Is It Wednesday Yet?

Last week's awful Flashpoint issue, which I didn't even have the strength to review, combined with the sheer idiocy of the reveal at the end of issue #2 of Knight of Vengeance, convinced me to stop buying anything that had the word "Flashpoint" printed on the cover. Even though I was semi-enjoying at least a few of those mini-series and was vaguely curious about where the whole thing would lead and how it would flow into the New 52 in September, I finally realized that there's a reason so many people hate these comic book events. They suck!

And yet in spite of having dropped Booster Gold and that Frankenstein tie-in, I still end up with a gigantic list this week. (See below.) Going over-budget again.

Fill-in artists and unsolicited creative team changes on DC books

Yesterday I got into a bit of an argument with Gail Simone on Twitter after I made a cynical remark about not having faith in DC's ability to hold stable creative teams on the new books for more than a couple of issues. I understand why she was upset about it and how, from her perspective, it might seem like all I do is complain, but honestly I feel like my cynicism over this is 100% justified, given DC's recent track record with this issue and given that it's only going to get worse, based on DC's insistence that books will now ship on schedule and that artists will be replaced if they can't deliver the books on time. It's not like I'm making any of this up. It's coming straight from the horse's mouth. I think when a publisher who already has a rampant problem with art consistency on their books announced that they are going to have even more fill-in artists after a big line-wide relaunch, there's ample reason for me to say: "Fuck this. I'm not spending any money on these books until they come out in collections."

More than any other factor, it's the issue of inconsistent art that has convinced me to stop buying monthly books from DC in September. And let's be clear: I have no problem with occasional fill-in artists on a series. I understand that doing a monthly book must be incredibly demanding for a single artist, especially given the level of detail and craft that's expected of modern comic book artists. But there's a way to plan it so that the fill-in art feels organic to the story, rather than a last-minute patch-up job. A perfect example of this is Scott Snyder's current Detective Comics run, which has been alternating between art by Jock and Francesco Francavilla, both of whom are immensely talented artists who bring their own style and unique contribution to the story. This is the kind of model that I would like to see more books at DC adopt, but unfortunately there is no indication that the editors are learning anything from the critical success of this book.

Another book that I think manages to handle the art teams fairly well is Amazing Spider-Man. The art team is constantly shifting, but it doesn't bother me that much because I don't feel like I'm being lied to by the solicitations. The book ships twice a month, so it would pretty much be impossible for an artist to draw every issue for an extended period of time anyway, so the rotating artists are part of the plan. Some of them I like more than others, but the important thing is there are no nasty surprises when I pick up a book expecting Artist-so-and-so-who-was-listed-in-the-solicitation and instead find a name on the cover that I've never even seen before. If Marvel editors can get their shit together on a book that ships twice a month, why can't editors at DC get it right on a monthly book like Birds of Prey?

So that was the root of my pseudo-argument with Gail Simone yesterday, though I'm not sure I really managed to get any of my points across very clearly. I'm disappointed that she thinks I'm just being silly and cynical, but I guess part of that comes from our different perspective on the issue. When I brought up Jesus Saiz, who was announced as the new regular artist in BOP to much fanfare and who only worked on a single issue before a fill-in artist was brought it, she justified it by saying that editors wanted him to get a head start on the September books instead, as if that was supposed to make it better. In fact, it makes it worse! Because it proves that the inconsistent art teams on BOP weren't the result of unforeseen accidents or incompetence on the part of the artists, but poor planning by the editors. They decided to pull their brand new "regular" artist off the book after a single issue, even though he was listed in the solicitations as doing the next issue, even though the previous 12 issues of the series had already suffered tremendously from this revolving door approach to art. I rest my case.

Comics posi-vibes on Twitter!

On the other hand, I hate being a cynic. It's not like I want to be right about that stuff. I want the DC relaunch to be successful. I want DC to finally get it right. I want to be proven wrong about a lot of the concerns I have about what's going to happen to those books in September and beyond.

I think as a self-appointed comic book blogger, it's easy to slip into the habit of spending more time and energy pointing out the things that are wrong (or that we perceive as wrong) than talking about the things we feel good about.

And there are plenty of comics I'm very excited about. I wouldn't have 13 books on my pull list this week if I wasn't super-excited about the state of comics! So to tip the balance back in a positive direction, I've taken it upon myself to focus on the positive for the rest of the week. I'm going to be using the tag #comicsposivibes to stuff I read and enjoy and stuff I'm looking forward to.

I don't think I have enough followers to get that topic trending, but feel free to use the tag and spread the love.

New comics this week!

