Detecting Comics

Bat/slash

utsukushuudreamer — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:29:46 +0000

To write Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain fic or not to write, that is the question.

And here I am about to delete my girlslash journal as well. Ho hum.

Propaganda

utsukushuudreamer — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:56:53 +0000

I’m pleased that it’s not just me who has been having a hard time whilst re-watching the 1943 Columbia Batman serial.

I have some fun childhood memories of this series yet, as highlighted by the article and also mentioned on my tokusatsu blog, one of the more striking things I found watching it as an adult in the 21st century was the racism. There is no excuse for this but, like the author of the article for Hero Complex, I think it’s important to consider the time and the context this story was told in.

You’d be hard pushed to find a comic book character from this era who didn’t do the rounds as a propaganda icon in all honesty. Batman is certainly no exception.

And for those of you thinking that the notion of Bats working for the government is far fetched, let’s not forget that Batman has a history of helping out the authorities with unorthodox assignments.

Seven Soldiers, One Liner

utsukushuudreamer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:42:57 +0000

Bit by bit, issue by issue, Seven Soldiers is restoring my faith in Grant Morrison’s writing.

Supergirl

utsukushuudreamer — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:48:54 +0000

It occurs to me that, what with all the continuity upheaval since Infinite Crisis and the new multiverse etc. etc., I no longer have any idea *who* Supergirl actually is now.

The last I checked she was Linda Danvers. Anyone want to clue me as to what happened to her?

The Justice League Are Alright

utsukushuudreamer — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:31:26 +0000

DC Super Friends + Chynna Clugston = awesome.

On Not Taking Your Audience For Granted

utsukushuudreamer — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:26:25 +0000

One of the problems I’ve had with recent iterations of the DC ‘big event’ has been the fact that, whilst labouring away trying to find a new angle, the stories seem to have increasingly forgotten the significance of the genre they’re in. This might sound somewhat hypocritical of me as it seems like I’m judging titles for being ‘too much’ like their predecessors whilst not innovating and, part of that’s true in a way, as any kind of feedback I can offer on these books is going to be subjective.

It’s obvious that Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, et al. have a fondness for the legacy of these characters – it’s just…they have an odd way of showing it. The biggest problem with 52 is that it is, to be frank, boring. It deals with characters not in the mainstream whilst offering very little explanation of who they are or why Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are absent. The other problem is that, in an attempt to be striking, the characters that are familiar are pushed in directions that never seem comfortable – such as Black Adam’s ‘is he/isn’t he a dictator‘ subplot. There’s never enough weight for this to actual appear as a feasible storyline, in fact, as the story progresses it begins to feel more and more like a case of a character being made to fit a ‘direction’ simply for the sake of it.

The two Countdown spin-offs were even worse with their characterisation however, to add insult to injury, neither of these titles actually managed to feature any kind of conclusion whatsoever.

I expected something better from these titles and, oddly enough, I found these very things – i.e. characterisation – were all to be found in greater degrees in Johnny DC titles such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and DC Super Friends.

DC Super Friends #3

It’s odd that two titles designed to promote a cartoon and a toyline respectively should resonate more strongly in terms of how these characters think and act than anything currently taking in the mainstream storyline.

Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learnt from this.

Mechanical T-Rex

utsukushuudreamer — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:51:25 +0000

DC Super Friends #2

I’ve developed something of an obsession as of late with the Batcave’s mechanical T-Rex. I think this is partly because no one seems to notice and/or comment on it, despite the incredible vastness of its size.

Countdown Spin Offs

utsukushuudreamer — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:31:20 +0000

Having read through all of Countdown: Arena and most of Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer recently, I can’t help but think that both these titles were not so much an exploration of the new multiverse posited by the previous ‘big’ event but rather an excuse to trawl through the same Elseworlds twice with little or no significance.

Nice idea, guys, woeful execution.

52

utsukushuudreamer — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:34:35 +0000

I have spent the better of today reading issues #1 – 30 of 52…and God knows I wish I hadn’t.

The Brave and the Bold #15

utsukushuudreamer — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:54:15 +0000

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