On Helena Bertinelli’s introduction on ARROW

One of the reasons, maybe the main reason, I started watching Arrow was the announcement that Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) would be added as a character. I am not particularly a fan of, or even knowledgable about, Oliver Queen and Green Arrow, but Huntress is one of my favorite pre-New 52 DC characters. Her inclusion in the cast of characters for Arrow was what finally enticed me to give the series a try even after some already pretty good press.

I am particularly a fan of Helena/Huntress as written by Gail Simone on her first Birds of Prey run, but also identify the character with Greg Rucka’s Cry for Blood and Ivory Madison’s Year One. To me, what makes Helena Bertinelli interesting is her mafia family roots and her struggle to grow beyond them. Those roots mean that she often has different, more severe, ideas about justice and the uses of violence than some of the other ‘heroes’ around her, but her struggle to be more than just part of the mafia world leaves her open to other ways of seeing and to alternate moral codes, even as she may not be fully willing or able to entirely change what she does.

In terms of appearance, my preference is for the Year One character design by Cliff Richards on pencils, with a trio of inkers, Art Thibert, Norm Rapmund, and Rebecca Buchman, and Jason Wright doing colors. This design gives the character a sleek and athletic look, as if she is actually prepared for a fight. On the other end is the Ed Benes drawn version (Alex Lei and Rob Lea on inks) which dominates Simone’s Birds of Prey and makes the character look more like she’s dressed for a fetish club and less like she’s ready for taking down thugs. Richards’ look follows Rick Burchett’s design for Blood, but improves upon it with streamlining, making the costume, especially the belt and cape, look less weighty, and more fluid.

Year One

Birds of Prey (Simone & Benes)

Cry for Blood

So, how did the character’s entry on Arrow come across? Here’s my assessment of the good and the not so good.

The good.

Given the timing of her introduction on the show, it would have been easy to reduce Helena to having been inspired by “The Hood”, or even a copycat, but writers Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns, and Marc Guggenheim (“Muse of Fire”) and Beth Schwartz and Kreisberg (“Vendetta”) make clear that Helena has her own reasons for having a “list” and enacting “justice”. Furthermore, she not only deflects Oliver’s attempts to tell her that she’s wrong even while he insists on his own rightness, she challenges him on the hairs he wants to split. Later, when she agrees to follow his lead, she do so on her own terms (thus, the crossbow). Their eventual falling out seems consistent with the idea that Helena is from the mafia, but not of it, in the sense that she wants to tear down her family’s operations as much as she wants simple vengeance. Helena’s backstory here tracks, in the broad outline at least, with Cry of Blood and Year One.

The romantic hookup between Helena and Oliver was perhaps predictable, but the spark between the characters comes from a weird place of anger, violence, and self-hate because of their families, and not from Helena swooning in the face of tall, handsome, and broody. She is likely right when she tells Ollie not to make too much of the one night. His insistence on trying to form a partnership is an interesting gender twist on the trope of good hearted women trying to fix darker hearted men in these kinds of hero stories. Typically, it would be the female character who plays the domesticating role, but in “Vendetta” it is Ollie trying to “tame” Helena.

The look adopted for the character on the show seems more inspired by Year One than either Cry for Blood or Birds of Prey, at least in terms of the color palette and sleekness. I like the touch of turning the cape into a coat. This choice works well as an adaptation for live action, as well as feeling something that would work last minute better than a cape. So, nice work to Colleen Atwood, who is credited as the series’ costume designer.

Arrow

The not so good.

There wasn’t any aspect of Helena Bertinelli’s debut on Arrow that I would describe as bad or objectionable, but there are a few points that did not come across as well as those noted above.

Jessica De Gouw’s performance is uneven. For most of “Muse of Fire” I think that Matt Wilson’s description of her on Comics Alliance as, “a little dead-eyed and cold”, is fair. Certainly, in our house, A was ranting about how emotionally thin the character seemed. I think she turns that around by “Vendetta” and it seems as if the actor and her directors, David Grossman and Kenneth Fink, likely wanted to give her room to burn between the two episodes (Alasdair Wilkins at AV Club has a similar observation about the emotional transformation between the two episodes).