• Batgirl #23 (DC)
• Detective Comics #879 (DC)
• Teen Titans #97 (DC)
• American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #2 (of 5) (Vertigo)
• Northlanders #42 (Vertigo)
• Hellboy: The Fury #2 (of 3) (Dark Horse)
• Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #2 (of 5) (IDW)
• Gladstone's School for World Conquerors #3 (Image)
• Red Wing #1 (of 6) (Image)
• Amazing Spider-Man #665 (Marvel)
• FF #6 (Marvel)
• Journey into Mystery #652 (Marvel)
• Loose Ends #1 (of 4) (12 Gauge)

I want to point out that there's a new epic story arc starting in Northlanders. It's going to be the final story, with the book concluding at issue #50. Like all stories in Northlanders, it's completely standalone, so you even if you've never picked up an issue before, you can jump right in. I highly recommend that you do, because it's one of the best titles at Vertigo - or any publisher, as far as I'm concerned.

Red Wing is a new mini-series by Jonathan Hickman.

Loose Ends is something that was completely off my radar until I heard Kelly Thompson's enthusiastic endorsement on this week's Three Chicks Review Comics podcast. I'm not sure they'll have it at my store, but if so I'll probably pick up a copy.

Birds of Prey #13 or, How DC is convincing me to stop buying their monthly books

Birds of Prey #13
Gail Simone (w); Diego Olmos (a); DC

I've bitched and bitched and bitched about the inconsistent art in this series. And when Jesus Saiz, who did the art on the last issue, was announced as the new regular artist, everyone was ecstatic, but I couldn't help but be skeptical about it. I felt like a jerk at the time for raining on everyone's parade, but I just had to ask: "How many issues before we get an unsolicited fill-in artist?" Turns out the answer was: one. One single lousy  issue of 20 pages and the new "regular" artist is already off the book. Couldn't even make it to the end of a two-issue story arc.

Since this is Gail Simone's last issue on the book (the last two issues before the DCU implodes in September will be by a fill-in creative team) we can pretty much consider this the conclusion of this volume. So let's take a look back at the issues that have come out over the past year or so. For each issue, I'm going to list the solicited art team, followed by the actual art team that ended up working on the book.

1. Ed Benes // same
2. Ed Benes, Adriana Melo, Mariah Benes // same
3. Ed Benes // Ed Benes, Adriana Melo, Mariah Benes
4. Ed Benes, Adriana Melo, Mariah Benes // Ed Benes, Adriana Benes, J.P. Mayer
5. Alvin Lee // Alvin Lee, Adriana melo, Jack Purcell, J.P. Mayer
6. Alvin Lee // Alvin Lee, Adriana melo, Jack Purcell, J.P. Mayer
7. Ardian Syaf, Vincente Cifuentes // same
8. Ardian Syaf, Vincente Cifuentes // Guillem March
9. Ardian Syaf, Vincente Cifuentes // Inaki Miranda
10. Inaki Miranda // same
11. Pere Perez // same
12. Jesus Saiz // same
13. Jesus Saiz // Diego Olmos

That's a total of 10 different art teams in only 13 issues. Seven out of 13 issues shipped with a creative team that was different from the solicited one. And five issues included multiple pencillers, meaning different art styles within a single issue.

This is a downright shameful track record. And for me, this completely destroyed any enjoyment I might have gotten out of Gail Simone's remarkable efforts to tell a fucking story.

What happened?! I know that Ed Benes had some health problems around the time that this series started and that's what prevented him from staying on the book. But that doesn't explain what followed. Obviously we can't blame anyone specifically for this because we don't know what happened and probably never will. But in my eyes, this is totally unacceptable.

When I see that Ardian Syaf and Vincente Cifuentes are the announced art team on Batgirl in September, I don't know how anybody can look at those solicits and take them seriously for one minute. Does anybody really believe that these artists are going to stay on the book long enough to complete the first story arc? You'd have to be incredibly naive to think so.

When I picked up this last issue, #13, of which this rant is supposed to be a review, I didn't notice the names on the cover, so when I sat down to read I immediately realized something was off with the art. When I got to the credit page and saw the name, I got so angry I almost threw the comic right in the garbage can. I had to wait another day before I was calm enough to finish reading it.

And what did I think of it? It's fucking mediocre is what I thought. Weak sauce. This is a terrible conclusion to a 13-issue run that couldn't have gone worse if it had been intentionally sabotaged by the editors. Gail Simone does her best and her writing is as sharp as always, but this is ultimately unsatisfying. I couldn't care less about the villain in this two-issue arc. As a middle of the series filler arc, this would have been great. Nice to see The Question guest starring and interacting with Huntress. It's fun. There's a good chance Simone was building to something bigger with this and intended to revisit this plot and tie up loose ends at a later date. But we'll never get that.

