Superhero Comics!

[Dhi]

I'll be looking to pick that one up tomorrow, during FREE COMIC BOOK DAY WOOP WOOP

[Dhi]

Today was Free Comic Book Day, and I had the chance to talk to a lot of comic book fans. I hope you had a chance to get out there and pick something up, or, you know, did the responsible thing and kept up social distancing by staying home.

Most people had heard about Tim Drake coming out as bisexual, and were pretty jaded, pretty dismissive of the move. But, I got the last copy, so it did move issues.

There's a lot for me to be excited about. I'll try to keep it brief.

A preview for Harbinger was in Valiant's free book this year. I couldn't find any excerpt for it online, Valiant's not great with their web presence. In it, titular character Peter Stancheck is being pursued by authorities. It's interesting that people on the street recognize him immediately, implying that this is not a full reboot. We're introduced to a mystical new vision for psiot powers, and the mantra of "Be better" which is certainly a statement of intent in 2021's sociopolitical climate, but also, I'm now realizing, a clever reference to Harbinger abilities.

The art is a little rough, but not in a way I dislike. Soot and dust is conveyed with inky fingerprints, which is cool and unique- it's just a little rough.

Future State: Gotham pretty much made my pull list by accident, keeping up with my girl Rose Besch's fabulous variant covers. I didn't intend to continue reading this book after they made it into this weird manga thing nobody asked for. But, flipping through this week's #4 shows a huge improvement in the whole production. Very surprised as well to see a new character named Hunter Panic, a clear successor to Violet Paige, Mother Panic.



Whether this portends a return of Young Animal characters, I don't know. Jo Mullein is now in Green Lantern, and a character wearing the Mother Panic suit is in Future State. Maybe we'll see Loma Shade again soon; certainly Doom Patrol is a hot property.

Hardware is the last of the Milestone relaunch and it's alright. I'm able to follow it because I was familiar with the original, and read the preview in Milestone Returns where it explains why Curtis is on the run. Anyone who starts reading here is going to be confused by the action and Curtis' mission to humiliate and destroy his financier.

I don't know. Hardware was ever hard to stomach in this way. If it has a message, as some of the poetic pages suggest, great! If not, I don't know what the audience for this is.

Very excited about the unveil of that Dark Ages DC book. Dark Knights of Steel is going to be a 12 issue series with clear inspiration taken from Dungeons & Dragons. One of the variants is going to be by prolific D&D artist Wayne Reynolds, and another one is, well, this:



With writer James Tynion leaving DC and all the Bat-book plans I've been following about to crumble into ash, my reading list is going to shrink considerably in November. Books like Dark Knights and Marvel's Darkhold are what's currently keeping me interested in 2022.

Speaking of which, The Death of Doctor Strange is introducing a trio of villains called the Three Mothers, which seem heavily influenced by the old Darkhold series and Midnight Sons era of Lilithian demons. Could this be something?

[Dhi]

This week from Marvel I read Black Cat #9, Marauders #23, Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual 2021, Spider-Woman #14, and X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #1.

The Trial of Magneto is really an X-Factor story, so if you were into Polaris' forensics investigations- and I was starting to get into it, before it was canceled- this issue is almost an X-Factor #11, and written by Leah Williams who was responsible for that series.

It's been announced Jonathan Hickman is leaving the X-books after Inferno, and this is the where Krakoa starts to fall apart. I'm not engaged by the mystery of Wanda's floating consciousness, I'm not particularly invested in how Krakoa disassembles so long as it does, and if Mystique isn't largely responsible for this I'm going to be disappointed. Some of the art, particularly the flower motif is gorgeous, and I like Polaris and Leah Williams' writing. I don't know if I want to continue buying this or not.

Black Cat is fun. I like the dynamic between she and Star, a self-centered princess with big powers but small imagination. I don't think these two will have any chemistry since Star is being spread across this whole event, but it would be nice.