One minor point that I could not help thinking about was where and how a mafia princess learns how to fight like Helena does. Year One and Cry for Blood both develop this backstory, but on Arrow I guess we are just supposed to take for granted that she prepped herself for her vendetta. The series is about Oliver, not Helena, so I understand not going into this detail, but, still, if the show survives for multiple seasons with Helena as a recurring character, I wouldn’t mind seeing a deeper treatment of her background.

On iO9, Esther Inglis-Arkell, makes the case that, “There is one hurdle in this episode of Arrow. If you vault it, you will have a ton of fun with ‘Vendetta,’ where the show’s various couples enact Natural Born Killers, Spy vs Spy, andThe Gift of the Magi respectively … That idea is that Helena is somehow immoral and unacceptable, compared to Ollie”.

This is what the discussion between Anne-Marie and I revolved around after “Vendetta”, with Anne-Marie making the same argument as Inglis-Arkell, that the episode wants us to think that Ollie is in the right and Helena in the wrong. I did, and still sort of, hold onto the thought that Helena’s challenges to Oliver are given merit, too, and that you can still see him as deluded. On other hand, seen in the context of his relationship with, Digg, which has been focused on nudging Oliver away from the single-minded, and narrowly defined, pursuit of making right what his father did wrong, I am almost persuaded that this episode was meant to be a final turning of the corner for “The Hood”, which would suggest that, yes, we are supposed to be worried for Helena and supportive of Oliver. As Wilkins puts it at the AV Club:

We were headed this way for a while, but I’m ready to call it: Arrow is officially a superhero now. A vigilante is allowed to let the ends justify the means, to leave a trail of the corpses on the path to what he calls justice. Even in the beginning, Oliver was never quite as grim as that, but his final actions tonight still feel a million miles from the Oliver who once killed a man in cold blood to protect his secret.

…

While it’s certainly a nice bonus that Oliver’s actions lead the police to Frank and his incriminating laptop, he heads to that mansion out for neither justice nor vengeance. He’s simply there to save Helena, at first her soul and then her life. He succeeds in the latter and seemingly fails in the former, but he still saves her from an irreversible mistake. In a way, being a true superhero isn’t simply about serving the greater good or helping the cops catch criminals. Sometimes, it’s about putting everything on the line just to save one person, whatever the odds.

So far the series has been slow to move into longer form storytelling beyond certain plot threads involving, particularly, Moira, and I am interested to see how “Muse of Fire” and “Vendetta” continue to resonate now that Helena has exited the frame. Like Oliver, I assume we’ll be seeing her again, but if we are to take seriously the idea that he is changing, and that part of why he is changing is because he saw some kind of dark side to what he does reflected in Helena, then whether she is part of the story or no, he should be, for example, more willing to use his power and resources to fight against crime and injustice outside the scope of “the list”. The other alternative is a reset back to Ollie only wanting to take down the names given to him by his father and Digg working to get him to think more broadly than that.

Whatever happens next, I think the show’s creators did right by Helena Bertinelli, featuring her not only in a well executed pair of episodes, but making the second part, “Vendetta”, the best installment of the series so far.

November comics

I’ve decided to start these posts after I get my single issues read each month, which still puts me about a week late, but this way I will have some actual content when I provide the lists.

From tfaw in November:

Monthly comics:

Action Comics #894 (DC).

I am not a regular reader of this title, and I almost did not order this issue, but once it registered that Paul Cornell was the writer, I thought it would be worth checking out. For most of the story, Cornell makes it seem like Lex Luthor has been dropped into The Sandman universe, and I found that part of the narrative to be compelling. The final few pages, where it reads more like Death being brought into the mainstream DCU, I found less compelling because I only vaguely understand what Luthor is talking about. I am also left feeling unsure about the resolution in terms of Death paying a visit to someone who isn’t dead, or even near death. That seems like a big liberty to be taking with the character.

Pete Woods’s and Brad Anderson’s version of death is also mixed for me. In close-up the art is often quite lovely, but when drawn from wider angles, her body goes through some weird changes in shape and proportion. I do think that the wide belt is a nice touch for updating the character, but without changing anything fundamental about her look.

The backup with Jimmy Olsen … all I can say about that is aliens who get drunk on oxygen seem entirely like something Nick Spencer would write. The retro futuristic look and feel of the art by RB Silva et al is fun, too, but I did not understand much of the context for this story.

