glen Hanson et al., Realworlds: Wonder Woman: In Realworlds, there are no superpowered Amazons, only Hollywood starlets looking for their big breaks in the late 1940s. This one comes in the form of Wonder Woman, which is a great role - until Wonder Woman's new popularity gets caught up in a red-baiting politician's campaign. Mostly predictable, but nice to see a Wonder Woman with meat on her bones, the way they used to draw her - the starlet is Marilyn Monroe-shaped, not Demi Moore-shaped.
Alan Moore et al., Top Ten: The Forty-Niners: And another historical, the somewhat secret origins of the city of superheroes known as Neopolis. We get background on some familiar characters as well as new adventures against criminals who, like the heroes, are struggling to figure out their places in a postwar world that has decided to isolate all its superpowered folk, no matter the side on which they fought. There's first love (gay!) as well as friendship, along with some confusion between the two.
Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, v.2: I'm not well-versed in the older adventure genre that apparently gives the League's settings its depth for those in the know. Still, any group led by that dangerous divorcee Mina Harker can't be all bad. In this volume, the League fights invasion from Mars and gets some help from one Dr. Moreau. Mina and Allan Quartermain grow closer, while Mina's relationship with Mr. Hyde is of a darker hue. On her behalf, Hyde commits an act shocking enough to convince anyone that he'll never make a hero. The alien invasion is appropriately scary - though hardly scarier than Moreau's chimeras. Mina remained enigmatic enough that I had a hard time knowing what to think of her storyline, which seemed to jam a lot of contradictory experiences and emotions together (though at the end she seemed to recognize that she hadn't been thinking very hard about her intimate relationships, as compared to her global responsibilities). I was not interested in the appended texts, like the Allan Quartermain adventure, that are scattered Watchman-like throughout the narrative; they may have been really good pastiches of historical styles, but I'm not a fan of those styles.
J. Michael Straczynski, Rising Stars v. 1: Born in Fire: The inhabitants of a nondescript little town in the heart of America discover that many of their children have various powers. Most of the kids prosper, though some don't. When they're adults, someone starts killing them - and the reason is more sinister, and closer to home, than they'd like to think. Politicians, of course, exploit the problem by playing on the public's fears, increasing the dangers to the superpowered bunch - and possibly to the rest of the world. It's an intriguing setup, and Straczynski did bring the story to an end rather than stretching it out (though it lasts beyond this volume!). If you're enjoying Heroes, this might be of interest.
Judd Winick et al., Outsiders, v. 1: Looking for Trouble and v. 2, Sum of All Evil: The Outsiders are a group led by former sidekicks, trying to do good in a different way, by going after problems before they start. I found this promise, like the idea that the Authority was going to go beyond usual superheroics and intervene in humanity's affairs, to be more of an aspiration than an actual source of storylines. Pretty quickly, they fell into the standard patterns of villain-action and hero-reaction. V. 1 has the amazing Joker/Lex Luthor confrontation that must be seen to be believed, and also as a bonus inspired Shalott's separately wonderful story Revenge. Other than that, Not My Thing.
Glen Hanson et al., Realworlds: Wonder Woman: In Realworlds, there are no superpowered Amazons, only Hollywood starlets looking for their big breaks in the late 1940s. This one comes in the form of Wonder Woman, which is a great role - until Wonder Woman's new popularity gets caught up in a red-baiting politician's campaign. Mostly predictable, but nice to see a Wonder Woman with meat on her bones, the way they used to draw her - the starlet is Marilyn Monroe-shaped, not Demi Moore-shaped.
Alan Moore et al., Top Ten: The Forty-Niners: And another historical, the somewhat secret origins of the city of superheroes known as Neopolis. We get background on some familiar characters as well as new adventures against criminals who, like the heroes, are struggling to figure out their places in a postwar world that has decided to isolate all its superpowered folk, no matter the side on which they fought. There's first love (gay!) as well as friendship, along with some confusion between the two.
Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, v.2: I'm not well-versed in the older adventure genre that apparently gives the League's settings its depth for those in the know. Still, any group led by that dangerous divorcee Mina Harker can't be all bad. In this volume, the League fights invasion from Mars and gets some help from one Dr. Moreau. Mina and Allan Quartermain grow closer, while Mina's relationship with Mr. Hyde is of a darker hue. On her behalf, Hyde commits an act shocking enough to convince anyone that he'll never make a hero. The alien invasion is appropriately scary - though hardly scarier than Moreau's chimeras. Mina remained enigmatic enough that I had a hard time knowing what to think of her storyline, which seemed to jam a lot of contradictory experiences and emotions together (though at the end she seemed to recognize that she hadn't been thinking very hard about her intimate relationships, as compared to her global responsibilities). I was not interested in the appended texts, like the Allan Quartermain adventure, that are scattered Watchman-like throughout the narrative; they may have been really good pastiches of historical styles, but I'm not a fan of those styles.
J. Michael Straczynski, Rising Stars v. 1: Born in Fire: The inhabitants of a nondescript little town in the heart of America discover that many of their children have various powers. Most of the kids prosper, though some don't. When they're adults, someone starts killing them - and the reason is more sinister, and closer to home, than they'd like to think. Politicians, of course, exploit the problem by playing on the public's fears, increasing the dangers to the superpowered bunch - and possibly to the rest of the world. It's an intriguing setup, and Straczynski did bring the story to an end rather than stretching it out (though it lasts beyond this volume!). If you're enjoying Heroes, this might be of interest.
Judd Winick et al., Outsiders, v. 1: Looking for Trouble and v. 2, Sum of All Evil: The Outsiders are a group led by former sidekicks, trying to do good in a different way, by going after problems before they start. I found this promise, like the idea that the Authority was going to go beyond usual superheroics and intervene in humanity's affairs, to be more of an aspiration than an actual source of storylines. Pretty quickly, they fell into the standard patterns of villain-action and hero-reaction. V. 1 has the amazing Joker/Lex Luthor confrontation that must be seen to be believed, and also as a bonus inspired Shalott's separately wonderful story Revenge. Other than that, Not My Thing.