It's implied here Felicia is gathering the Infinity Stones for Dr. Doom, which I don't love. I'm also so confused as to the order of events regarding Star. In Amazing Spider-Man Annual she's living it up with jewels and stolen puppies, and that seems to take place after Black Cat #9 despite being released last month. This month, in Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual, Nick Fury guns down (!) Nighthawk and captures Star. Does this story take place before Black Cat #8, which was published a month ago? And then last month's Amazing Spider-Man Annual takes place after this month? And Nighthawk, and the whole Squadron Supreme storyline, is just dead.

It doesn't seem like the event has been very well planned.

This week from DC I read Catwoman #34, Flash #773, Nightwing #83, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3, Superman and the Authority #2, and Superman Red and Blue #6.

Flash is just a solid story about Wally West showing compassion to an old enemy. But, there's also an interlude by Jessica Cruz as a Yellow Lantern. This implies the story teased for next week's Green Lantern Annual is going to have lasting repercussions, that Jessica is going to remain a Yellow Lantern. If so, that's great! That issue will decide for me whether I want to continue buying Green Lantern.

Supergirl and Nightwing were both spectacular this month with engaging story, gorgeous art, and emotional resonance.

Some very important story moments happen in Nightwing. This is how comic books ought to be paced.




Supergirl is a side adventure Kara and Ruthye have during the ongoing narrative, so it's self-contained. Ruthye continues to be a great device for examining Supergirl's character, and this study is on her sense of justice and how she, quite differently from Kal-El, applies it to the world around her.



( Linked because Ruthye seems to be quite young: https://i.imgur.com/xIqSqjL.jpg )

There was this gag in Superman and the Authority #2 regarding Natasha Irons, super-daughter of Steel:



I started buying at least one book- White Widow- solely for the butts. No lie, I appreciate big juicy comic book hips and this is probably a good 10% of why I'm reading.

[TheLaughingOne]

hehehe, Gotta love them Hartmans ;3

[Dhi]

This week in indies I read Alice in Leatherland #5, and God of Tremors by Peter Milligan.

Alice in Leatherland concludes with the leading lady and her Frankie friend getting together as expected. In the end, it was a pretty average LGBT romcom book. The San Francisco fetish scene was underutilized and ultimately only led to a premise of Alice working in a sex shop. This leads me to think the gal writing this believes it's too much of a stretch to establish sex shops and gay communities outside of San Francisco.

Then there are little irregularities, like this.



This idea that two lesbians in love endeavor but fail to be intimate is heteronormative fiction. We've seen Alice revolutionize her own world with a ten dollar vibrator, and this very cute, emotionally available, simpatico girlfriend can't freak a leak? I expected something much more genuine, or at least better researched than what I received. It was a cute story, at times. Zandardino and Romboli are putting out another lesbian comic in November, A Thing Called Truth, and I'm going to pass on that one.

New titles were announced for the upcoming Darkhold event, Darkhold: Wasp and Darkhold: Black Bolt.



As well, some designs for the corrupted versions of the protagonists so far.




They're nothing particularly inspired, but they convey the book's influence, so that's fine.

[Dhi]

This week in Marvel I jumped on Amazing Fantasy a little bit late with issue #2, but thankfully we have a nicely stocked store here where I could pick up #1 too.

I remember seeing some promotional art of Amazing Fantasy with what looked like Captain America in the Savage Land, and it seemed creative, but sometimes it takes more than a flashy idea to hook me on a book.

What changed things for me was learning that it's written and illustrated by Kaare Andrews, who recently finished E-Ratic at creator-owned enterprise Upshot Comics. E-Ratic is about a teen hero and his teen world, and it never quite worked for me nor felt like something I would want to share with a young audience. While I'm not totally sure who E-Ratic is for, Amazing Fantasy is rad Frazetta fantasy with familiar Marvel heroes out of place and time having brisk, fun Heavy Metal adventures.



And it's only 5 issues long, I can keep up with that.

Also excited for Giant-Size Black Cat, in November.