Angel #38 and #39 (IDW)

Elena Casagrande appears to be the leading house artist, and that’s a good thing. Other than that, some wrapping up and a new start. Really just playing out the string with this book.

Angel: Illyria: Haunted #1 (IDW)

Scott Tipton and Mariah Huehner use the first issue of this mini to review Illyria’s biography and set up the story. Most importantly, they get her voice right, which isn’t easy. Few writers in these Angelverse comics have been able to get her cadence, and off kilter thinking, just right, but I think this issue is pretty close. More Elena Casagrande pencils, and I appreciate her ability, and inker Walter Trono’s ability, to render the characters in ways that look like the live action referents, but still making figures that look like comic art, and not bad photographs or something.

Atomic Robo: Deadly Art of Science #1 (Red 5)

All I will say this month is, “Atomic Robo, yaye!”, and that I am looking forward to the book getting back to a longer story arc.

Avengers Academy #6 (Marvel)

Again, I get this for A, but enjoy reading, too. That being said, weakest issue of the series so far for me. Probably because he is the ‘nice guy’ on the team, Reptil does not come across as the most interesting character.

Birds of Prey #6 (DC)

Also a weak outing. I was looking forward to a Huntress-centered issue, but Helena’s voice seems off (“Drippypants”, really?). While the art seems more setlled than it has in other post-Ed Benes issues, I am not liking the blow up doll lips on everyone, and some of the posing is overly softcore. On the other hand, Gail Simone’s reintroduction of Shiva, which I think most readers knew was coming at some point, is spot on.

Black Widow #7 (Marvel)

Most of what’s wrong with this title right now is summed up by the bottom panel in page 3. I also don’t understand why the basic plotline of the the first arc is being recycled here. Is the whole series going to be about Natasha being framed? I don’t doubt this is a problem for her, but still, there has to be more. The uncredited cover is pretty cool, though.

B.P.R.D. – Hell on Earth: New World #4 (Dark Horse)

I feel the need to hold off on writing too much about this issue, as it is the penultimate in the kick off for the reconstituted B.P.R.D. title, but the way the Wendigo reappeared in full view of Abe is worth noting and very interesting.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Oracle (one-shot) (DC)

Ironically, of the two single issue ‘event comics’ I got in this shipment, the one that was easiest for me to follow is the one in the ongoing series. As much as I realize that ‘one-shot’ only promises to resolve a particular story, something in the way these were marketed, led me to think it would be easy enough to read despite not really following the main Bat books. I was wrong. In any event, I took chance because Oracle + Marc Andreyko seemed promising, not because I am interested in the Bruce Wayne storyline. My mistake.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #38 (Last Gleaming Part Three)

Angel embraces the Twilight thing and starts punching people. Yeah, I know what happens next.

Fringe: Tales from the Fringe #5 (Wildstorm)

This issue might put the telling good stories about minor characters device a little too far, but still recommend the series to fans of the show.

Generation Hope #1 (Marvel)

Start of a new series, new mutants. Interesting enough kick off, and a nice prelude in the back.

Ghost Projekt #5 (Oni Press)

I started this subscription because I have become very interested in how the Cold War is being reassessed in pop culture, but I’m not sure that there is much unique or especially deep here, although I do appreciate that Joe Harris and Steve Rolston make the reader work to understand how the story ends. Probably need to go back through all five issues together for a real evaulation.

Hellboy/Beasts of Burden (one-shot) (Dark Horse)

Lovely. Sad. Maybe the best book I read this month. I only wish I knew more about the Beasts of Burden. Waiting for trade to come out for that series.

Hot Wire: Deep Cut #2 (Radical Comics)

This comic is the only reason I hesitated on whether the above is the best thing I read this month or not. Cracklingly fun. Full of smarts and action. I don’t know what the actual working relationship between Steve Pugh and Warren Ellis is on this title, but it has some of Ellis’s signatures, especially a fascination with science and the culture of scientists. Love it.

I, Zombie #7 (DC/Vertigo)

A new story arc starts. Lots of characters with their own threads. Starting to feel like more of an ensemble book right now. A and I continue to enjoy together. Thanks, Chris Roberson and Michael Allred for creating book I can read with my twelve year-old, even on Vertigo.

