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Over the last month I have read several comic books/graphic novels that have been offered for free for kindle or on Comixology. Here’s a some of the highlights.
Overwatch Series – This comic series, offered for free, is based on the video game of the same name. It is a game I haven’t played. The comic series, spanning ten issues, is pretty damn good. There are quite a few woman characters, several of whom are women of color. The series also covers several morality questions – what is good, just, right. The series also uses characters who are older. The artwork is pretty good as well. While eight of the issues are basically character studies with action, the last two issues deal with Halloween and Christmas, and so are somewhat a guest star list type of story. Familiarity is with the video game is not needed to read these, though they should be read in order. This is because a character in one is the mother of the central character in the following issue. While the series does offer a must know cliffhanger, it is resolved in the ten issues.
Various Batman Comics - Overall the Batman comics were what you would expect from Batman, and yet, they were in some ways the most disappointing. The Rebirth first issue was good, though perhaps straining at the very loose sense of reality that holds things together. The sequence involving passengers on a plane was, in particular, really great. Neil Gaiman’s Batman in Black and White was clever, if not as clever as it thinks it is. But the taste of Batman was soured by two freebies, the 10c Adventure and Gotham Adventures.
Batman and the Ten Cent Adventure is not as bad as Gotham Adventures. The basic set up is that Bruce Wayne is framed for a murder. The story is told from the viewpoint of his bodyguard. A young woman who reminds a bit of Black Canary. She was Wayne’s bodyguard until she discovered his identity as Brue Wayne and then she became is crime fighting partner, just don’t call her Robin. Her voice tells the story so we get very much of Wayne worship and of course, she is in love with him, though he doesn’t know it. And poor Bruce had to break up with his true love which he does by inviting her to his mansion so she can walk in on him when he is with some other women. Of course, then he stalks her when he is Batman because that is so romantic.
You see my problem.
Gotham Adventures is worse, even though it features the extended Bat family. That comic opens with Batman, Robin, and Batgirl chasing the Joker. Robin gets delegated to help some woman, and I am not really sure what Batgirl does because she doesn’t have anything to do with Batman catching the Joker. The Bat group take Joker back to the Batcave because there is a bounty on Joker’s head. Nightwing shows up and gets a few lines. Finally, after several pages, Batgirl actually gets to speak. Everyman had lines, mostly several, before Batwing gets even one. She is left to guard the Joker, who of course knocks her out. If it was Alfred getting the drop on the Joker the shit would have hit the fan. While she is knocked out, the Bat men are all doing heroic things. So, one woman, who can’t even guard a prisoner who is handcuffed. It’s a shame really because it is leaves a sour taste in the mouth, and stops what would have been a pretty fun comic read from being so.
Various Wonder Woman Comics – So these include Wonder Woman Rebirth (FCBD editions and #1 itself) as well as DC Super Hero Girls. The Rebirth issues are very interesting and good. And guess what, one of the FCBD editions has two men talking about a woman and her relationship to one of them. That is just awesome. Really awesome. In particular, what I enjoyed about the Rebirth idea was the concept of storytelling and retconning which WW’s Rebirth storyline seems to directly tackle. This is wonderful because all the multiple origin stories get a tad confusing.
There was also an older Wonder Woman, apparently after Crisis of Infinite Worlds. This is interesting because Diana Prince is no longer Wonder Woman, at least in name, though the villains still see her as such. Which shows you that villains know better. And this raises a question. I have not read mainstream comics for several years. But I do know that have been quite a few times when Diana Prince has lost the title of Wonder Woman (once to her mother). I know that in the last few year, Marvel’s Thor lost his hammer to a woman, and Iron Man is, wonderfully, a young black woman but my question is this - do any male super heroes lose their status or title as much or more as Wonder Woman has? Why Wonder Woman? I’m not trying to be snarky, I am legitimately curious. How does this break down? Anyone know?
The Super Hero girl comics are cute, and intended it seems for a younger audience. The two I read where actually the same story, one just longer than the other. The story concerns summer break where Wonder Woman and Bumble Bee go to Mount Olympus. The cast is multi-ethnic, though a bit strange – why Poison Ivy – but the series does show the girls working together and being there for each other. Though, why Batgirl sightsees as Batgirl I don’t know.
There were some surprises in this comic freebie read – Red Sonja 0, written by Michael Avon Oeming and Mike Curry was actually quite good, despite the costume that makes no sense and seems to have a magical power to stay still and not show X-rated bits. Red Sonja Vol 4, #0 was not as good, in fact it was just annoying, with more teasing of body parts. Damsels: Mermaids was also quite good and a wonderful take on Andersen’s Little Mermaid. Honesty, this might just be my favorite version.
Of course, not much has changed in comics. Women, in particular the heroes, are usually drawn with Triple DDD bust sizes and a middle that couldn’t house a liver or intestine. The men are buff too, let’s be honest, but they at least have some room for internal organs. This is particularly distracting in Grimm Comics because the story telling is good there, but the female characters so sexualized that it is nerve wracking. The explanation seems to be Neverland, a spin off, because the Wendy character was actually dressed. The Godstorm spin off was good too - Zeus mediating on fatherhood was really great.