This is supposed to mark the end of her Infinity Score story, which doesn't even feel like it's really started yet. Are we not going to have a 20-chapter, company-wide crossover event for this horny jewel thief? Why should Spider-Man and the Avengers get all the big stories? Well, whatever. I'm enjoying it every month, and provided Black Cat continues after November, I'm in for the full run.

[Dhi]

This week from DC I read Static: Season One #3, Fear State Alpha, Wonder Girl #3, Infinite Frontier #5, and Harley Quinn Annual 2021. From last week, Robin #5, Harley Quinn #6, and Superman: Son of Kal El #2 also stand out. All of these books are worth discussing, but I'll keep it to a few.

Wonder Girl finally made it to issue 3 after months of delay. This is happening despite half or more of the story being fill-in art by the honestly also stellar Adriana Melo. Melo is terrific. I adore both of these artists. But if pulling half duty is not sufficient to get the book out on a regular basis, Wonder Girl is going to be canceled.



The issue develops Yara Flor's Brazilian mythos; the figures here are not named but seem to be Cuca and the 7th Beast. I was disappointed by how suddenly Yara throws herself at the first man she met, some bus driver named Joao. I couldn't reasonably expect Yara to be queer, but maybe, I don't know, give her some time? Let it happen naturally instead of forcing her into rando arms? There are certainly straight relationships I can stomach in comics, but this one, I'm not sure I even understand what's going on. Do not look forward to seeing more of that.

Harley Quinn is also having some fill in artists. Laura Braga did Harley Quinn #6, and she's quite good at static female forms. I want to say she did some work on Bombshells, which was that kind of book. Her action is uninspired and doesn't hold a candle to Riley Rossmo's energy. So what's more important?



But hold the phone because David Lafuente's work in Harley Quinn Annual 2021 is amaaaziiiing. Great action from the first page to last, and these outfit changes! Be still my gay heart. The villain is ridiculous, but Stephanie Phillips and Lafuente are in on the joke. It's fun to watch Gotham's entire rogues gallery talk trash about him, and yet at its heart, this is a Harley Quinn story which develops her desire to turn hero. The best issue of 2021 Harley Quinn yet, so it's a shame many people skip annuals.



I understand the current artist, Riley Rossmo, is a controversial choice. His art is heavily stylized and not to everyone's taste. Sometimes, I have difficulty interpreting it. But, Laura Braga's art feels like a step backward into New 52 to me, and it is absolutely critical to me that Harley Quinn move forward, not backward.

Then there's Batman: Fear State Alpha, which moves forward the Magistrate storyline in a clear departure from Future State. While Tynion has tried to put the cat back in the bag, the reveal from Batman #111 is all the signal anyone should need that things are headed in a different direction. There's simply no way this lines up with what we saw in Future State- Fear State is what happens when that plan goes off the rails.



It's also advancing three stories that need to be advanced: the return of the Batgirls, Harley and Ivy as a canon couple, and Tim Fox taking some kind of Bat mantle.





In indies, the final issue of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr concluded this beautiful and touching story in such a masterful way. Often, the ideas presented in these stories do not quite hit their potential, do not quite satisfy and leave me asking, appropriately enough, what if? Laila Starr was the book that justified my decision to get into comic books in 2021. It was a work of art and will lead you to feel things you may need to feel as a human being trapped in this life.

Previews has an early solicit for the graphic novel January 12, for $15, because the response to the book has been so beyond expectation. I can't recommend it enough.

[TheLaughingOne]

I am... Torn.

Recently heard and researched some on "Batman: Reptilian" which had one thing that caught my attention and interest, in that batman seems more put off by having to deal with "Supervillians" like, when called to deal with the joker its almost met with an eyeroll and groan i would have to go fix a clogged toilet at work.

I mean, yeah, batman has never seemed overjoyed at having to deal with his villians, but here its more a visible frustration he has to figure out some assholes stupid riddles rather then say, track down and bust up a drug lab pushing tainted shit, or stop a load of human trafficers and such.

... my reserves come not from the bit of general ive found... but that its written by garth ennis. ... do i really need to say more..?