As a conclusion? Doesn't work for me. And the schizophrenic art changes between (and sometimes within) issues that have plagued this series have been so distracting that I kind of dropped out of it emotionally at least six issues ago.

These characters deserved a better conclusion. Gail Simone deserved better. And so did her readers.

One-paragraph reviews: Spider-Man, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Journey into Mystery

Now in alphabetical order! Some of these may be a bit spoilery. Approach with caution.

Amazing Spider-Man #660
Written by Dan Slott and Fred Van Lente; art by Mike McKone and Stefano Caselli; Marvel

Still enjoying this book. Fun adventure with the FF and their awesome new costumes. Nice art. Good dialogue. But, man, that thing with Peter's girlfriend last issue was a low blow. Seriously, I was starting to warm up to the character and I would have sympathized with her when she found out Peter was lying to her if she hadn't reacted in such a stupid fucking way. Jumping to conclusions, getting drunk with her girlfriends and getting an ugly tattoo? Seriously? And the fact that last issue clearly misdirected readers by giving the impression that she was going to get a Green Goblin tattoo only to reveal in this issue that she didn't annoys me. That's not good writing. That's a cheap trick anybody can pull off. Besides, her character loses points just for having considered it, regardless of the fact that she didn't go through with it. And what's with Peter Parker finding a tattoo of Spider-Man sexy? Isn't that kind of narcissistic? I'm disappointed because I think Dan Slott's been doing an awesome job on this book since the Big Time story started, and I'm pretty excited about where he's going with this Spider Island thing. But in just a couple of issues, he's managed to completely turn me off of the only really prominent female supporting character in the book. Now he has a real uphill battle if he wants to make the character appealing to me again. (PS: I haven't read the back-up story yet.)

OKAY

---

Batgirl #21
Written by Bryan Q. Miller; art by... who knows?; DC

This was another solid script by Bryan Q. Miller. I’ll confess that I don’t feel too invested in this “Lesson” story arc, but it may be because I missed the first couple of issues. I tend to enjoy Stephanie Brown the most when she’s teaming up with unlikely partners like Damian or Klarion. Proxy is a character I wasn’t familiar with until I started reading this a few months ago, so it’s a bit hard for me to care about her story at this point. It does look like things are about to get interesting, though, with a trip to Nanda Parbat. The art is fine, whoever’s responsible for it. I don’t know who drew this issue, because the cover says it’s Pere Perez, but the inside says Dustin Nguyen. I could compare the art style to previous issues and make an educated guess, but why bother? This is the second time the info on the cover of Batgirl contradicts the credits inside. Get some proofreaders, DC!

GOOD

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Birds of Prey #12
Written by Gail Simone; art by Jesus Saiz; DC

This was a very good issue, maybe the best one since the relaunch. And I think it’s due in equal parts to Jesus Saiz’s super-clean art and Gail Simone’s super-tight script. However, I have one beef with this series I want to address. Last month, I read Kelly Thompson’s review of Birds of Prey #11 in which she said she wished “Simone would slow down and enjoy these characters and let them breathe,” and I realized this was exactly what’s been bothering me with this series (aside from inconsistent - and sometimes plain awful - art). The pacing in the first ten issues was frenetic, with the characters constantly in action. Last issue slowed down a bit and this one also feels more relaxed, but it still starts in media res, and I find myself hoping for a bit of a pause in the action, a scene where the birds get to actually be in the same room together and just relax before they go on their next mission. Obviously, Gail Simone has a knack for inserting personal moments in the middle of the action, but when all those personal moments happen on the field, it kind of gives the impression that these characters have no life outside of the team. Even the way that Barbara is multi-tasking while she’s leading the team from headquarters, lifting weights while she’s giving out instructions, it makes me think she must be doing this 24 hours a day and it’s kind of exhausting. This is more a problem with the overall series than it is with this particular issue.

GOOD

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Journey into Mystery #623
Written by Kieron Gillen; art by Doug Braithwaite; Marvel

I was disappointed at first when I found out that Matt Fraction's run on Thor would be cut short, but two issues into the re-titled book, I have absolutely no regrets. I'm completely sold on it. I thought the return of Loki as a child in Fraction's arc was handled extremely poorly. I wasn't at all convinced by Thor's motivations for bringing him back so soon and I didn't really understand how he had the power to do so anyway. But evidently this was all done to set things up for Kieron Gillen's story, in which Loki is now the protagonist, and no matter how awkward that transition was, I absolutely love what's going on with the character now. Art and script are both great and I can't wait to see where it's all headed. My only concern is that, as a Fear Itself tie-in, the story might might not be as self-contained as I would like it to be. So far that hasn't been a problem, but we'll see whether that continues to be the case.

