Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. Watch out fellas, Gotham belongs to the ladies now. Reviews for Detective Comics #854 and Gotham City Sirens #1 are ahead, also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!
DETECTIVE COMICS #854
I hope you like the color red because you and Gotham City are going to be seeing a lot of it for a while. Batwoman has exploded onto the pages of Detective Comics for it’s triumphant return and Kate Kane is ready for whatever you can throw at her. And she’s going to look great doing it.
The latest incarnation of Batwoman has made several appearances over the last few years. We’ve gotten small looks into her life thanks to 52, Countdown, Crime Bible: The Five Lessons of Blood and Final Crisis but this is our first chance to see what kind of person Kate really is. In a world where Batman is feared by criminals, how can Batwoman make a name for herself? From this issue it appears she’s taking on the role of the unforgiving angel. She’ll beat the crap out of you one minute then whisper in your ear and soothe you into telling her what she wants to know the next. Currently she’s on the hunt to track down the 13 covens of the Religion of Crime who are responsible for almost killing her with a knife to the chest. Her first target is a group led by a beautiful and quirky new villain named Alice. She speaks only in dialogue from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Batwoman isn’t one for nonsense.
Of course there’s more to Batwoman than just tracking down criminals. Kate Kane has been deliciously fleshed out thanks to Greg Rucka. A brief encounter with Batman (who she doesn’t know is the former Nightwing) has him lecturing her about her long beautiful red hair hanging out of her cowl. Once she gets back to her apartment we realize she’s smarter than Dick thinks – the hair is a wig. Her real hair is red, but short, and she’s been styled to within an inch of her life by the vastly talented J.H. Williams III. Her punk/rockabilly style is shown off when she heads straight from patrol duty to a breakfast date with her very pissed off girlfriend. While I don’t think tattoos are the smartest choice for a crime fighter with a secret identity, it’s a nice change from the norm. Her father is helping her with the gadget side of things for her night job, he’s ex or current marine personnel and keeps her well supplied. And can I just say, I’d kill for her apartment.
Kate’s occasional love interest, Renee Montoya (The Question), gets the second feature appropriately enough considering she too is a detective. Rucka is also writing this portion of the story but with artist Cully Hamner at the drawing board. Renee has been keeping busy taking jobs for people who contact her via the internet with their questions. Her latest is helping an immigrant whose sister has been kidnapped into a pornography ring. There’s nothing wrong with Hamner’s regular art but it feels boring sitting behind the striking new style Wililams brings to Detective Comics. Not everyone is going to love his dynamic layouts, which I can understand, straying from the norm is uncomfortable for some people. I was blown away when I saw a preview of this art at the New York Comic Con this past year and I was thrilled again to see it completed when I picked up the actual book last week. Rucka’s writing and Williams’ art is going to change how you look at comics whether you like it or not.
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #1
What do you get when you put Catwoman together in a book with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn? There’s no punch line here, just one of the best team-ups I’ve seen in a long time. If you thought Gotham was in trouble with Batwoman on the loose, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
When we last saw Catwoman she was recovering from her recent encounter with Hush. He took her heart out of her chest and in return she stole every last dime she had. She was also manhandled quite a bit by Jason Todd posing as Batman. Unfortunately, even though she had the best doctors and a little magic push from Zatanna, she’s still not 100% as is demonstrated when a crappy new thug named Boneblaster gets the better of her in a fight. Poison Ivy steps in to help her and she brings her back to her place, which is actually Riddler’s apartment. She’s been drugging him since she used all the money Catwoman gave her for helping with the Hush situation to protect tropical forests. Harley, who’s moved in as well since Holly got out of town, has been spending all her dough buying useless crap and falling for Nigerian spam schemes.
It’s Catwoman’s idea to band together but Ivy and Harley have doubts considering her health. Ivy decides to ask Zatanna if she added anything extra to her healing spells. She assures her she did nothing else and that Ivy and Harley should know it’s probably psychological considering they both used to be doctors. Though she does hold her own when Boneblaster shows up at Riddler’s apartment looking for another fight. The girls find themselves a home in an abandoned animal shelter, which is predictable, but suits their needs just fine. There’s just one more order of business Ivy and Harley would like to get out of the way before they unpack – they want Catwoman to tell them who Batman is.