[Dhi]

Are you saying I should not use this Garth Ennis avatar?



What I've seen of Batman: Reptilian suggests Ennis can be mature when he needs to be. There is disdain for the subject matter under the surface which can't help but show through. I've seen some panels posted that call attention to it, but it's subtle and it's brief. If you like the premise, maybe it won't even bother you.

I picked up the first couple of issues of Marjorie Finnegan, Temporal Criminal, above. Hadn't read Ennis since Preacher and was interested to see what he's doing now. It didn't sell me, so I suppose I'm not really an Ennis fan at heart.

On the subject of controversial creators, there's a teaser at the end of the new Superman: Son of Kal-El for this villain, and...



I know Bendix is an actual extant character nobody's ever heard of, but the idea of parody Bendis using his influence to destroy Superman can't be entirely unintended. Let's call it a nod. Tom Taylor is quite good at nods. From Nightwing #81, the call signs of the ships that swoop in to help Nightwing are all former Nightwing creators.



Then, some more covers for Zenescope's new character Tamara Brazil. I have to temper my expectations for the book with the awareness that I don't think Zenescope's vision for a brand aligns with my interests very much at all. So far I like Tamara and I'm willing to give this a try.



This variant I want to get my hands on for noooo particular reason:



Marauders variants have all been hits for me recently. There's some kind of Mirka Andolfo cover coming in October.

[TheLaughingOne]

I took a peek at it, and... eh. Its.. Meh. Its not flat out "the Boys" and other such, but in this batman is pretty much just completely a prick, and kinda childish.
Its weird cause it very much feels like batmans just "going through the motions" and the way he talks and acts suggests he is like an overworked mcdonalds employee getting called in on his weekend. Not that i expect him jumping for joy or anything, but its like it all holds no Weight for him. Like all it takes is one Karen bitching for him to just walk off the job.

It shows in (spoilers!)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

How he acts when he hears riddler and madhatter have been largely disemboweled.. but still alive, poison ivy torn to shreds and purposely scalped, penguin torn to pieces, and freeze hanging near dead from the ceiling. He just stands there and makes weak ass quips "Penguin, if you dont want me to take a blood sample say the alphabet backwards" when the guys pretty much literally choking on his blood.

It just feels.. Off for batman. Not that i expect him to break down crying for them, but the massive disregard and all feels more like it would fit in with frank millers all star batman...  Ok, not QUITE that bad, but it gives that kind feel in places. Him suddenly screaming "IM THE GOD DAMN BATMAN!!" wouldnt be all that out of place.

Not sure what to say or suggest, the story is... predictable. ish? i mean, it kinda gives a lot away pretty quick of what is suppose to be "hidden"
Mostly it just feels like a means of garth to tear up batman villians, which he evidently has a hate-on for, and go "look how clever i am!!".

I liked his preacher stuff when i read it... As an edgy teen. last i went through it was.. ok? heh.
Lot of his stuff is just him going on with his massive hate-on of super heroes and all, and writing everybody as the most obnoxious assholes ever, and it got old pretty quick.

whats the info on this Tamara Brazil? im outta touch and havent heard of it.

Huh! Wow.. I just Cant imagine Why you would like to get that marauders variant.. ;3

My own side i been picking up Suicide squad king shark, which has been interesting though...

Spoiling cause despite the fact its at the start of the book, its still spoilers.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

So Nightwing had this girlfriend named defacer, who was a "villian" who largely went around doing graffiti and such, major vandalization and things. And some reason they started dating.
Then after his normal "i was brainwashed/possessed/ect situations, in which nobody told her or anything, she defaces a statue to him.. Shown below.


... FOR WHICH SHE IS SENT TO BELLE REVE!!!!

To be clear, she does graffiti and property damage. Not like, I did 30 billion dollars worth of property damage! but more protest sort of stuff, thats much like in the picture as far as i can tell..

