Comic Review Bites

With thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read advanced copies of these graphic novels, in exchange for honest reviews.

Red Sonja vol.1: Queen of Plagues

The Red Sonja movie is a guilty pleasure, yet I have never read the comic, perhaps for fear of what the industry would do with a metal bikini-clad heroine. When I learned that Gail Simone was rebooting the character, I decided it was about time I get on it. I am so glad I did. Sonja is still a metal-bikini clad warrior, but, unlike some equally dressed ladies from pulp scifi/fantasy (lookin’ at you, Dejah Thoris), she is a strong, take charge woman – without having to repeatedly proclaim that she has no need of a man in order to prove herself. Her reputation as a warrior is known and is respected, which is why the king enlists her aid in defending his kingdom. She proceeds to teach everyone to fight, men and women, but the battle itself is where things start to fall apart for her when she comes face to face with her friend and former fellow prisoner. Following a brutal loss, Sonja is exiled and learns and remembers a thing or two about humility, strength and overcoming her failures, in order to return to the defence of the kingdom and earn herself a long respite at the local tavern.

Mass Effect: Foundations vol.1

Mass Effect fans know Maya Brooks from the Citadel DLC. In Mass Effect: Foundations, we learn how she came to be an agent of Cerberus, compiling dossiers on Shepard’s eclectic crew. Issue one was a very interesting look into that very process, but when the next issues began shoehorning Maya into what should simply have been origin stories for our favourite characters, things started to fall apart. I suspect the idea was to make Maya the Mara Jade of the Mass Effect world, but her presence lacked the subtlety of the Emperor’s Hand. I found Kaidan Alenko’s story particularly disappointing. Anyone who took the time to talk to him in the original game  already knew this story, so the issue felt more like an excuse to show Kaidan’s teacher being excessively mean and shouting a lot, within panels literally flooded with biotic powers, without telling anything new.

Grimm Fairy Tales: Realm Knights

Based on the covers of Grimm Fairy Tales, I hadn’t expected much, but was pleasantly surprised when I read volume one. Realm Knights takes a different spin on the fairy tales with fully realized characters as part of the real world. And when Chronos returns seeking vengeance against the gods that imprisoned him, Snow, Robyn Hood, Hook, Van Helsing and Red Riding Hood are brought together to defeat him. Fans of the series will undoubtedly recognize the characters and their powers, quirky personalities and relationships, but a new reader can have just as much fun on this wild ride, especially when the amusing Hades shows up to help or hinder them in the fight against his father.

Sheltered

One thing that immediately sets Sheltered apart from other post-apocalyptic stories is the fact that it’s actually a pre-apocalyptic story. It begins at a secluded camp of survivalists who have been busily preparing for the inevitable. What they didn't expect is how their preparations would affect their children. Lead by Lucas, who believes that the only chance the younger generation has for survival, is to take their parents' teachings to heart. Meanwhile, Hailey and Victoria, who were not part of the plan, end up doing a lot of nothing for most of the volume, while Lucas tries to maintain his fragile control.

While I really liked the idea behind Sheltered, I felt the motivations of the children were not strong enough to make it truly believable. The Lord of the Flies mentality is easy enough to comprehend, but not before the children bring their deadly plan to fruition. There is no clear reason for the children to follow through with Lucas' plan, no matter how much of a bully he might be or how convincing his end of the world scenario is.

Will-O-the-Wisp

Following the death of her parents, Aurora Grimeon is sent to live with her grandfather, Silver, in the mysterious Ossuary Isle. Upon her arrival, she is greeted by the haunting form of a blue flame. The neighbours refer to it as a will-o-the-wisp, but Silver dismisses it as science. And while Silver does not care much for the superstitious nature of his neighbours, he does consent to send her off to Mama Nonnie, the local hoodoo woman, for protection spells. Death surrounds the people of Ossuary Isle, and Aurora's arrival seems to herald more of it.

This is a an intriguing little tale, with quirky, beautiful art, perfectly suited to the dark, morbid environment. Graves and grave workers line the swamp and Silver's hobbies and research certainly are macabre. I really liked the way the superstitions, which at first seemed to be worthy only of dismissal, were used, taking on a life of their own as the mystery unwound and the story went places I did not quite expect. And then  there's Missy the raccoon...

An All New Red Sonja by Gail Simone

I love the movie Red Sonja. It’s a hunt-through-bargain-bins treasure that has been with me since the ‘80s, yet I’ve never read or even been inspired to read the comics. Until I learned that Gail Simone was going to be penning this issue (Does she have a thing for redheads?). This means no more excuses not to read about the metal bikini adventures of Red Sonja. It’s only fair, after recently checking out the other pulp fiction warrior princess, Dejah Thoris.

The book was introduced this Wednesday with six fantastic covers by female talents in the industry. These are my favourites, by Fiona Staples, Amanda Conner and Jenny Frison:

In a recent ComiXology interview, Gail Simone explained that this reboot presents a Sonja that is no longer the ice queen of the past. She’s still the woman that will kneel to no one, but earn her respect, and she will keep her promises. Save her from a captivity of fighting for her life everyday, then she’ll be willing to train your kingdom to defend themselves against a pending attack from a deadly enemy.