AWESOME

One-paragraph reviews

Amazing Spider-Man #658
Written by Dan Slott; art by Javier Pulido; Marvel.

This issue’s mostly about Spidey joining the Fantastic Four, who are now called the Future Foundation and have stylish new black-and-white uniforms. I’m really enjoying Dan Slott’s writing on this series. He finds the perfect balance between Spider-Man’s adventures and Peter Parker’s personal life. He also keeps the tone light and fun. I don’t even mind that they keep changing artist after a few issues, because that seems inevitable on a book that comes out twice a month. I’d much rather have rotating but strong art teams than rushed fill-ins from mediocre hacks brought in at the last minute to meet deadlines. I could do without the back-up stories, but whatever.

GOOD

---

Batgirl #20
Written by Bryan Q. Miller; art by Ramon Bachs; DC.

This two-part mini-arc within the larger “Lesson” arc wasn’t that interesting to me, but this remains a solid title. Miller’s scripts are always punchy and often laugh-out-loud funny. The solicits for the last issue, this one and the next all list Dustin Nguyen as the penciller, but he wasn’t on the last two issues and I’m assuming won’t be on the next. Ramon Bachs is all right, but because he’s filling in for Nguyen, it’s hard not to feel disappointed. Creative teams listed in DC’s solicits seem to be completely unreliable these days. Really makes you wonder what the hell the editors are up to that they can’t get any commitment from their artists or writers.

OKAY

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Birds of Prey #11
Written by Gail Simone; art by Pere Perez; DC.

Speaking of inconsistent art, Birds of Prey is the ultimate example of how to fuck this up completely. If DC had tried to sabotage this book and ensure that it fails, they couldn’t have done a better job. In this issue, we get a long overdue break from the terrible art that has plagued the title for the past few months, and it’s like a breath of fresh air. It’s just astonishing how much better Gail Simone’s scripts flow when they are serviced by a competent artist, which Pere Perez definitely is. (And, by the way, he seems to be moving to Batgirl in a few issues. But then again, why even bother checking the solicits?) This is a done-in-one story focusing on Huntress and guest starring Catman (from Secret Six).

GOOD

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Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish (one-shot)
Written by Mike Mignola; art by Kevin Nowlan; Dark Horse.

There’s no colourist mentioned in the credits, so I’m guessing that means Nowlan is doing his own colours, and that, more than the art style itself, is what gives this book a different feel from most of the other Hellboy stories I’ve read, which usually featured Dave Stewart’s colours. Stewart is amazing, but this is nice, too. More vibrant, and very appropriate for the semi-sci-fi feel of this one-shot. I kind of wish I hadn’t read the solicits for this story (and if you haven’t, maybe you should skip the rest of this paragraph to avoid spoilers), because it starts out misleadingly as a Satanist thing but turns into an alien abduction thing, which is a nice twist.

GOOD

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Superboy #6
Written by Jeff Lemire; art by Marco Rudy; DC.

This fucking sucks. It should be a rule that new series have to reach issue #12 (one full year) before they get involved in any editorially mandated crossover. Aside from the nice art by guest artist Marco Rudy, this issue has absolutely zero redeeming value. If you’re following the story that Jeff Lemire is carefully crafting since issue #1, this is nothing but an interruption. If you’re following the “Reign of Doomsday” crossover, then all you’re getting here is the exact same thing you already saw in the Steel one-shot that launched this idiotic mini-event, except this time it’s Superboy getting beat up and noticing that Doomsday seems to have new powers. This is the very definition of pointless.

SKIP

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The Flash #10
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Francis Manapul; DC.

And here’s another book by DC that couldn’t go a year before getting disrupted by a crossover event. In this case, at least, it’s clear that it was planned this way from the start. But I can’t help but feel that this book went in exactly the opposite direction that I was hoping it would go. Wouldn’t it have been nice to get a good two years of straightforward Flash adventures set in Keystone City, with beautiful art by Francis Manapul, focussing on establishing characters, balancing Barry Allen’s private and professional life with his super-hero stories (similar to what we’re getting in Amazing Spider-Man) and featuring occasional guest appearance by the other speedsters in the DCU? The police procedural feel that was established in the first arc seemed ripe with potential for storytelling. This could have been something unique. But instead, it quickly turned into an extended prologue for the next big event, Flashpoint, until this current story arc, which is basically all set-up and no story. And I intend to read some of Flashpoint, so this is interesting and I’m still onboard. But a year ago when I bought the first issue, I was really hoping for a different kind of book. A kind of book that, perhaps, is no longer even possible, because of the way DC (and Marvel) market their books.