From there she... Seems? to make a connection with King Shark (due to her having a very explosive temper, which he akins to a sharks frenzy) So waller jams a bomb in her skull and makes her escort him on a thing as a "hostage" as he seems to like her.

Its... well, it gets weirder from there. But man. I gots me some questions.

[Dhi]

It sounds like DC still doesn't have a good rollout to take advantage of successful movies and shows. At a time when Suicide Squad was really hot, the ongoing Suicide Squad was obtuse with crossovers; King Shark sounds pretty weak; Harley Quinn is doing something artsy and not all that appealing to first-time readers. Anyone looking to break into comics from the movie is going to be discouraged.

There needed to be light, one and done Suicide Squad adventures during this time. King Shark needed a better team.

On Zenescope, a lot of what I've seen from them are Twisted Fairy Tales stories, characters who are inspired by some kind of well known public domain figure but, you know, bursting from hotpants and corsets. I haven't found anything yet that clicks for me. This Tamara Brazile character proposes to explore a world of Arabian myth instead, which is appealing, and I like that Tamara herself doesn't have a Halloween costume look to her. I'm reminded a little bit of Witchblade. But this kind of thing is outside what I normally see doing Zenescope doing and outside what I think is their demographic, so I don't expect to be blown away...if Zenescope can just meet me in the middle, as a buyer looking for a way to break into the brand, I'll give it a shot!

[TheLaughingOne]

Yeah. Its not bad, but if you are rolling in from the movie your in for something of a disappointment, characters arent thr same KS, the story is back ore heavy with obscure characters and so forth. Only real connecting thing is Waller fucking everything up. But thats a universal constant as she Deus Ex dumbshit.

The entire things fairly weak, boiling down to tournament games thing... in which there is no real combat. So yeah, its pretty mediocre.

And thst sounds cool in concept, and not just cause of hotpants and corsets! ... ok. Mainly cause of corsets and hotpants.

Though tamara sounds interesting at least, hope it works out! Reminds me of a rpg i got.. but cant remember the name of. But thats for another thread...

[LunarSage]

VOICES: Identity #1 is a comic that I found at my FLCS today and there was a Jubilee variant cover, so of -course- I had to pick it up!  I wish that they had made Jubes look more Asian on that cover, but it's still pretty neat.

The title is focused on ethnically minority (as in not due to being mutants or whatnot) characters and their cultural identities.  I enjoyed it, especially the short about Jubilee visiting her parents' graves and maintaining them/honoring them per Chinese traditions.  I can't wait to see if they're going to make more!

Awesome Pic

[TheLaughingOne]

So, with some major RL issues going on, doing reading and such to keep my brain from exploding in panic. On impulse picked up the black label "Suicide Squad: Get Joker!" Which oddly enough, is rather censored and not to different from many of their other comics in tone following villains.

Which, well follows amanda waller recruiting a squad lead by Jason Todd, with the intended purpose of Killing the Joker. with Harley Quinn and a couple other minor lists on as well.
Its... Ok? Nothing really bad, though lots of comments dislike how they made one guy go from disestablishment anarchist to literally being there on Jan 6th. Amanda Wallers now thin and all, Otherwise its pretty bland. Not to say there arent some good parts.

My favorite being

Spoiler!!!

When the joker kicks in the door to Amanda Wallers apartment dressed as a clockwork orange Droog and evidently beats her to death.  Which.. Given her history has been a long god damn time coming. Seriously. She is worse then the fucking guardians in things she has Fucked up royal. Her and Maria Hill.

Had an interesting twist at the end...

Spoilers In Spoilers!!

Another squad showing up at the end... And killing off one of the 1st team. After they seem to have stopped joker. Who has the Bomb box that can blow them up. And the previous day basicly had them go "fight" the ocean. That was another good part.

On a side note, reading the main suicide squad comic, and of course the many many tie ins they force down your throat to make you buy more, I need me a full Red X comic. Though im not sure how well that would work. But i likem.

[Dhi]

I can't wait to see if they're going to make more!

