Wonder Woman: To Continue or Not to Continue?

I have now read Wonder Woman: Issues #1-6 and #0.  I'm really enjoying it so far and I somehow managed to block the knowledge that Superman and Wonder Woman are going to become a couple.  While reading the first six issues, I just couldn't reconcile the Wonder Woman in those issues to the Wonder Woman who ends up with Superman.  That prospect just seems so foreign to what I've been reading.  I don't see how she goes from seeing the bad things that happen to her mother and Zola after sleeping with powerful men to deciding that it would be a GREAT idea to hook up with another powerful man.  At least Superman is an alien and not Zeus?  He's also not married to a vengeful goddess, so that might help.

So, the question is, do I catch up to the current issue?

I love the mythology involved in this comic and the way the various gods are portrayed.  Poseidon as a HUGE sea monster? So cool! Hades as a child with dripping candles on his head? Did not see that one coming!  Hermes as an alien-looking being? Very cool!

I really have no complaints about the first six issues.  I love this artist's portrayal of Wonder Woman.  I've never been much of a Wonder Woman fan because I find her costume ridiculous (why is she STILL wearing a bathing suit?) and she ends up just looking odd, somehow.  But the angular lines of her face and her body build (broad shoulders, long, thin legs) done by this artist really work in her favor.  She is both tall and imposing, as well as womanly.

I blazed through those seven issues in about an hour.  As soon as I put one down, I was going straight to the next one.  I am really curious to find out about how she deals with Hades kidnapping Zola. 

However, I'm leaving it to you, readers: do I keep reading Wonder Woman?

"Tonight, I'm Batgirl"

Last week, I decided that I needed to follow a superhero comic.  I had three criteria:
1) it had to be written by a woman,
2) it had to be about a female superhero,
and
3) Christian couldn't be following it already.

To qualify my criteria, it's not that there aren't good comics about women written by men and it's not that I'm trying to exclude Christian from what I'm reading.  What I wanted was a superhero comic of my very own that I could read and feel good about. 

I think part of the draw of superhero comics is having a fantasy role model to look up to and see parts of yourself in them.  They bring out the kid in us, who still thinks we're invincible and that good always gets back up, and always wins.  As a young girl and as a woman, it's really difficult to find that model in female superheroes who are drawn like sex objects, rather than athletes; women who are written like manipulative bimboes who use sex to further their own objectives, rather than scholars or free-thinkers or even just everyday women who act strong but still feel vulnerable or insecure.

It helps that Christian had read the first three issues of Gail Simone's Batgirl last year and he'd asked me to read them too.  I was reading anything he handed me at that point, mostly because I was intrigued by a world that I hadn't really experienced or discovered yet.  Sure, I'd read Sandman and Maus but I hadn't read any straight-up superhero comics.  So I gave them a try and I really liked them--there were a lot of exclaimations of, "Cool! She is so bad ass! Check out her kick!"  But then Christian stopped following it (I forget why--budgeting, I think) and I forgot about it because I wasn't buying single-issue comics yet. 

So we went to Comic Readers yesterday and I found the hardcover of Volume 1 immediately, then saw that they had Issues 1-5 bundled together.  Issue 6 was nowhere to be found, so I hemmed and hawed, and calculated the money in my account, and picked up the hardcover and put it down, and I just couldn't walk away from it.  So I have Volume 1 and Issue 7 and I'm catching up now.  I was worried that it wasn't going to be as good as I remembered it but, I have to say, IT'S BETTER.

What I love about Batgirl is her insecurity.  That sounds funny but the thing is, she went through a trauma and now she's trying to get back on her feet (no pun intended).  She's been about as vulnerable as a woman can get and she's still getting up and kicking ass.  Her insecurities don't stop her from being bad-ass; if anything, it makes her joy in kicking down bad guys even more poignant and it makes her character incredibly easy to empathize with.  Gail Simone writes Batgirl's interiory amazingly well--there have been more than a few moments when I've thought, "Wow, that's exactly what I would be thinking if I were ever jumping through a window or kicking a gun out of someone's hand."  Seriously though, I cannot praise Simone's writing enough.

I'm really impressed with the art as well--the pencils are done by Ardian Syaf.  Batgirl is always sleek and athletic, never forcibly posed (so far! keep it up!) and her kicks just make you want to fist-pump.  Seriously, how cool are these?

Also, Christian just told me last night about the woman who dressed as Batgirl at San Diego Comic Con in 2011 and went to panels, asking, basically, "Where are all the women?"  I wish I had been there.  I would have been standing up with her and cheering her on.