OKAY

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Journey into Mystery #622
Written by Kieron Gillen; art by Dougie Braithwaite; Marvel.

I was kind of annoyed with Matt Fraction’s decompressed arc on Thor. The art was amazing, but the story turned out to be pretty empty and basically just killing time before Fear Itself. So when the series changed its title to Journey into Mystery and Kieron Gillen took over, I was ready to drop it. However, I think young Loki is cute, so when I realized he’d be starring in this book, I decided to give it a shot. Turns out it’s much better than I expected it to be. Loki’s conversation with his older, former self at the end of the issue is a bit confusing to me, in part because I’m not very familiar with everything that happened in Siege. But I like the idea that this reincarnation is all somehow part of Loki’s plan to fuck things up by being unpredictable, and it makes the new, younger Loki a really fascinating and complicated character. I’m sold. (Nice art, too.)

GOOD

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Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5
Written by Allan Heinberg; art by Jim Cheung, Mark Morales and others; Marvel.

I’ll be honest. I don’t have the slightest clue what the hell is going on in this book. No idea whatsoever. None of it really makes any sense to me and the only reason I keep buying it is that I’m hoping at some point we’ll see Billy and Teddy making out. Seriously, they better fucking kiss on panel in the last issue, or I will be pissed.

I DON’T KNOW

One-paragraph reviews: Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Birds of Prey

Batgirl #18
Written by Bryan Q. Miller; art by Dustin Nguyen with Derek Fridolfs; DC

Klarion the Witch-Boy is such an adorable character that even with average writing and art, this issue would've probably been worth reading. As it turns out, though, this is much better than average. Dustin Nguyen alternates between two different art styles - painted watercolours and more traditional pencils (inked by Derek Fridolfs). The two styles are very different and clash with each other, but this is actually used to great effect. Aside from the first and last page, which are painted and very stylized, the rule seems to be that the magical elements are in watercolour and the Gotham elements are in pencil and ink. So when Batgirl gets trapped in Klarion's magic globe, she's painted, but everything outside the globe is drawn. Later, in a sequence where they travel to Limbo town, the painted look takes over the entire page. The only thing that I thought didn't work with the painted style was the obviously digitized lettering that seems to float on top of the image, rather than blend in. The sound effects were particularly distracting. This is a minor point, though. On the writing side, Bryan Q. Miller as usual inserts a lot of humour and quirk into his script. It's like Stephanie Brown's personality is so overwhelming that it can't be contained within her and it infects the tone of the entire book. I like it.

GOOD

Batman and Robin #20
Written by Peter J. Tomasi; art by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray; DC

I'm not 100% convinced that this new creative team will hold my interest for very long, but it's off to a strong start. The first half of the issue was especially good, opening with a light-hearted moment between Bruce, Alfred and the boys, and then moving on to Dick and Damian working together. Tomasi seems to have a pretty good grip on the characters, although I wasn't quite convinced by the scene where Gordon twists Robin's arm into submission. I appreciate the point Tomasi was trying to make - that Damian's bullshit isn't going to be tolerated - but I just think Damian being the trained assassin that he is would have been able to get out of that lock without any problem. The second half of the issue was mostly just a single chase/fight scene, which, in spite of Gleason's prowess and the splashiness of his art, was a little confusing and difficult to follow at times. I'm still not sure I fully understand what the hell happened in those last three pages, which may or may not have been intentional. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I'm going to finish the tree-issue arc before I decide whether to keep this on my pull list or not.

GOOD

(I should point out, though, that Cassandra fans are understandably pissed off at the way DC keeps ignoring her and rubbing it in. Bruce's line about being with "the whole family" certainly felt like adding salt to the wound.)

Birds of Prey #9
Written by Gail Simone; art by Inaki Miranda; DC

For all I know, this issue may have started with a good script, but, man, the art really doesn't do it justice. What I've come to realize since the unfortunate relaunch of Birds of Prey is that Gail Simone's writing is very kinetic. Things are always in motion. There is great dialogue and character development and deeply emotional scenes, but it all happens in the midst of near-constant chaos and action and people fighting. Which is great! It's perfect for the super-hero comic book genre and it's part of what makes Gail Simone's writing so unique. The downside, however, is that this type of writing requires an artist who can do the material justice. Otherwise, it just seems like a big mess. Since the second issue of this series, it's been just one fill-in artist after another, and this latest one is the most mediocre so far. I used to complain about Ed Benes' art, because I was never of fan of the endless crotch shots and camel toes, but in retrospect, I realize that at least was able to tell a story effectively. We're near the end of what should be a really important arc, and it really falls flat because it's just not getting the art it deserves.