Mystery Society #4 (IDW)

I am beginning to feel as if the narrative is starting to spin its wheels without going anywhere. The Poe skull seems like a throwaway right now, but we’ll see. Would still buy just for Fiona Staples’s art.

Scarlet #3 (Marvel Icon)

The issue I am having with this series right now is the kind of corruption that Bendis and Maleev are exploring here does not seem to fit the setting. Portland has problems with police use of force, and racial tensions, but the drug money, dirty cops kind of corruption that Scarlet is fighting back against, not so much. This is weird because Bendis otherwise seems to get his adopted city pretty well in other respects.

Spider-Girl #1 (Marvel)

Very strong debut for this series. I am not entirely what the significance of Red Hulk is supposed to be at the end, but up to that point, I thought that Paul Tobin paced the story well and introduced the character in an effective way through a variety of settings and relationships. Clayton Henry draws Anya as a sensible and athletic teen girl. A nice change from some of the other art this month.

Spike #3 (IDW)

Still more fun and sharper than Angel right now. Still setting itself up, fwtw.

Uncanny X-Men #529 (Marvel)

Moving along the Emma, Shaw, Kitty story, pushing Hope forward. If I were more ambitious, I would go back to the previous issues and see if inks and colors were done by new people because Whilce Portacio’s pencils seem somewhat less irritating, better differentiation between characters, Emma less hag-y.

X-23 #3 (Marvel)

Well, I am entirely confused about the direction this title is going in. Write now the narratives are changing on a dime. This does not seem like Marjorie Liu’s fault, but is rather a result of editorial decisions requiring the book to service crossover stories. Making me wish she (and Daniel Acuna) were still on Black Widow.

TPBs:

CBGB (BOOM!)

Fun, works very hard to get the spirit of the subject right. Even though it took the most oblique approach to the club, on first reading, Kelly Sue DeConnick’s and Chuck BB’s quiet story stood out for me, but I also think the opening stories by Kieron Gillen and Marc Ellerby and Sam Humphries and Rob G set the tone of the collection well. I am thinking of devoting a future “Worlds in Panels” to this book.

Daredevil Bendis & Maleev Ultimate Collection Book 3 (Marvel)

The middle book of these giant collections took a more conventional turn, but here Bendis and Maleev are back to deconstructing their subject, attempting to explore what it would mean for someone to be superpowered and to take the law in their own hands, how different people might react to those individuals. The fact that Bendis is willing to be so open about this, the Hell’s Kitchen support group, to work into the narrative makes this even better reading. The opening arc that mixes art styles is lovely work by Maleev and Dave Stewart. I even found myself compelled by the “Ultimate” backups.

Duncan the Wonder Dog Vol. 1 (AdHouse)

See my Favorite Comics of 2010 for my thoughts on this title.

Kill Shakespeare Vol. 1 (IDW)

This book did not take off for me until Hamlet falls in with Falstaff and Juliette. I am glad that writers Conor McCreery, Athony McCall and penciler/inker Andy Belanger made Juliette as a counterpoint to Lady McBeth. While the latter is certainly made in the spirit of the original text, she also is a familiar female villain (dark, red, sexy, evil). Juliette, in the position of rebel leader, is not only less familiar, but has been given a very interesting story arc post-Romeo.

Koko Be Good (First Second)

Jen Wang writes and draws an engaging story about two very different people who nonetheless build a friendship. Koko is especially well rendered in a dynamic way, almost liquid, in how she moves and changes facial expressions. Jon, appropriately, is more grounded and staid. The open expressiveness of her characters is another admirable quality of the book.

Red Mass for Mars Vol. 1 (Image)

Yeah – still need to think about this one.

Saga of Rex (Image)

Wow. So delightful. I only have three of the Flight books, so this collection of Michel Gagne’s creation is wonderful to have. Gagne’s universe is beautiful and complex, but what really makes the story work is the expressiveness of his characters, vitally important to a book with no dialogue, and only ocassional narration.

X-Men: Nation X (Marvel)

I got this to fill in some of the gaps in my reading of X-Men: Legacy and Uncanny X-Men, but the real pleasure in the collection is the collected Nation X issues written and drawn by a variety of independent creators, Mike Allred, Becky Cloonan, and Marvel regulars who tend to work the margins of the publisher’s universe, like Christopher Yost. What makes these stories so refreshing is how free they are, free to explore characters without having to worry so much about servicing the larger narrative and selling issues of the adjacent X-title. I will also say that I find Greg Land’s style to be offputting. In all of the Uncanny X-Men issues featuring his pencils, the characters look like airbrushed models and actors. Who really wants that, especially when dealing with this cast of characters?