In her re-introduction, the deadly swordswoman is clearly deadly, her sword poking menacingly from the ground, but she is also clearly drunk, something that the previously stodgy Sonja would likely never have allowed. Her stupor is interrupted by would-be thieves and the predictable display of her prowess, in spite of her condition is revealed. It’s a fantastic scene though, perfectly hinted at in the second cover above, by Amanda Conner. At the end of issue one, we also get a look of this scene through the revelation of Gail Simone’s writing process for the first few pages.

Now that I’ve checked out both pulp princesses, the differences between them really are striking to me. Despite the similarities in barely there metal costumes, Red Sonja has always worn hers with far more nobility than Dejah Thoris ever thought she did. The new Dejah Thoris comics seem to have tried to make her more of a warrior woman, but they still rely on the damsel in distress/every male wants to get with her storyline. Sonja has always denied men, believing them unworthy of her time. In the reboot, she seems to be less about the misandry, but she remains a woman that I can respect. As in, metal bikini and deadly sword aside, her demeanour is of a person who takes and gives no quarter, demands respect and expects you to earn hers. Just because she has impressive cleavage (which is praised by her admiring twin acolytes) and is comfortable with her body and blade, doesn’t mean it’s there for anyone else’s purposes but her own.

3.5 of 5 stars

Comic Review: Batgirl: Knightfall Descends by Gail Simone

Batgirl, Vol. 2: Knightfall Descends by Gail Simone

Just dial F for Feelings on this one.

My second journey into a Gail Simone book, and let me just say, that I really enjoyed this book. Gail seems to have found her footing in this book and with the character. Much of the campiness that slightly turned me off was toned way down in this book. There was still some campiness there, but not to the same degree as the previous volume. This book follows Barbara on a series of encounters ranging from a run-in with the Court of Owls to the emergence of vigilante named Knightfall who may have been an innocent girl turned into a crazed “hero” intent on saving Gotham by purging it of its evil.

The thing I’m finding very interesting in these books is the storytelling format. So far, the volumes have been made up of various mini-stories rather than having one specific arc focus. I think the reason this works so well with Barbara’s story is because we watch as she adapts to these different situations while coping with the various thoughts and feelings she's harboring.

Continuing with the theme from volume one, Barbara still stands on shaky ground. She continues to be a dichotomy. She’s still trying to come to terms with her capabilities as a hero, and she’s beginning to question “the system.” She questions if they’re contributing to the problem by protecting the “haves” and their investments from the “have-nots” rather than addressing the problem of poverty and the disproportionate gap between the two groups. She asks is she truly a hero in this respect?

She also comes face to face with very important parts of her past in the form of her mother, which started in the last volume, and one of the thugs who witnessed her crippling at the hands of Joker (an encounter that turned out differently than I expected). There’s also the issue of Barbara’s brother, James. She’s unaware that something is bubbling that will probably blow up on her soon. Throw in the fact that she’s still dealing with her survivor’s guilt and trauma, which tends to make her react in very emotional ways in some situations because she’s triggered.

A character that I’m rapidly becoming to enjoy is Melody McKenna, an investigator for GCPD whose story we learned more of in this volume. Barbara keeps insisting that Melody McKenna hates her. That is so not true, and it’s so obvious that it’s not. McKenna is upset with Barbara because of what happened with her partner after Barbara’s return. That’s obvious as well. However, while McKenna has an invested interest in Batgirl, she’s allowed Barbara on numerous occasions to do her thing. In this volume, McKenna seems to show that she fully grasps what happened with her partner is not Batgirl’s fault because she relates a situation where she acted in a similar fashion as Barbara with the same outcome.

I could chalk this up to Barbara’s current conflicting feelings, though, how she seems to take everything so personally and feel it so deeply. She feels every loss. She sees the situation with McKenna’s partner as something she should’ve handled better, so maybe this insistence that McKenna hates her is just a  transference of her own harsh views of herself onto a tangible person/object.

My only complaint with this was In the Line of Fire, which is issue #9 and part of the crossover with the Court of Owls. This pissed me off so bad, but not because it was badly written. Truthfully, it was very good, and it was shaping up to be my favorite part of the book (now my favorite part is the Batwoman/McKenna/Batgirl team-up near the end), but it just ends without you really knowing what happens. I don’t think it really think this should’ve been included since it heavily depends on you reading issues from other books to get the full scope of what’s going on.

The other stories have an “ending,” except this one, and then the next story goes immediately into this Knightfall storyline, which will be resolved in the next volume. You’re left wondering what happened, if you haven’t read it, because it was obvious a big deal. However, it does say that you need to go to Batman #9, but still, I had to track down this Owls business to read soon. Remember, I said I wasn’t really trying to get into all this DCnU stuff, but DC is making me.