I'm going to rate this one OKAY, although it would be a DROP if it weren't for the fact that I know there are better artists taking over in a couple of issues. If you're not currently reading this, I strongly suggest you wait until issue #11 or #12 before picking it up.

Reviews: Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Red Robin

She's smiling, because her book is awesome!

Batgirl #17
Written by Bryan Q. Miller; art by Pere Perez; DC

I'm so glad I picked this up. This was the most fun I've had reading a comic book in a while. I laughed out loud in several places, and my heart broke in at least one. The art is perfect. Perez draws one of my favourite Damians. Makes me wish he was the artist on Batman and Robin. This is the first issue of Batgirl I ever bought, but I think I'm adding it to my pull list.

Red Robin #19
Written by Fabian Nicieza; art by Marcus To and Ray McCarthy; DC

I don't know if I don't understand what's going on in this book because I don't care about it, or if I don't care about this book because I don't understand what's going on in it. This business with the ünternet and some mobster in Russia and what the hell any of this has to do with Tim Drake and his "hit list" and how Darkseid fits into all this? I'm not really following it. And for some reason Tim Drake, who up until very recently was my favourite character, just gets on my nerves now. I guess this means I should stop buying this book. Why can't I bring myself to do that?

Well, because (a) Marcus To's art is great, and (b) I keep hoping that the story is going to get back on track. But more and more I think that second reason is just wishful thinking, and I don't know how much longer that first reason can sustain my interest in this title. Although, man, there were a lot of awesome visual moments in this issue.

Marcus To's design for Tim Drake's alternate Red Robin costume in the ünternet is about a thousand times better than the ugly Alex Ross design he's stuck with in real life. I really wish they could just use that design all the time. I hate that bat cowl without the ears.

Birds of Prey #8
Written by Gail Simone; art by Guillem March; DC

What the hell is this?! The solicitation said Ardian Syaf was still drawing this. See, I was pissed off when I found out that the last issue of this arc would be by a different artist. But I thought, oh well, at least I get three issues with a good artist, so I might as well finish the arc. Had I known that Ardian Syaf was off the book this early, I might have been tempted to just give up on it right away.

Anyway. Gail Simone's script was all right, but the art in this issue is just awful. And now, awesome news, a new artist has been announced for BOP, starting with issue #12: Jesus Saiz! That's excellent news. It means there's a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. But there are three more issues between now and then. Three issues with art by random artists. (There's no point even looking at the solicitations, since they're not accurate.) And will Jesus Saiz actually stay on the book to complete even a single story arc? So far, no artist has.

It's just a shame. It's like this book has been sabotaged. Gail Simone says it was nobody's fault - just a string of bad luck. And she assures fans that Jesus Saiz signals the end of the revolving door artists. I hope it's true, but I'll believe it when I see it. (And the only reason I'm being cynical about this is because I believe Gail Simone and this book deserve a good, stable, reliable, consistent artist.)

Review: Birds of Prey #5

(This review was originally posted on September 20, at Population GO.)

BIRDS OF PREY #5 "Aftershock"
Written by Gail Simone; art by Alvin Lee, Adriana Melo, Jack Purcell and J.P. Mayer.

In a recent post at 4thletter!, David Brothers asked, “Why do people read Birds of Prey?” It’s a fair question. Since the book re-launched last spring, I’ve been reading it with a mixture of trepidation and frustration. 

For those not familiar with this title, the Birds of Prey team consists of core members Oracle, Huntress, Black Canary and Lady Blackhawk, now joined by the recently resurrected (in Brightest Day) Hawk and his partner, Dove. Immediately after regrouping as a team in the first issue, the Birds have been hit by a non-stop barrage of inter-related problems: a PR nightmare when Black Canary was publicly accused of murder, blackmail from former villains-turned-allies Savant and Creote, attacks from the Gotham police who now consider them outlaws, sneaky manipulation from the Penguin, and a deadly new villain known as White Canary. All these threats reached a climax at the end of the last arc. This issue picks up right where the last one left off, with some of the team members heading to Bangkok to deal with some unfinished business between the Black and White canaries. 

Gail Simone’s writing is sharp – she has a good handle on the characters and a great ear for dialogue. A lot of the plot threads in this story have been picked up from her run on the first volume of the title, and for those of us not familiar with all the back stories, the payoff sometimes feel a little slim, but it’s nothing a few quick Google searches can’t fix. 