End of September comics

From tfaw this month:

Monthlies:

Avengers Academy #4 (Marvel)

This is A’s subscription. My plan is always to skim, but I end up reading them more intently than that. That probably says something good about Christos Gage’s writing in particular.

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – New World #2 (Dark Horse)

Two major storylines this issue. In one, at B.P.R.D. headquarters, Kate is cracking under the bureaucratic responsibilities imposed by the UN, while Panya is causing mischief, raising questions about her agendas and what she’s contributing to the work of the Bureau.

Meanwhile, in the woods of British Columbia Abe finds Benjamin Daimio hiding out, ashamed of how he left the B.P.R.D. The Wendigo is seen lurking in the forest. Daimio fills Abe in on news of a deep lake in the area where something terrible rests. The issue ends with Abe diving in.

The two major storylines are bridged by a series of panels featuring two unknown men living with an unidentified “she” who shouldn’t be disturbed. The transition from B.P.R.D. hq to the BC woods is handled through a TV talk show where commentators argue over what the horrible events of the last few months mean. We see Johann watching the show, and then are taken to the set, and then to the house in the woods where one of the unidentified men is watching the debate.

As always, reading B.P.R.D. has rewards on multiple levels.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #16 (DC)

I canceled this subscription a few months ao when the Manhunter backups stopped running. So, this is just a burn off.

Birds of Prey #5 (DC)

This issue highlights what I’m enjoying about the new BoP and what worries about the series. First, I appreciate how Gail Simone is able to keep things moving in interesting ways. Even though this issue is mostly about the aftermath of last month’s big fight, and set up for the issue to follow, a lot happens in-between mop up and the shift to Bangkok. The fact that it mostly involves Lady Blackhawk and Huntress, thereby bringing them back into the main action, is even better.

And on that, I also am enjoying seeing Helena with her edge back. After Black Canary left the group the first time, Helena got turned into the field leader/den mother than Dinah used to be, and, in the process, became a softer character. For me, though, she is at her most interesting when you aren’t quite sure what she’ll do. Here I believed that she would kill The Penguin given the chance, despite the fact that I know that is probably forbidden by the Powers that Be at DC.

On the other hand, I am concerned that this reset is beginning with everyone in grim peril, and, now, the team fraying at the seams. I think that Simone loves these characters too much to sell them out for cheap dramatics, so I trust that there will be a settling down at some point, but when you start with so much dire, it’s hard to know where things might go next.

That concern is minor next to my wish for more from the art. I was glad enough to see that Ed Benes is able to moderate his impulse to fetishize certain parts of the Birds’ bodies, but I can still think of a number of artists I’d rather have on the title. I understand from reading Gail Simone on Twitter that Benes had to quit working for health reasons. I would not wish that kind of illness on anyone, but I do hope that his absence creates an opportunity for someone else. Nicola Scott or Georges Jeanty come immediately to mind, or, even though she hasn’t worked with DC before, I would love to see Emma Rios on this book. Right now, predictably, I guess, the art-side is a mess.

Black Widow #6 (Marvel)

A new creative team takes over and gets off to a ho hum start. I appreciate Duane Swierczynski’s effort to write a story that, at the outset at least, is easy to get into without a lot of background, but beginning with the same premise as Marjorie Liu used to launch the series, Natalia/Natasha being framed for crimes she did not commit, is not confidence inspiring.

The art is also missing the uniqueness and flare of Daniel Acuna’s work. Manuel Garcia, in particular, draws all of the women in a disappointingly conventional way (flowing hair, big breasts, long legs).

Still, it is just a start.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #36 (Last Gleaming, part I) (Dark Horse)

Here Joss Whedon scripts and it shows in the mix of wit and drama, including a few nice visual jokes. I also found the issue to be helpful in recapping the Twilight reveal and its implications. In addition to starting the end of Season Eight, the issue reads as if it might be setting up Angel and Spike’s return to Dark Horse (see the Spike: The Devil You Know below).