Here's a description of the event: http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/7985599811/panels

And an interview with "Batgirl" and her view on what went down at Comic Con 2011: http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/8130151171/bgsdccinterview

Batgirl is the perfect example of a comic that women can enjoy and share with their daughters.  If I could cos-play as anyone, it would be Batgirl, because then I could pretend, for a moment, that I'm flying high over everyone's heads, kicking down bad guys, and say, "Tonight, I'm Batgirl!"  I only hope that more comics like Batgirl start appearing on the shelves.

Captain Marvel #1: Love Her or Hate Her?

Captain Marvel #1
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art: Dexter Soy
Cover: Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, and Javier Rodriguez
Marvel
July 18, 2012

Before I dive in, I have to say that this is my first encounter with Ms. Marvel, now renamed Captain Marvel.  I know very little about her backstory, so the majority of my impressions are coming from this issue and from what I looked up on the internetz.  

 The writing is great, especially once you get into Captain Marvel's inner thoughts.  I love her desire for "higher, further, faster, more.  Always more."  DeConnick has blended high-flying action with down-to earth emotional moments seamlessly.  Captain Marvel is born to fight and fly, but she's also a caring and loyal friend, as demonstrated by her initial reluctance to take on Captain Marvel's name and her touching moment with an old friend.

However, I do hope that DeConnick lays off the constant references to Captain Marvel being a woman.  Women can be captains too; get over it!  All of the sexist remarks from other characters just drag us back into the Ms. Marvel of the past.  If she is going to be the strong female character of this day and age, why does she have to keep proving herself to misogynistic villains? 

The art in this issue is stunning--it's dark and gritty but it can also be clean and commanding in some great action shots of Captain Marvel.  The initial splash page is a major attention grabber; you're really thrown into the action with this one.  We're also introduced to her new mask about halfway through the issue.  It is awesome!  It's like a mix of Iron Man's technology, a flight helmet, and Maleficent's horns.

My only criticism of the art would be to say, "what's with the booty shots?"  There are at least three panels in which Captain America's derriere is the main focus.  You'd think that they could find a way to make her look fully clothed now that she has a costume that actually covers her whole behind, including a sash around her waist!

In response to my question in the title of this review, "Love Her or Hate Her", I don't think anyone could hate Carol Danvers; she is a very likeable character--she used to be a writer, after all.  Plus, who can't relate to feeling like "the Lord put us here to punch holes in the sky."  The question for me is going to be whether or not I end up loving her.  I'm on the fence at the moment.  If I can see less of her having to prove herself "because she's a woman" and more of her just being bad-ass, I might just love her.  I'm curious about where this series is going now--there doesn't seem to be much of a "drive" to this issue; it actually felt more like a "statement" issue, like there was a point to be made before any major plot points could be introduced. 

But for now, I'll just say, "when a soul is born with that kind of purpose.  It'll damn sure find a way."

Revival #1: Not Your Typical Zombie Story

Revival #1
Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Mike Norton
Cover: Jenny Frison
July 11, 2012
Image

Props to this issue for a couple reasons: strong female characters, unique beginning, and awesome, cringeworthy art. 

I really loved the very beginning of the comic, with the excerpt from a Creative Writing assignment.  The lettering over yellow, school-lined paper was an excellent technique.  Initially, I thought the whole comic was going to be written as if it were a journal but when it turned out to be a creative piece by one of the characters, it was even better. 

The character of Dana Cypress is particularly intriguing.  She is a single mother (we think) to a young boy, a police officer with aspirations to be detective, daughter of the police chief but not his favorite (talk about daddy issues), a protective sister, and totally bad ass. 

Speaking of totally bad ass, the art is really well done in this issue.  This is not "streaks of red everywhere" gore, this is "I see guts through skin" gore.  Definitely not a comic for squeamish viewers. 

My only critique, besides its use of the "avoidance technique," as Louis Falcetti over at Bleeding Cool calls it, is the overuse of small-town cliches and aphorisms.  At first, its just quirky and it makes the small-town setting believable.  After a while though, it becomes irritating and overdone, like a fake Southern accent on a bad actor.  However, this is only the first issue, so hopefully the language evens out a little as the series continues.

I look forward to finding out what happens in the next issue--we're definitely left on a cliffhanger.  I won't reveal anything about the "zombies," but I will say, they're not what you expect.  Think Revelations.  And read the comic.