Highlights of the first issue include Harley getting to use her giant mallet and the real estate agent to villains being named simply, The Broker. I’ve been anticipating Gotham City Sirens for a long time. Catwoman, Ivy and Harley are three of my favorite characters but the issue didn’t hit the ground running like I had hoped. Taking the time to put the ladies together could have been better spent getting right to the story. I almost would have preferred to have the issue begin with them already living together and to just let the mayhem begin. With most of the story told from Catwoman’s perspective it also makes me sad for her cancelled series all over again. What concerns me most is the lack of direction I felt. I’m still not entirely sure how this series is going to play out considering it’s a new ongoing but it’s being written by Paul Dini and like I said, features some of my favorite characters, so I’ll be sticking around for a while. Guillem March was a perfect fit for artist because these are three very attractive women and he’s an expert at drawing them. As of right now, Gotham City Sirens is just pure fun. If that’s something you’re into, you might want to give it a try. If not, I’m sure Harley’s got a mallet with your name on it.
GREEN LANTERN #42 – Hal finally manages to wield the Blue power ring by hoping for it to shut the hell up and the Guardians sell out their own.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #34 – Firestorm plugs Shadow Theif’s holes. Ew. Worlds (and continuity) are merged thanks to Dharma.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #28 – The Spectre foils Kung’s evil plan but on a more serious note, Jay, Alan and Ted c*ckblock like nobody’s business.
SUPERMAN #689 – The Guardian gets supercharged by Tellus for a future fight, Mon-El tours the world and Atlas infiltrates Iron Works.
TEEN TITANS #72 – This is why teenagers need adult supervision.
WONDER WOMAN #33 – No! Not the Megalodons!! Then again, Diana does get to ram an ax into Ares’ head, so maybe it was worth it in the end.
My pull list for next week:
BATMAN AND ROBIN #2
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #38
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #1 (OF 6)
SECRET SIX #11
Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #15?
July 1st, 2009 at 3:59 am
The Orange power battery was so funny when it took over Hal! I love Geoff Johns’ GL run because he’s made it an epic saga with a deeply fulfilling set of storylines, but I do enjoy it when he lightens things up with an issue like this. And Hal’s corps constructs were amazing, if not as sensational as Larfleeze’s dialogues.
In JSA, I can’t help wondering why the old guys are being SO overprotective of Courtney… second time they’ve chased someone away from her, even though they have acknowledged she is more mature than most people in the team and is capable of handling herself. And then there’s the bit that a forthcoming storyline is set to have a bounty on every member’s head apart from her- all JSA fans know she is a little special (blame Johns’ nepotistic writing for that, although I am thankful), but this is making things a little odd…
Gotham does indeed seem to have been taken over by the girls… the Sirens’ issue didn’t have much, but it seemed like a big setup, building up to the start of an actual storyline and their day to day life together, so I can wait for the next one before passing judgement. Detective Comics already looks like it will take off well, although I was a little concerned by the mention of Bette Kane. The ridiculously long list of candidates for the new Batgirl include the current Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, Misfit (ok, not really, but there’s some ridiculous possibility), and now Flamebird??? Not to mention the possibility of someone completely different. I hope the last few years aren’t just DiDio’s way of bringing back the Kathy Kane Batwoman and Bette Kane Batgirl. The former I think was a great move, the latter would be just too much of an attempt to force ‘old’ choices where they aren’t natural. If they change, I would prefer to see Steph as Batgirl (although it would be quite entertaining to see Dick having to cope with Misfit as well as Damian, though that wouldn’t happen ‘cos that would involve Barbara getting involved as well, and I can’t see Dick and Barbara coordinating the Batteam and still wind up with Kory and Dick kissing as shown in that promo pic).
But enough of my overanalytical rant… as for next week, I say GLC 38 (last issue of the Blackest Night prelude, plus things are really nuts on Oa as well as Daxam) and Justice League: Cry for Justice (Mauro Cascioli’s artwork looks amazing, and Hal leading a team for the first time since JLEurope should be… interesting)
July 1st, 2009 at 5:20 am
Detective - I wasn’t thrilled with the goth changes to Kate that were so drastic of a change from her sophisticated vixen look in 52. It’s a whole new character with the same name. The art was something to behold! Students should pick it up just for reference.