Daytripper #10 (DC/Vertigo)

Final issue, and the gentlest of the series. Moon & Ba use a device here that I am not fond of, the dispensing of parental wisdom, but in a series about writers and the writing life, I grant them some latitude.

I am also still working through what I think about this last installment ending in a markedly different way than the previous issues – until the end, in fact, I had been wondering if this series really needed to be read in a strictly linear way – but I also think that this book should end up high on the “titles to recommend to adults who want to get into comics” list. Not only is the story entirely against the grain of what Americans assume comics are for, but the art is at a high standard. Ba & Moon clearly love people, and the details of daily life. Both of these are beautifully reflected here.

Fringe: Tales from the Fringe #4 (Wildstorm)

I am enjoying this second Fringe mini. I think that using comics to tell small side stories about characters from a TV show are a good use of these kinds of licensed comics.

Of course, the fact that the stories wouldn’t really carry a television episode sometimes shows. This issue the main story about Nina Sharp lacks a certain amount of imagination (let’s see; we have an older woman in a position of power, childless, no partner, what shall we write about?), but the art is lovely. Subtly styled, Julius Gopez also draws charmingly credible versions of the younger Nina and William Bell. Carrie Strachan’s colors are bright, and I especially like how Nina’s red hair ‘pops’.

The secondary story is also cliched, but Fiona Staples’ typically expressive artwork elevates the narrative beyond its limitations.

Hellboy: The Storm #3 (Dark Horse)

By the end of this mini, it is revealed that ‘the storm’ is the summoning, again, of Ogdru Jahad, a revelation that probably explains why Hellboy begins to feel as if doing what everyone wants him to do, lead an army of the dead against Nimue’s host, is exactly what he should not do. As it turns out, Nimue is, herself, simply a tool in the bringing of the Ogdru Jahad (isn’t that always the way).

Before setting out to face the witch queen, Hellboy appears to express his love for Alice and an intention to return to America and to the B.P.R.D. (following up on last issue’s hint at a crossover). On the road, he sees Gruagach/Grom strung up on a tree, begging for death and expressing regret for where his thirst for revenge has led the world. Hellboy tries to accomodate him, but to no avail. Gruagach seems destined to suffer for all time, which is sad even for a creature so epically small-minded.

More of interest happens in this comic than in a whole year’s worth of other titles.

I, Zombie #5 (DC/Vertigo)

Gwen confronts a moral dilemma and possibly an uncomfortable truth about herself in this issue. Chris Roberson and Michael Allred do an excellent job showing Gwen’s distress as much as telling it to readers. Most keenly for me, A continues to look forward to this book and I continue to feel ok about letting her read it.

Murderland #2 (Image)

After two issues, I am still trying to make up my mind about this book. I had it pulled because the previews promised something that inspired by Homicide and The Wire, and issue two certainly exhibits more of that promise than number one. However, I’m still not sure what’s going on. Narrative strands are being drawn out but not brought together yet. I was thankful for the short ‘FlipSide’ backup for its clearer and sharper story.

Still, David Hahn’s art is eye catching, with a good assist from Jose Villarubia on “Jiggity-Jig, part one” and Guillem Mari on the main story.

Mystery Society #3 (IDW)

This book continues to be fun. Not a lot new happens in this issue, but our heroes continue to outwit their pursuers, at least until the cliffhanger ending. And it would be hard not to at least enjoy looking at Fiona Staples art.

Scarlet #2 (Marvel Icon)

This book seems designed to polarize people and to provoke questions about the medium. What does it mean when a comic book character breaks the fourth wall? Is that even the right language? At what point does it make sense to look at Alex Maleev’s art in terms of photography rather than comics? How does doing that change how you understand his work?

I thought that having Scarlet address the reader was an effective way to set up the story and introduce the character. In issue two it becomes … ponderous. She seems to be rehearsing her justifications for doing what she does. Maybe there’s something to that in terms of character – the ex-cop bartender does the same thing after all – but does it make for a good comic? Not sure.

One quality I like about Maleev’s approach to the art is that the city of Portland becomes a real and compelling part of the story, but whether that works for readers who don’t already know the city, I couldn’t say.