The main source of frustration with this book has been the art. Opinions vary on whether Ed Benes is a talented artist or not. I’m inclined to side with those who defend his technical abilities. I think he’s quite capable of drawing a good-looking comic, but unfortunately he has the annoying habit of constantly drawing women in ridiculous poses that serve no purpose other than to emphasize their asses and crotches.

Don’t get me wrong – I understand that comics are all about good-looking people with idealized bodies in sexy outfits. I think sex appeal is part of why most people read comics, whether they are willing to admit it or not. But there’s a fine line between sex appeal and bad taste, and too often, unfortunately, Birds of Prey crosses that line.

Even apart from the excessive cheesecake, the art has suffered on this book since the re-launch. Due to some health problems, Ed Benes has been unable to complete any of the issues except the first one, which has led to some less-than-stellar art from fill-in artists rushing to complete the books. In a word, the art has been spotty at best, and this seems to be the consensus even among fans of the title; in the comments to David Brothers’ post mentioned earlier, most people agreed with his suggestion that fans enjoy Gail Simone’s script, while merely tolerating the art.

With issue #5, Ed Benes has been taken off the title completely and replaced by penciller Alvin Lee. Now I’m not familiar with this guy’s previous work, but I was disappointed to find that (a) he wasn’t able to complete the art on his first issue (Adriana Melo, who helped finish Benes issues, fills in here as well), and (b) the quality of the art has actually decreased significantly with this latest issue (most of the faces look worse than what you would expect from an average amateur fan artist on Deviant Art), and (c) the camel toes, low-angle crotch shots and asses pointing at the camera are as present as ever. Now I really have to question whether Ed Benes really was to blame for all that cheesecake. Are the new artists just continuing in the same tradition for the sake of consistency? Is this an editorial mandate? Or is Gail Simone including specific instructions for these kinds of shots in her scripts? Who knows? 

It’s a bit of a shame, because it gives the impression that DC doesn’t care about the art in this book. Maybe Gail Simone is a big enough name that doesn’t need a grade-A artist attached to sell the book. And in terms of the story, this really is good. I’m excited about where these various characters are headed, especially Creote and Savant, who it seems will now be working more closely with Oracle at the Birds’ headquarters. (Speaking of which, HQ has conveniently moved out of the Bat cave in anticipation for Bruce Wayne’s eminent return.) The first arc was a bit chaotic, but things are starting to fall into place. 

If the art improves over the next few issues, this title has the potential to become one of DC’s strongest. I have enough faith in Gail Simone to keep reading, knowing that on a story level it will probably pay off. For that reason, I recommend the book, in spite of the inconsistent art.

Review: Birds of Prey #2

BIRDS OF PREY #2
Written by Gail Simone; art by Ed Benes.

(Review contains spoilers.)

While I thought the first issue was a good start, I have very mixed feelings about this second issue. This is a very action-packed book, which, combined with Gail Simone's snappy dialogue, makes this a very exciting and fast-paced reading experience. I was totally sucked into it on my first read. I ate it all up, including the shocking scene where Creote shoots himself in the head live on video for Oracle.

It was only after I'd finished the issue and started thinking about what I had read that I had a few problems with it. As a lot of fans (on blogs and message boards) were quick to point out, the last thing DC needs at this point is for more minority characters to get killed. So what are we to make of gay character Creote's suicide? The only reason this didn't register immediately with me is that I have no attachment to this character. I didn't even know who he was until I read the first issue last month.

To be honest, I still don't know what to make of his death. I find it a bit distasteful, but I am inclined to give Gail Simone the benefit of the doubt and wait to see where she is going with this. I would like to think that the woman who first brought to light the women in refrigerators phenomenon wouldn't then turn around and "fridge" a gay character she created unless she had a damn good reason for doing so. Her immediate reaction to fan outrage online was that all is not as it seems and that fans should wait to see how this plays out. But unless this means that the character is not actually dead, I don't really know what kind of aftermath would justify this move.

(I don't have the stomach to read all the flame wars about this on message boards. Online discussions drive me crazy, especially when they deal with hot topics like race or sexual orientation. I tried contacting Gail Simone directly to see if she would be interested in answering a few questions by e-mail. I thought that we would have a better discussion away from all the trolls and "fanboys," but she hasn't returned any of my messages. She probably received a lot of mail about this, so I'm sure mine was just lost in the sea of insults/complaints.)

In any case, I've decided to try not to analyse this too much for the time being and wait until at least the next issue before forming an opinion. The bottom line is I enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next, which means that Simone must be doing something right.