More Voices or more Jubilee? They've done a few Voices, showcasing PoC, LGBT, and indigenous characters and creators so far. Women of Marvel is the same style but isn't under the line for some reason. I think we might see a revisit of those every few years, but if there are any more in 2021 they'll probably highlight a different group.

If you mean Jubilee, she's in Excalibur currently, and I love it. I feel like Tini Howard writes her pretty well, but you be the judge.


These are from this week's Excalibur #23, where the team escorts Doctor Doom into Otherworld in search of an old flame and the plot which will eventually lead to the upcoming Darkhold event. Neat!

Another event over at DC, Fear State, has drawn a lot of attention. This panel from this week's Batman #112 summarizes the stakes pretty well.

If anyone is interested in that, I'd highly recommend the recent Batman: Fear State Alpha special as a jumping on point. James Tynion IV is writing these and hooked me as someone who never really cared anything about Batman. The big Bat-fans I've heard from started out leery, but have since come around. It's pretty cool.

I've been telling people that my continued reading of Green Lantern totally depends on this week's Green Lantern Annual being good. This is the story where Jessica Cruz is seduced to the yellow side, and going into it I wouldn't accept anything less than solid characterization and demonstrated potential for further stories. What I received actually blew me away- like the Harley Quinn 2021 Annual, this is the best issue of the new series by far.



A fantastic story launches Jessica Cruz into a new chapter and fan response has been overwhelmingly positive. We want to see further adventures of a yellow Jessica Cruz. And while I insist this didn't color my impression of the story overall, Jessica x Lyssa Drak is so fucking hot oh my god.


The Me You Love in the Dark #2 is also quite steamy, slowly building tension between Ro and what she believes is a ghost.

I don't really go for ghost stories, but I do adore well done horror comics and had a feeling this one was going to be great. Already in issue 2 it's becoming great. Ro gets a shiver out of the menacing macabre company of what might be a haunting spirit, and even this freaks her out half the time. But with the benefit of perspective, we can intuit the presence in the house is something much more dreadful, which we the readers can feel through prickling atmosphere and shrouded, breathless moments of fleeting contact. I love this.

I'm enjoying comic books and love hearing about what you're reading.

[TheLaughingOne]

ohh! I had just picked up "The Me You Love in the Dark", and LOVED that twist at the end.

Right now the big thing im waiting for is the last issue of Immortal Hulk. Thats a series i've been following since it started. Granted i dig the originals more EC horror kinda style, episodic of Banner going into town, finding things wrong slowly, and then come night comes the reckoning in the form of the Hulk. The first one still the best, and others... meh. Its been decent largely, though relies heavily on some of the old dumb tropes, though they try and hint at "more going on" without actually explaining it.. or they do it in such an obtuse way i didnt get it..

[Dhi]

It's great, isn't it?

Immortal Hulk comes highly recommended. I never did check it out, as going on 1400 pages is too much investment for me in a character like Hulk. But my compromise is going to be trying out the new Al Ewing (and Ram V!) project proposing to mature Venom in the same way. We'll see! I'll give it a few issues to make up my mind.

There was something in Defenders regarding Hulk stuff I didn't understand. One of the characters, Betty Ross, is supposed to have died and become twisted into Red Harpy by "the green," and I don't know what that is.

[TheLaughingOne]

In immortal hulk, its not just "Hulk smash! leave hulk alone!!"
This is "The Devil Hulk" Who is quite articulate, careful, and deliberate, and very much intent on what he does. Which is big part protect banner, and "innocent" people. He isnt a bad guy.. But he isnt good. Very much that solid line of antihero without thousands of belt pouches and grit teeth and all.

Info spoilers!