There are certainly people doing what Maleev does here, but badly and on the cheap. I don’t think he should bear the burden of what other artists do. I doubt that a hack would have the vision to move from the dominant photorealism of this book to the panels of pure abstraction at the bottom of the next to last page of this issue like Maleev does.

Spike: The Devil You Know #3 & #4 (IDW)

And so concludes this somewhat undistinguished mini-series, at least as compared to Brian Lynch’s & Franco Urru’s previous series, Spike: Asylum and Spike: Shadow Puppets.

On the whole, I think that Buffy Season Eight is a stronger series than the Angel monthly, and unlike the majority of the earlier books featuring Spike, this mini is of a piece with Angel. What I do appreciate about IDW’s Angel series is the willingness to introduce and experiment with new characters, but I am not quite understanding what readers are supposed to be finding so interesting about Eddie Hope, who co-stars here and in backups to Angel.

I suspect that The Devil You Know was meant to be set up for the forthcoming Spike monthly, and we would have found out more about Eddie and Tansy (no other reason to keep her alive at the end of all of this). But that’s all pretty well water under the bridge now.

Stumptown #4 (Oni Press)

And so the first story arc comes to a close. Finally. The issue is worth it for Matthew Southworth’s soul bearing letter to readers if nothing else, but the fact that I felt like I knew what was going on despite the time between number three and number four (and number two and number three) suggests something about the quality of the story. It would be easy to write Dex off as one of Greg Rucka’s well-rehearsed “tough women”, but I think there is something unique in her just getting by, knock-about quality; male P.I.s get to be this underdog-y as a matter of routine, female detective, not so much. Rucka gives this classic persona to Dex without masculinizing her or turning the book into one about her getting beaten down all the time. In the end, she’s smarter and more resourceful than the people she has to contend with, and that’s cool. Looking forward to more, even if it takes awhile.

Uncanny X-Men #528 (Marvel)

A tightly structured, keep things moving issue. Just fine, and I’m glad that we are well-past Matt Fraction needing to service some big cross-over with the title, but am unsure about Whilce Portacio’s pencils. He has some serious problems with Emma Frost, especially. She’s far too pinched looking, and, while you have to make certain allowances for her dress, she comes across as vulgar more than strongly sexy here.

X-23 #1 (Marvel)

I think this is a good start for the series. I am interested in the idea of helping X-23/Laura learn about helping people by putting her in a situation where she can’t rely on her mutant abilities, and also by the theme of the responsible adults in her life needing to, well, act responsibly. I also like seeing some variation in body-type between the characters, especially the women. Some are more voluptuous, while others are lean and wiry. A good beginning for Liu and Conrad.

Other purchases:
Digital comics:

• X-23: Innocence Lost #1 (Marvel)
• X-23: Innocence Lost #2 (Marvel)
• X-23 Innocence Lost #3 (Marvel)
• X-23 Innocence Lost #4 (Marvel)
• X-23 Innocence Lost #5 (Marvel)
• X-23 Innocence Lost #6 (Marvel)

TPBs:

Captain America Reborn (Marvel)

Looking back through the comics that survived my youth, there’s a fair number of Captain Americas, but I haven’t really been that interested in reconnecting with the character as an adult. Whatever resonated with me as an adolescent is gone. Still, I know that Ed Brubaker’s run on the title is one of the better regarded works by a writer at Marvel and so I’ve been selectively checking those out, and this is the second collection I’ve read, after Winter Soldier.

What I like most about Brubaker’s writing is that he approaches the material completely straight, no irony, no meta-commentary on the superhero. There’s room for that stance, too, of course, but I never like seeing a form taken over by one way of doing things. So, here, even when you have a giant Red Skull rampaging on the National Mall, there are witty bon mots from the heroes, but nothing that takes you out of the moments. This manages to capture some of the pure fun of reading comics as a kid.

Daredevil Bendis & Maleev Ultimate Collection Book 2 (Marvel)

I am glad that Marvel is putting out these collections. Brian Bendis’ run on Daredevil fell into the period when I wasn’t actively reading comics (and the title was never a favorite). For me, the best part of this run is the opening collaboration with David Mack, but consistently entertaining, while also posing interesting questions about superheroism.

Supergirl: Death and The Family (DC)

One of the frustrations with this title, in trade at least, is that it sometimes seems as it deals with characters other than, well, Supergirl. This is one of those collections. It certainly seems as if this collection could just as easily be titled Superwoman, as Lucy Lane gets much more interesting treatment than does Kara.