I think this is shaping up into a fine book. I like the sort of darker approach to her return. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Barbara has issues that have plagued her return and will presumably continue to plague her for a while. Watching her triumphs and failures, her insecurities, her growing confidence, makes her feel like a very believable character.

Final Verdict:

4 of 5 stars

Comic Review: Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection by Gail Simone

Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection by Gail Simone

Full disclosure. I stopped reading the New 52 after four comics. I read Mister Terrific #1, Justice League #1, Detective Comics #1, and Swamp Thing #1. Out of those four comics, I was only impressed with Detective Comics and Swamp Thing. Justice League was only “meh” and didn’t feel like it was worth the trouble of continuing at that point, and Mister Terrific was terrible when it had so much potential to be great. Even though I did enjoy Detective Comics and Swamp Thing, I still put them on the back burner in favor of other comics that I wanted to catch up on. Admittedly, I was one of those people who wasn’t that excited to see Barbara assume the Batgirl mantle again. I love Barbara. I really do, but I always felt that she was a more formidable hero as Oracle than as Batgirl. That’s neither here nor there now, and there’s no point in rehashing old thoughts. Moving on...

I decided to try Batgirl for two reasons. I wanted to try another comic from the New 52 to see how I would enjoy it, and I wanted to read more Gail Simone after sort of shying away from her writing because of a volume of The Atom I read that made me want to run away screaming. Friends and fans of Gail assured me that I would enjoy either Birds of Prey or Batgirl much more than I enjoyed The Atom. After some resistance, I finally decided it was time to close my eyes and step off this cliff again.

The Darkest Reflection follows Barbara Gordon who has made her return as Batgirl after an experimental—or at least it sounded experimental—medical procedure returns her ability to use her legs. For those of you not quite familiar with what happened or only have a vague idea of what happened to her, refer to The Killing Joke pre-DCnU. After some downtime rehabbing while living in her father’s home, Barbara decides that it’s time to spread her wings, move out of her father’s house, and take up the mantle of the bat again. What Barbara didn’t count on was her survivor’s guilt and PTSD (which is triggered when she’s faced with guns) making her return to crime fighting more difficult than she’d expected.

I enjoyed this much, much, much more than I did The Atom. At first, I was a little afraid that I might have to put this book down because it started a bit campier that I like. Actually, no, I should explain that better. I love when writers use campy writing to their advantage, but sometimes, I feel like writer’s try too hard with it. In turn, that turns me off because it comes off feeling so artificial and forced and makes it hard for me to enjoy the story.  This was one of the main problems that I had with The Atom. There were points in the beginning of this story where I worried I might be traveling down that road again, but after a while, the story found its footing and turned into an enjoyable read.

Barbara is a survivor struggling with the thought of having her legs back. She struggles with conflicting feelings that make her feel blessed for this miracle, but questions why did she, out of all the people in the in the world, deserve such a miracle. After thwarting a murder attempt on a family, Barbara’s next foe challenges her miracle as well and brings out deeper psychological fears.  

I really enjoyed the portrayal of Barbara’s struggle. She’s of two minds for most of this comic. She’s a superwoman and a frail all in the same breath. One minute she’s praising herself for her strength and smarts, and the next minute, she doubts herself and if she’s even doing the right thing. She wonders if she’s squandering her miracle by pushing herself too hard, but then she feels that this miracle wasn’t given to her for her to sit by idly. A brief confrontation with Nightwing shows the feelings she stills hold for him while punctuating that she doesn’t want the others to believe that she’s not capable--to the point that she lashes out at him in order to show that she isn’t helpless. She doesn’t want their help. She wants to prove herself, her strength and ability to overcome, to the bat family. 

Let me talk briefly about the ending of this comic. No real spoilers, but just some thoughts. When I realized that Barbara’s threat was eliminated in the fourth issues but there were still two issues left in this arc, I was thinking, “Okay?” It ended perfectly, and I was thinking that things were about to get odd since what could you possibly accomplish in two more issues? I was pleasantly surprised. You can say the next two issues in the arc were a mini-story, but still tied into the “reflection” theme showing Barbara what she could’ve been if she hadn’t had family and support.

The first part dealt with accepting that miracles happened to people whether they deserved them or not and that there’s no one who can decide that someone is undeserving of such a miracle, even if it’s a personal miracle. The second part dealt more personally with the idea that not everyone may see his or her miracle as a miracle. It showed how fragile the line between miracle and damnation is in some people’s mind, and it showed a thing about compassion and understanding, as well.

Overall, this was entertaining. There were some hiccups for me, and I’m back to questioning why it’s so easy for some people to find out who the bat family is over other more intelligent criminals. That's a general annoyance of mine with Batman and the bat family, not something that's limited to Gail herself. However, I still enjoyed the story and appreciated it for showing Barbara’s return as a struggle that she’s working to overcome for physical and psychological reasons. I’ll definitely read more of the Batgirl books. 

Final Verdict: 

3 of 5 stars