Thursday, February 22, 2007

Things That Made Me Happy...

in my comics this week.

52. Any comic that makes me admit stunned admiration for Ralph Dibny -- THREE TIMES, no less -- is a nothing short of miraculous.

I know Wonder Woman was a long time a-waiting, but (for me) it was worth waiting for. The author captures who Wonder Woman is and can be perfectly. Hopeful without being naive; strong without being aggressive. Resourceful, heroic, clever, and confident. Inherently peaceful, a thinking woman's warrior.

Robin on a date was wonderful. Besides ... it refers honorably to Vibe; always a major plus for any book, film, or Broadway musical.

Birds of Prey beaned me repeatedly with plot twists and I thanked it every time. There are many wonderful things about Gail Simone's writing, but you know what's most refreshing? Her characters enjoy being superheroes. Or supervillians. Or whatever they happen to be. To me, that's DC: characters who enjoy being who they are, not who are miserable about it.

Mr. Bones gets manicures even though his nails are invisible? Fabulous.

Beppo was in Krypto this month; nuff said. But it read like a farewell issue; is Krypto cancelled? Shame...

Aquaman Sword of Atlantis? Well, I can honestly say I can hardly wait for the next issue!

Brave & the Bold. Crazy locked room mystery worthy of a Silver Age JLA story? Bruce Wayne and Hal Jordan in Las Vegas? A MacGuffin from Vertigo that made my head nearly fall off? THIS is the kind of comics I want, DC; thank you. Thank you very much. I officially forgive you for the DC Challenge ...

23 comments:

Rob S. said...

I think Krypto was always intended to be a six-issue mini. Hopefully there'll be more to come.

Ron Hogan said...

Speaking of great Batman history shoutouts in BRave & Bold, I love how this whole issue is a set-up for a visit to Ventura. Rokk and Sorban, here we come!

So, not having seen the Wonder Woman, does it just leave that storyline hanging--since it's aleady been announced that they're leaping into Picoult's run an issue early to try to get the book back on something approximating a schedule?

Warfire said...

The only person who needs forgiveness for DC Challenge is Roy Thomas. I guess the idea of Einstein as the custodian of spacetime was just too much fun for him to allow.

Unknown said...

My favorite moment was from the Omega Men.

Tigor: "Hey, Dox, next time one of your computers comes to life with the power to destroy reality, just tell the bitch you lover her."

Dox: "Hm. Note taken."

Simply classic.

James Meeley said...

For me the coolest thing this week, is learning why Kyle Rayner (aka The Ion formerly known as Green Lantern) is called "the Torchbearer" in Ion #11.

He's carrying a torch alright, but it sure isn't for the Guardians of the Universe. ;)

Anonymous said...

Yep, Krypto was just a 6 issue mini. It might get an ongoin, who knows.

Ralph was awesome in 52 this week. I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet, but it totally sums everything good about the character.

Peter said...

Not a one of those things was a trillonth as cool as my living long enough to see Matter Eater Lad, Porcupine Pete, Chlorophyll Kid, Stone Boy, Infectious Lass and Color Kid get speaking roles in a Saturday morning cartoon, as they took on Starfinger in last weekend's episode of "Legion of Superheroes".

Peter said...

Also worth noting is that a Justice League movie may be on the way from Warner Bros, according to a report on Variety tonight.

Will Vibe make the cut for the silver screen?

Chris said...

The Brave and the Bold was just outstanding. Hey, maybe Hal does have a personality!

naladahc said...

Ok. I have to ask. Did the manicurist die from giving Mr. Bones a manicure? He's got that cyanide skin and all.

And since somebody brought up the LSH cartoon...

I can't believe I'm totally enjoying the Legion cartoon as much as I am. Starfinger has got to be one of the gayest Saturday morning villains I've ever seen!

I love the fact they incorporated using Stone Boy as a battering ram into the show!

I really want a Color Kid action figure with "futile color changing" action powers.

Anonymous said...

The only episode of Legion of Superheroes I really enjoyed was the substitute heroes one. Starfinger was absolutely FABULOUS, and seeing freaking Matter Eater Lad and Color Kid on TV blows my mind.

Scipio said...

Agreed about the LSH cartoon; it was a laughapalooza!

Although I don't think Starfinger was gay, per se, just Eurotrashy.

Color Kid, on the other hand...!

"Some chartreuse should stop you...!"

Anonymous said...

Well, on dark Asian skin like mine, chartreuse is my source of power!

Looks just terrible on you crazy crackers though. Definitely stops you from doing anything.

(Seriously, that Substitute Heroes episode was the best in the series so far!)

Unknown said...

That Subs episode was great, and the only time I've ever liked Starfinger.

I still can't beleive that the SPACE CANINE PATROL AGENTS were featured on an animated series...Big Dog, Big Dog, Bow-Wow-WOW!

Your Obedient Serpent said...

52 just confirmed what us Satellite Era fans always knew about the difference between Plastic Man and The Elongated Man.

Eel O'Brien is made out of rubber.

Ralph Dibny is made out of AWESOME.

Anonymous said...

Not that I read the issue in question, but Mr. Bones's skin IS visible under a certain kind of light. That's how Infinity Inc. found out he's black!

Anonymous said...

Things that made me happy today: the announcement that MANHUNTER IS SAVED (again) and that there will be more Uncle Sam & The Freedom Fighters.

Scipio said...

REALLY?!

Do tell! Those are great news indeed!

Anonymous said...

And the Question asked his writers to kill him off.

Methinks Giffen has been smoking something he pilfered from Morrison's stash...

Anonymous said...

Yes! It was announced at Comicon today, at the DC Nation panel. More Uncle Sam, baby!

Anonymous said...

After reading the new Krypto issue, my 3 year old son put on a red blanket cape and pretended he was Beppo for the rest of the evening. Such is the awe inspiring power of Beppo. I was also happy to see a nod to the Legion of Super Pets.

Except for Hal's "corny oath" comment, Brave & the Bold was awesome in every way. This is the sort of superhero interaction that should be happening in JLA. Superheroes shouldn't be embarrased to refer to each other by their superhero names. Look at the costumes they wear; they're not the self-conscious type.

I think the Wonder Woman arc has been amazing. I hope Heinberg still has a future at DC after this. I understand the desire for monthly comics, but was anyone so impressed by the Ostrander Batman fill-ins or the McGraw Detective fill-in that they couldn't wait a month? (From what I've seen of Pfeiffer though, I have higher expectations for his fill-in issue.)

While I was disappointed that it wasn't the Krypto issue, I really enjoyed Busiek's Superman story this week. There's a lot of things that are right about this story, but one thing in particular that I enjoyed was the Superman's calm reflective manner in the face of the problem posed by Arion. I think lesser writers would try to play up Superman's super-burden and make it more angsty. But that's not Superman and Busiek knows this.

-alex p

Marcos said...

OK, apologies if this shows up twice, but it's been a while since I submitted the first one and still not there, so...

alex: I was also taken aback by Hal calling his oath "corny", but on reflection, it works. A rare bit of self-deprecation by Mr. Jordan, who is 100% sincere about his oath but still able to recognize the corniness inherent in the wording. And I liked Batman's response about being OK with oaths.

Great story, very silly (Hal could have just ringed himself up a tux, ya know). Bruce Wayne hanging with test pilot Hal Jordan in Vegas would seem to put a strain on the ol' secret identities, but that just adds to the Silver-Agey fun.

Captcha: wheaw. Whee-haw!

Anonymous said...

>>apologies if this shows up twice, but it's been <<

Me too also. I think there's some new scold-filtering machinery in place. Long run, probably a good thing.