I also found myself discomfited by the chapters penciled by Jamal Igle. In much the same way as other artists need to devise tricks to keep the skirt from flying up in revealing ways, Igle appears to be looking for ways to feature the compression shorts. Perhaps he is pushing the point about the character design – there’s just no way to make this work – but the showcasing of the shorts can also be read as just a new fetish.

I did find the Helen Slater and Jake Black and Cliff Chiang collaboration that closes the book to be fun, and, most importantly, about Supergirl.

Tiny Titans vol. 4: The First Rule of Pet Club (DC)

Good natured fun as always. I especially loved the bats, and the Stretchy Guys.

Left over in the to-read ‘box’:

TPBs:

A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge (Pantheon)

Affecting, if not groundbreaking, work of comics reportage. Neufeld has an eye for detail that serves him well in developing the individual stories he chooses for the book. He draws each of his characters in a way that gives them distinct personalities, and all grow on you over time, even if if there is some imbalance in the time devoted to different subjects.

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love (DC/Vertigo)

For some reason, I had really high expectations for this book. Maybe it’s because Chris Roberson also writes the fine I, Zombie, or because of Chrissie Zullo’s delightful covers, but I was pretty ready for this to be cool.

And it approaches it – the backstory with the Fairy Godmother is a good example of how the The Fables conceit works well – but also falls short. The shoe store story with Crispin Cordwainer felt like filler, and I was waiting for more to come from Cindy’s flashbacks. I’d love to see a series about her and Bigby. And, in the end, being left wanting more would seem to me good things about a book.

Ex Machina vol. 1: The First Hundred Days (Wildstorm)

A God Somewhere (Wildstorm)

This is a curious title. For starters, John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg do some interesting things with the superhero genre. Rarely do you get to see a book like this where there is truly only one superpowered, superheroic figure. Arcudi seems interested in exploring what that might be like. What makes the story even more interesting is the focus on the superperson’s best friend, and how he is affected in ways both positive and negative by the acquisition of powers. The fact that Sam is a flawed and not entirely likeable guy adds another important layer to the story. Similarly, the fact that Eric, and brother Hugh, are kind of ‘heroic’ before Eric gets his powers, which actually twist him into something else, also adds a significant layer of meaning to the story.

And yet, the story is too compressed. I think that Hugh suffers the most from this in terms of his development as a character. There is also very little time for Eric to lose his mind. I would have liked to see more about religion and more of a time period where Eric uses his powers in a ‘good’ way, while slowly going crazy from the alienation and sense of superiority to others. And, really, Sam could use more time for readers to see his underlying talents.

Upon finishing I wasn’t sure how much I liked the book, but it definitely improves upon reflection. I just wish that it had been longer or been written as a mini-series.

Heartbreakers: Bust Out (Image)

Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades (Marvel)

X-Men: First Class – Tomorrow’s Brightest (Digest) (Marvel)

Light and fun. Glad I finally read it. Jeff Parker does an especially nice job of writing stories that are gentle and accessible without being squishy or boring. Also nice to see an contemporary X-Men title that is kind to new readers.

Digital comics:

Moon Girl #4, #5, #6, & #7 (comiXology)

I finished this series over breakfast this morning (Sat, 10/2), and then went back to the beginning to see if I could piece it all together. The historical back-and-forth is hard to track, but this is what I gather about the arc of the story.

The final issues flashback to Clare/Moon Girl’s history with Santana and to Clare’s personal history as some kind of European aristocracy. Santana trained Clare to be ‘the embodiment of the people’, a task that she was, and remains, skeptical about, but Clare’s parents were killed during a ‘Bolshevik’ revolution, and she emigrated to the U.S. hoping to start a new life as a ‘normal’ person. The first three issues show readers how that worked out for her.

This was the first comic I purchased that was meant for digital distribution and you could tell in how easy it is to ‘flow’ through the pages and panels on my iPhone. I also think that this is my favorite ‘painted’ comic; somehow in digital form, the images seem less stiff than this style usually is on the page. The bright colors and clear details also rendered well on the screen.

If you enjoy twentieth century political theory, and pulpy characters, Moon Girl is a good read.

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