On the art side, however, I can't say I'm too impressed with this book. There are two problems with the art in this issue. First, due to some unexpected health problems, Ed Benes was unable to complete the art, so they had to get Adriana Melo as a fill-in artist. I don't know who did what exactly, but the overall result feels very rushed and unpolished. Second, there's a limit to how many camel toes and wedgies I can look at without starting to feel a bit grossed out. It's not even that I'm a prude or overly concerned with treating female characters like objects to be gawked at – it's just that those outfits look so damn uncomfortable, I don't know how these women can stand it. Maybe I'm being incredibly naive, but I find it hard to believe that people buy mainstream super-hero comic books to jerk off to, so I'm not sure exactly who this appeals to. It's distracting and completely unnecessary.

Bottom line is that I consider this book now on probation. I'm definitely going to stick with it until the conclusion of the first story arc, and if the writing stays strong and the art improves, there's a very good chance that I'll stick to it beyond that. We'll just have to wait and see.

Quick reviews and previews

I haven't been doing a very good job of posting regular reviews of the comics I've read the past few weeks, so here's a catch-all update with quick reviews of a few recent issues. I'm going to save Return of Bruce Wayne #2 for a longer reviews, to be posted later this week.

BIRDS OF PREY #1

A good start to the series, if not exactly the mind-blowing first issue I was hoping for. Gail Simone starts putting all the pieces in place for her first story arc and does so competently. The in-story excuse for reuniting the team is refreshingly straightforward. Throwing Hawk and Dove into the mix feels a bit forced to me, and I suspect it was editorially mandated so the book could tie in to all the Brightest Day nonsense. Be that as it may, they only appeared in a few pages in this issue, so it's too early to judge whether they are going to fit in nicely with the rest of the team. The issue ends with a mystery villain, which is always fun. Looking forward to #2.

THE FLASH #2

Still really enjoying Francis Manapul's art and the lighter tone of this book. Let's hope that tone doesn't take a turn for the dark too soon, but with Geoff Johns writing and the connection to the apparently ironically titled Brightest Day, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. I think I remember reading some rather baffling complaints from fans who thought "nothing happened" in this issue. I'll never understand how these people's minds work. I was pretty skeptical about this title when I added it to my pull list, but so far I'm enjoying it more than I expected and have no real complaints.

THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1

I've never read any Legion stories before, so being introduced to so many characters and a completely different setting (i.e., the 31st century) all at once is a bit overwhelming. But not to the extent that I was completely lose or unable to follow the story. Again, this is a #1 issue, so I don't have a whole lot to say about it other than it sets things up nicely and now I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going to go.

THE SPIRIT #2

Hated it even more than the first issue! Wow, that art is ugly. In the first issue, I thought it was awkward in a few places. Here, it's just unpleasant throughout. The writing is just as bad. I'm really sorry that I committed to buying the first three issues before the series started. But thankfully there's only one more to go. I read a lot of comments about how the short black-and-white back-up stories are worth the price of admission alone, but I beg to differ. While I agree the back-up is the best thing about this issue, it's still just a back-up, and it's not strong enough to justify spending 4$ on. Not by a long shot.

DC LEGACIES #1

I was very much on the fence about this mini-series, which is supposed to tell the history of the DC universe from the Golden Age to the present. I decided to give it a shot mostly because I thought the art was nice. It opens with a lame framing device where some old guy is sitting in a rocking chair, drinking a cup of joe and talking directly at the reader, before we flashback to his childhood and he recounts his encounters with the first super-heroes. I thought this was extremely cheesy and unnecessary. The rest of the book is okay, but since we're getting the story from the perspective of these kids, we don't really get much insight into the "mystery men," who are of course the characters everyone is reading the book to find out more about. The issue ends somewhere around the time of the formation of the Justice Society of America, and by the time I got to the backup story, I had already pretty much lost interest. I don't think I'm going to pick up #2.

WHAT I'M PICKING UP THIS WEEK...

Definitely getting Sweet Tooth #10 and Red Robin #13. I enjoyed the last arc of Chris Yost's run on Red Robin. Now Fabian Nicieza is taking over and I'm looking forward to what he's going to do with the title. Tim Drake is still possibly my favourite character in the DC universe. My only complaint is that the Red Robin costume covers up too much of his head and makes him look like a second-rate Batman without the pointy ears. Tim Drake has awesome hair, and they shouldn't cover it up with that ugly cowl.

I may or may not pick up the first issue of Red Hood: The Lost Days. I am interested, but I might just decide to wait for the trade on that one. Same thing with the series of Joker's Asylum one-shots.

Last but not least, there's an original graphic novel called A God Somewhere coming out on Wildstorm that looks really good. There's a short preview here.