Sirens - “Highlights of the first issue include Harley getting to use her giant mallet and the real estate agent to villains being named simply, The Broker.” Did we read the same book? I didn’t see this anywhere but I did think the Broker was excellent. Plus, a nice “off duty” outfit for Harley makes her even cuter if that’s possible. I enjoyed it more than you, I guess, but it’s only a #1 and it’s Dini so I’m sure you have plenty of faith.
July 1st, 2009 at 5:30 am
Great coverage once again. I agree with you about Cully’s art on this book, though. I love Cully Hammer and I love him working with Rucka on a Montoya Question back-up even more, but next to JH Williams, III, almost anything pales. Still, I thought the first DC w/o Batman as the main character was a rousing success. I enjoyed it almost as much as Batman & Robin.
July 1st, 2009 at 8:51 am
I’ve liked Rucka since Gotham Central. And man, the art in this book is just amazing.
I agree with you about the tattoo thing. I guess I wouldn’t cut it as a superhero. Especially with the nature of my tattoo. Anyway, the second time I looked it appeared that they might have just been design on her shirt. I’m not sure.
The Nigerian line cracked me up. “You got his email, too?!”
I was a bit disappointed with Gotham City Sirens, too. And as much as I love Guillem March, I don’t think his art style is the perfect choice for this kind of campy book. I love Dini, too, but I wasn’t thrilled with the comic. But I’ll stick around for a bit longer!
Who doesn’t love ramming axes into Ares’ head?
Batman and Robin and Secret Six!
July 1st, 2009 at 11:11 pm
They ruined Harley. I’ll pass on Gotham City Sirens. Thanks Jill! Oh and I love the stars with the DC logo, cool!
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I really wasn’t impressed with Sirens either. I’m a big Harley fan and so I’ll admit, I really picked it up for the cover thinking it’d be much better than what it actually was. The book art left a lot to be desired too. I don’t think I’ll be getting another copy.
I was actually told to go buy #854 though and was frankly blown away. It is absolutely gorgeous. I’m an Alice addict from way back so the new villain design was choice. Also that they jumped from 2 art styles so seamlessly to follow the story… form and function made the panels far more dynamic. I’ll be reading the new storyline from now on. Very excited and haven’t been like this for a mainstream book in a long time.
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Detective was great, of course. JSA was fantastic too. For me though, the best book to come out that week was Batman: The Brave and the Bold #6.
It opened with Batman and Hourman fighting the Calculator. His henchmen all had math symbols on their shirts. Then the action continued with Batman and Kid Eternity battling an old Doom Patrol villain named General Immortus. He used a time portal to bring hordes of villains from various points in history. Kid Eternity used his powers to summon deceased heroes to bring forth old DC heroes apporpriate for who Batman was fighting. Like the golden Age Vigilante to fight Jesse James and his gang. Shining Knight to battle a horde of black knights.
For a DC Kids book, this series has been pretty good so far and this issue has been my favorite. My hope is to one day enjoy reading them with my two sons. Brandon is 3 1/2 and Julian is 8 weeks, as I write this. So far, very little interest in comics. Which is fine by me, actually.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I think you should review GLC and B and R 2.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
@wik, well the Courtney thing they’ve mentioned it being about PR for them but still, cut the poor girl some slack! And I think Misfit is definitely a possibility for Batgirl!
@Beth, yup Harley had her mallet out for about two panels during the fight scene! I loved the Harley Quinn pattern behind her as well. But yes, plenty of Dini faith right here.
@WITA, it’s definitely tattoos, I remember seeing concept art for her a few months earlier. And hey, maybe you can’t be a hero with tats but you can be a villain!
@Orionsaint, you think they ruined Harley? Wow, I’d be interested to know why you thought that. And thanks, they took some work to make but I’m loving them too!
@Scandalous, glad to see you enjoyed Detective! I think you might like Secret Six. They just started with an ongoing series not too long ago and there’s only about 2 minis you’d need to read (plus a few Birds of Prey issues that featured Harley!) to get caught up.
@Randy, oh come on, you need to be reading Julian to sleep with comics!