The Green is the afterlife area Gamma infused people go when they die, and are there a short time before they return, this is how the hulk can keep dying and come back, as well as people like Doc Samson, Sasquatch, She-Hulk, and others. Betty was killed recently... Again, and while there recharged to becoming the Harpy, which was an old gamma mutation someone did to try and make her a monster to kill the hulk. Big issues with this is "the Green" is tied to the One Below, who is like the devil evil thing opposed to the one above all. Its "charge" is gamma radiation, which is in opposition to cosmic radiation which is made by The One Above All. Its all a bit fuzzy, and weird. But its an explanation on how Gamma powereds keep coming back (like After fighting Thanos in Civil war 2, Jen Did die in the hospital) and why they came back more powerful and changed, they were in the "heart" of Gamma radiation. The Green. The "Red Harpy" is a combination of her as The Harpy, And Red She-Hulk. its.. weird. but thats comic books.

And the 49th issue draws parallels with the fantastic 4. A super Genius, brilliant wife, Military man, carefree teen. An incident involving radiation. A brief glimpse into a world where Banner and them became the Fantastic 4.

"Someone had to fly the rocket."
"Someone had to build the bomb."

Hit pretty hard when i first read it, and does it again now.

One of my most fave moments is in "Immortal Hulk: Great Power" Spiderman gets stuck with the Immortal Hulk, becoming "Immortal SpiderHulk" But without the extra personalities Banner has. So come night they stays on an old abandoned city called astra island with banner as company.

And an excellent moment where when trying to brainstorm a solution banner whispers about on if spiderman should be involved with the heavy thinking... Only to get surprised.
Also. SpiderHulk doesnt like wearing pants. Which makes me picture him as one of those angry toddlers struggling to tear his pants off.

[TheLaughingOne]

... unrelated but cause im in a clowny mood and love this one..

[Dhi]

A Batgirls ongoing series is announced for December! Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, and most important to me personally, Barbara Gordon, Best Batgirl.



The book has a teen sleuth vibe that I'm loving, check it out!

Mentored by Oracle, the Batgirls move to the other side of town where Barbara Gordon can keep a better eye on them while the hacker Seer is still invading their lives. Steph may be too rash sometimes, and Cass doesn’t speak much—but what they lack in similarities they make up for with their mutual respect and love for each other…and what makes them stronger together as Batgirls! This rebellious group of Super Heroes team up to kick ass, and try to make it as normal teenagers in this pizza slumber party of a series, packed with energy, attitude, and friendship.

With their new secret muscle car and their new secret patrol route, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown find moving to their new neighborhood— thanks to Oracle instructing them to “lay low”—that much easier to bear because they have each other. Steph begins witnessing some strange actions through the window of the building across the street and can’t help but investigate if the recent murders are connected to them! Meanwhile, Oracle realizes the most effective way for the girls to wear her newly upgraded comms is by piercing their ears, and Cass freaks out!

A lot of what I've been reading in 2021 is either coming to an end or undergoing creative team changes that kill my interest. From Marvel, Black Cat is on its way out and neither Marauders nor Excalibur should be expected to survive the big post-Hickman culling of extraneous X-books. From DC, I've decided to drop Flash and Justice League, and plan to let go of Batman, Robin, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman after Fear State and James Tynion IV's departure (Nightwing stays, because it's that good).

I could make a clean break from comic books in 2022. Monster High is making a comeback, and well, between hundreds of dollars in comic books and hundreds of dollars in dolls, that could get expensive.

But let's say I don't. Let's say I keep reading through 2022. What lies on the horizon to be excited about?

Batgirls, for sure. DC's Dark Knights of Steel will run through 2022. I mentioned Darkhold before, but that actually starts next week so I expect it to be completely done by 2022.

In November, Justice League Dark is getting a 2021 Annual which could lead to an ongoing series. Superman, Son of Kal-El could lead to further Legion stories.

What else?

[Dhi]

There are interesting things happening in Green Lantern and I'm not just talking about my headcanon femslash, but I am also going to talk about that because this is Elliquiy.

The idea of Green Lantern always appealed to me, and I read some of those characters off and on over the years. None of them clicked for me as characters until Jessica Cruz, and even then, not really until Green Lanterns in 2016. Before that, Jessica was the victim of evil Earth-3 ring Volthoom. So while human turd Ethan Van Sciver claims to have created her, there's no actual evidence of that, and the character she became bears no resemblance to what he worked on anyway.



Jessica's an endearing Green Lantern. She has severe anxiety and agorophobia which have led her to conflate errors in judgement and suffer depressive episodes. She isn't fearless- instead, she has the ability to overcome fear. This is what makes her relatable as a character, and what makes her transition to Yellow Lantern so perfect. I hope she remains a Yellow Lantern.

And provided she does, she's going to become the ward of Lyssa Drak.



Lyssa Drak is a Yellow Lantern and Keeper of the Book of Parallax, an artifact for striking fear in the universe. Lyssa is a member of the same race as Legion's Shadow Lass, so she is a creature of darkness and so intimately acquainted with terror that she runs Sinestro's Fear Lodge, where prospective Yellow Lanterns are tested and ultimately discover their own brand of fear. She is never not sauntering around in harem garb and purring dark threats. Love her.



Jess and Lyssa faced one another in Green Lantern Future State, where it was immediately personal...not because of history together, but because of what each represents to the other. Several times Jessica refers to Lyssa as a witch, as though Lyssa has some unnatural power over her. At the same time, Lyssa refers to Jessica as a petulant child, a coward, someone in need of mentorship and thus breaking.



We can see in Green Lantern #5 that Jessica has indeed been mentored, although we didn't know at the time this was Jessica. But here she is, cribbing Lyssa's style, making constructs identical to Lyssa's. This doesn't make Jessica x Lyssa definitive, but Jessica's orientation has never been established, and Lyssa has shown no compunction against using her allure to get under a woman's skin. Lastly, there's this little bit from the 2021 Annual where Jessica consigns herself to the grip of fear, and she imagines it coming for her in the form of female seduction; wrapping her up, the way she has always cocooned herself to feel safe.



There's more. These shapes speak with Lyssa's purr- that distinctive speech bubble squiggle- and in the fantasy, Jessica is wearing Lyssa's clothes.

Anyway, anyway.

There's another big deal being teased out in Green Lantern that I haven't seen anyone put together yet, but this post got very long so it should really wait!

[TheLaughingOne]

I liked the concept of the lanterns, and wanted to see more of other characters getting "recruited" in, or at least fun speculation..
Like Mr Freeze, i could see him as a green lantern (a man driven almost purely by his will, though his other emotions seem diminished...) Save for his rage (at Gothcorp and others who sabotaged his experiments to save his wife), making him a good red lantern (and i can just imagine him slowly coming out of the Blood Lake, not a raging mess, but just that slow methodical pace, brushing off crystals of frozen blood... "Anger does not always Burn Hot. Sometimes it can be quite... Cold.") And if it wasnt for the gender issue... I could see him as a star sapphire.. he lost someone he loved more then anything and went to... Extremes, to try and fix that, even to the cost of himself, and with no hope of being able to be with her again even if he cured her.

this of course relies on it going with the Batman:TAS Freeze rather then the crap they have done to him lately...

And wow after a quick google... Ethan Van Sciver  is a FUCK!

[Dhi]

So you dig Freeze, huh? I don't know him very well. He shows up in the Harley Quinn 2021 Annual to help Team Harley, but he's pretty mean...meaner than my impression of him from TAS and Harley Quinn's animated series.

The Lanterns' "emotional spectrum" is probably the best idea to come out of Geoff Johns' highly praised run. I hope they do more with it, actually. Making Jessica a Yellow Lantern helps give that hue some needed credibility. Previously, it was pretty much just populated by freaky monsters.

[TheLaughingOne]

yup! TAS is best portrayal of him. last of the new stuff i read turned him into basicly incel stalker who just froze random women he was obsessed with, and all the crime he does was just using her as a justification...
another had her as his mom with alzimers he dumped in a frozen lake... and a lot of other stupid things like that. evidently having someone be a monster, but relatable was just to much :T honestly that was a big damn nail in why i stopped reading DC stuff for a long while..

[TheLaughingOne]

... I do not remember this.